The air was thick with smoke, metal, and the deafening percussion of gunfire.
Knox's breathing was steady but tense as he leaned out just long enough to fire two more precise rounds into the dark. A sharp grunt answered from the other side — at least one of Viktor's men had gone down.
“They're pushing forward!” Wyatt called out. “Two more trying to flank from the left!”
“Keep pressure on them,” Knox barked. “We’re not giving them an inch.”
Aria’s entire body vibrated with adrenaline. The hard drive pressed against her ribs felt like a beating heart, each thump a reminder of what was at stake. Every second they held their position, Viktor’s entire operation—Specter, Volkov, all of it—was dangling on a thread.
Then came the shift.
The gunfire paused—briefly. Strategically.
Knox narrow
