The guards didn't move at first. They stood in their positions, weapons still raised, but their hands had gone slack. Their eyes were fixed on Carden, and what lived in those eyes was something between disbelief and the first roots of genuine fear.One of them, a man with a scar running from his left temple to his jaw, lowered his weapon slightly."Did you see that?" he said to the man beside him, his voice barely above a whisper."See what? I couldn't see anything. There was too much smoke.""Exactly. That's the point. There was so much smoke and so many bullets flying, and he walked through all of it like he was taking a stroll through the park."Lorenzo saw the hesitation spreading through his men like a contagion. He saw the weapons drooping, saw the disbelief replacing the professional focus that had been there moments before. And he lost whatever remained of his composure."What are you doing?" he screamed, his voice cracking with desperation. "Shoot him! Shoot him now! All of y

Lorenzo's breath came in ragged gasps. His mind raced, calculating angles, distances, the precise moment when Carden's focus would shift just enough to give him an opening. His hand slipped into his jacket, fingers closing around the handle of his backup weapon, but he knew without firing a single shot that bullets were no longer an option.He needed something else. Something unexpected."You think you've won?" Lorenzo's voice was rough, desperate, but he forced it to carry defiance. "You think killing a few of my men means anything? My father controls more than you could imagine. My father is Jerry Stone, and he will hunt you until you're begging for death!"Carden's expression didn't change. That flat, emotionless calm was somehow worse than anger would have been.Lorenzo made his move. He dropped low, feinted left, and drove his body forward in what he calculated as a tackle. His shoulder aimed for Carden's midsection. His hands reached for whatever grip he could find.The moment h

Something shifted in Carden's eyes. Not panic. Not fear. Something quieter and far more dangerous, like a temperature drop before a storm. It was there for two seconds, maybe three, and then it was gone. Replaced by the same cold, flat composure that had been there since the moment he'd walked through that steel door.He crouched down in front of Lorenzo. His knees bent, his body lowered until their faces were level, and he looked at the man with eyes that gave away absolutely nothing.His hand reached forward and closed around the hilt of the fallen dagger. He lifted it from the concrete, turned it once in his grip, and slipped it into his own jacket without looking at it."Last trick?" Carden said quietly.Lorenzo said nothing.Carden straightened and turned toward Sebastian, who had already risen from the chair, his face tight with something beyond pain."Carden." Sebastian's voice carried a weight that made the other man turn immediately. Sebastian wasn't a person who used that to

He crossed the room and crouched in front of Lorenzo again, his elbows resting on his knees, his body language so relaxed it was almost offensive."People who are afraid of losing things can be manipulated through those things. I've been in this business long enough to know that. So when someone sits in front of me and starts listing the names of everyone I care about, I understand what they're doing. And I also understand that if that threat were as immediate as you're pretending it is, you wouldn't be spending time announcing it. You'd be counting on it having already happened."Lorenzo said nothing. His fingers pressed flat against the concrete floor."So," Carden continued, "the fact that you're sitting here using it as a negotiating tool tells me one of two things. Either your father doesn't know you're in this situation yet, which means the threat is currently hypothetical. Or he does know, and he's already made his move, which means me standing here worrying about it changes no

Sebastian was holding the communicator in one hand, his face tight with focus. "We have her location. Or at least, we have a property that matches the parameters. Stone-owned facility about forty miles north, registered under a shell company but the signature traces back to Jerry's operational structure.""How certain?""Seventy percent. Could be misdirection. Could be where they're holding her before moving her somewhere else. But it's the only location that makes sense given the timing and the resources available to move her."Carden was already moving toward the door. "Get the team mobilized.""Already done. They're thirty minutes out from the location. We can coordinate from your vehicle once you're topside.""How long until you have eyes on the property?""Fifteen minutes for surveillance, assuming they're not expecting a hostile approach. Another ten for assault preparation if we get a green light.""You have twenty minutes total.""Carden, that's not—""Twenty minutes," Carden