Chapter 9 - The Devil's Reckoning
Selene looked into Rostov’s dead eyes. Her knees shook, but she refused to bow her head.
"Go to hell," she spat.
Rostov’s eyes narrowed, his finger tightening on the trigger. "Pity."
CRASH!
The concrete wall behind Rostov exploded inward in a shower of dust, rebar, and debris. A heavy tactical SUV crashed through the outer loading dock doors, smashing directly into Rostov’s two mercenaries and pinning them against the structural pillars.
Before the dust could settle, a figure leapt from the shattered driver-side window.
It was Damen.
He was covered in gray drywall dust and blood, his suit jacket gone, his tactical vest scorched—but he was very much alive. Moving with terrifying, feral speed, Damen slammed into Rostov before the syndicate boss could turn his weapon.
The two men crashed into the concrete floor. Damen landed a brutal series of blows, disarming Rostov instantly, shattering his jaw with a heavy right hook, and pinning him to the ground with a tactical boot pressed firmly onto Rostov’s throat.
Rostov choked, gasping for air, his cold eyes wide with sudden, overwhelming terror.
Damen didn't look at Rostov. His gray eyes swept the hallway frantically until they landed on Selene.
"Are you hurt?" Damen asked, his voice raw, hoarse, and laced with an intense anxiety he couldn't hide.
Selene dropped the wrench, her eyes brimming with tears, and ran toward him. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into his blood-stained shirt. "You said you were right behind me," she choked out.
Damen wrapped his powerful arms around her waist, lifting her slightly off her feet, holding her close as if she were the only real thing in a crumbling world. "I had to take the long way down," he murmured into her hair.
Viktor and six armed security operatives poured into the hallway through the shattered wall, securing the area and placing heavy zip-ties on the groaning Rostov.
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"Boss," Viktor reported, checking his radio. "Federal agents are three minutes out. The digital evidence link you broadcasted from the doctor's cloud backup just hit the Department of Justice servers. The entire Rostov syndicate is being dismantled across the country as we speak."
Damen looked down at Rostov, his boot still resting on the man's throat. "It's over, Mikhail. You lose."
