The convoy sliced through the rain-soaked city, tires hissing against slick asphalt as the storm raged on. Inside the lead SUV, Aria sat stiffly beside Knox, the unmarked drive clutched tightly in her hand like it might vanish if she let go.
Her mind replayed Viktor’s words over and over: She will break. Or she will burn.
Knox’s voice cut into the tense silence.
“We’ll decrypt it the moment we get back to the compound.”
Aria barely nodded, her gaze locked on the passing lights. “He was watching us the whole time, Knox. He let Kavinski die. He let us walk out alive.”
“He’s playing his endgame now.” Knox’s jaw flexed. “And he’s counting on us making mistakes.”
Aria’s knuckles whitened around the drive. “I won’t give him that satisfaction.”
The SUV turned sharply onto a private road le
