Chapter 23 – Blood at the Door
The night was a graveyard. Silent. Breathless. Waiting. Until the sound of engines shattered it. Black SUVs tore through the abandoned industrial district, headlights cutting through the fog like knives. Men poured out—Zarek’s men. Armed. Ruthless. Silent as death. At the head of it all was Zarek. No mask. No armor of pretense. Just a man sharpened down to fury and love and bloodlust. His black coat whipped in the wind as he stepped onto the cracked pavement, pistol in one hand, a matte-black rifle slung across his back. Renzo appeared at his side. “Perimeter secured. Two exits. Both guarded.” Zarek’s jaw clenched. “Not for long.” He gave a single nod. The world exploded. --- Inside the lair, Lucien lifted his head at the first echo of gunfire. Distant, muffled—but real. Then
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