Adrian’s POV
The penthouse is a war room at dawn, the clock striking 5 am, as the city stirs beyond the windows, its lights fading into the gray light. The motel ambush lingers in my muscles, the crack of the lamp against a mercenary’s skull, Serena’s fierce swing, her trembling form in my arms afterward. I stand by the dining table, maps and laptops open, my shirt sleeves rolled up, the faint scent of her jasmine perfume clinging to me from our close quarters. Jake’s confession—another car forced the crash, Lila’s payment for silence—has shifted the battlefield, but his escape and the mercenaries’ attack suggest a deeper web, possibly Victor’s hand pulling strings. I’m Adrian Knight, a man who bends markets to his will, but this fight for Serena’s truth tests my every resource, my love f
