The clock above the emergency room doors read 2:47 a.m. when Jenna Mitchell walked in, and Kira Ross knew instantly what she was looking at.

The peace of Ryker’s estate didn't hold through the night.

At 2:00 a.m., while Kira was sitting across from Ryker at his mahogany dining table finishing a plate of pasta, the secure intercom on the kitchen wall buzzed with a harsh, rhythmic blare.

Ryker’s expression shifted in a fraction of a second from relaxed warmth to absolute, razor-sharp lethality.

Dante stepped out from the hallway shadows, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Boss,” Dante reported, his voice tight. “Outer perimeter breach. A team of four armed men just scaled the eastern stone wall. They’re moving toward the rear patio doors.”

Kira stood up instantly, her fork clattering against the plate. “Who are they?”

“Remnants of the old Albanian syndicate,” Ryker said smoothly, already walking toward his study without a trace of panic. “Men who think a wounded king is an easy target.”

“Ryker, you just had major abdominal surgery!” Kira protested, following him. “If you engage in physical combat right now, you will literally tear your stitches open!”

Ryker stopped by a polished oak display case, opened a hidden compartment, and pulled out a heavy, matte-black Sig Sauer pistol, checking the magazine with practiced, fluid ease.

“I’ve survived worse than a scalpel cut, Kira,” he said, looking back at her with dark, absolute resolve. “Stay in the kitchen. Dante will secure the perimeter.”

“I am not hiding in a kitchen while assassins try to murder us in your dining room!” Kira snapped, grabbing a heavy silver candlestick holder from the table. “I survived four years of working the ER night shift in Brooklyn. I know how to handle aggressive men.”

Ryker stared at her for a split second, a fierce, admiring smile breaking across his face. “God help me, you’re fearless.”

Before he could say another word, the glass doors leading to the rear patio shattered into a thousand glittering pieces.

Heavy boots crunched across the hardwood floor.

Two armed intruders burst into the hallway, raising their silenced submachine guns toward the study.

Dante moved like lightning from the shadows, tackling the first intruder to the floor in a brutal exchange of blows. The second intruder swung his weapon toward the study door, his eyes locking onto Kira standing in the corridor.

“Look out!” Kira screamed.

Ryker moved with terrifying speed. Ignoring the violent pull of his fresh surgical stitches, he lunged forward, using his own body as a shield to knock Kira out of the line of fire as a suppressed round thudded into the wooden door frame.

With his gun raised, Ryker fired twice.

Thud. Thud.

The intruder dropped instantly, his weapon clattering across the floor.

Within ten seconds, the entire breach was neutralized. Dante stood up over the two subdued men, wiping a drop of blood from his cheek, while the other two intruders outside the shattered patio doors turned and fled back over the stone wall into the night.

Ryker stood in the hallway, breathing heavily, pressing one hand against his abdomen.

Kira rushed to his side, sliding her hand under his arm to support him. She felt the warm, wet stain spreading across his black shirt.