"You are nothing without this city, and this city is done with you!" Uncle Marcus shouted, his words cutting through the freezing rain as two heavy enforcers shoved me onto the slippery wooden planks of the harbor dock."This is my father's harbor, Marcus!" I screamed back, wiping bitter seawater and blood from my mouth. "You can't just take everything my family built!""I just did, Leo," Marcus sneered, adjusting his expensive wool coat while staying dry under his black umbrella. "Your parents are dead. Their empire belongs to someone who actually knows how to run it. You're an eighteen-year-old with a famous last name, nothing more. Now get on that boat before I have my men toss you into the bay with anchor chains around your boots."The two enforcers kicked my meager canvas bag onto the deck of a rusted, aging fishing transport. I stumbled forward, my boots sliding on the wet cedar. The engine of the old vessel groaned as Captain Thomas, a broad-shouldered man with a wild gray bear

The three armored figures hit the deck like dropped anchors, the impact sending a shudder through the pooled water on the planks, a ripple that ran out toward my feet where I still lay half-frozen.The largest of them, wielding two heavy riot shields, plowed into two mercenaries and sent them over the railing into the freezing water with a double splash that barely registered over the storm."Form defensive perimeter!" the lead vigilante shouted. His voice was deep, metallic, and completely calm, like he was reading off a checklist instead of standing in the middle of a firefight.The second, a lean woman with dual electrified batons, vaulted over my body with startling speed, close enough that I felt the wind off her boots. She struck a mercenary in the collarbone, disarmed him in one motion, and swept his legs out from under him before he'd even finished falling."Get the fishermen behind us!" she ordered."I've got the hatch," the third called, deploying a magnetic net over the syn

The morning sun broke through the storm clouds in pale gray streaks as our damaged boat finally docked at the outer pier of Aethelgard Bay.The harbor was unusually quiet. Row after row of fishing boats sat tied to their posts, owners too afraid to head out into syndicate-infested waters. Armed guards in the sleek black uniforms of Vance Security stood at every gate, clipboard scanners and stun batons in hand, watching the few boats that did come in with the bored contempt of men who knew nobody would challenge them."Keep your head down, Leo," Captain Thomas whispered as we tied off the mooring ropes, his hands quick and practiced despite the hour. "Hide that card in your boot lining."I slipped the keycard into the side pocket of my boot, wrapped in a scrap of oilskin so the glow wouldn't show through the leather. My ribs throbbed with every breath, a deep ugly ache that settled in a little deeper each time I shifted my weight, but I kept my posture straight walking down the gangpla

"You touch one hair on his head, Sienna, and you'll never get what you're looking for!" I growled into the phone, my jaw clenched so hard my teeth hurt.On the live feed, Sienna adjusted her coat, phone at her ear, standing over Captain Thomas. Her dark hair caught the streetlight, and her ice-blue eyes seemed to look straight into the camera lens across the alley, like she knew exactly which pixel I was watching through."You aren't in a position to make demands, Leo." Her voice was smooth, without an ounce of warmth. "Four minutes and thirty seconds. Don't test my patience."The line went dead."Damn it." I slammed my hand on the console, the sting of it barely registering against everything else.I looked around the vault. I couldn't stand by and let Thomas die for me, not after everything he'd already done to keep me breathing. I ran to the tactical racks along the wall and pulled out a lightweight Kevlar vest, strapping it tight over my bruised ribs with fingers that wouldn't qui

Glass came down like ice across the dashboard as rounds tore through the engine hood.The driver slumped over the wheel without a sound. Outside, shadowy figures in tactical gear moved through the smoke, closing in on the crashed SUV, their silhouettes cutting sharp lines against the burning wreckage down the street."Syndicate raiders." Sienna's cold composure snapped into something sharper, more alert, all business now. "Marcus didn't tell me he ordered an ambush.""Or he did, and he just didn't tell you because he doesn't trust you either." The words came out harsher than I meant, but I was too rattled to soften them, glass still raining down around us from the shattered windows."That's because he didn't order it for you. He ordered it for me." I had to shout over the gunfire. "He wants us both dead so there are no loose ends!""Hold this." She shoved an emergency security card into my hands and kicked the door open, glass crunching under her boot.She fired four rapid stun shots