The shattered, splintered remnants of the heavy reinforced oak door lay scattered carelessly across the expensive, dark Persian rug like dead winter leaves.
The immediate air inside Lord Alistair’s private study was thick with the grey, suffocating dust of the explosive entry and the distinct, metallic tang of tension. The six heavily armed Sterling tactical operatives maintained a lethal, absolute perimeter around the room, their modern sub machine guns raised with unyielding precision, completely freezing Lord Alistair’s personal security guards, who had wisely raised their hands in total submission.
They realized with absolute clarity that they were completely outmatched by Julian Sterling’s elite black ops task force.Lord Alistair Sterling Cove stood completely frozen beside the roa
