he front door vibrated through t

, her duffel bag slung over one shoulder. Below her, in

usly twisting a damp tissue around her fingers. When she

d against her bruised cheek, her eyes fixed on Janet's back with a toxic mix of hatred and

Marlene rushed forward, throwin

t Janet's shoulder. "The debts... the bank was going to take

arm around her mother's trembling back. She p

steady anchor in the chaotic room. "This is ex

respond, the front

al boots stepping onto the wooden porch s

morning sun. He was nearly two meters tall, built like a c

rd Bradford's head

mperature in the room seemed to instantly plummet. Misha radiated a thick, suffocating aura of blo

She shrank back against the sofa, te

memories of her past life. Misha Volkov. She knew the absolute, unyielding loyalty that beat beneath that terrifying exterior. Her calmness didn't come from a place of ignorance, but from

nd himself being analyzed by a pair of dark, bottomless eyes that seemed to s

ure, his hands resting n

voice was a deep, gravelly rumble, dev

ttom of the stairs. She peered over Marlen

ks. A sharp, loud gasp ripped from her throat, s

f spoiled milk. Her whole b

slipped out of her mouth, carried by

onto her like a laser targeting system. In an instant, the p

eline. Kandy's visceral terror. Misha's instant hostility. In the past life, Kandy mu

vy, menacing step

ed operational callsign?" Misha demanded. His voice wa

he bottom step, her Chanel dress pooling aro

pure terror streaming down her face. "On

off. "Blackwater-level operatives d

her cousin to save her from the monster. Janet just c

rushed the activation button of his encrypted radio. He was preparing t

was a stretched wire, se

finall

utterly bored. "She's a pathological liar with a seve

ned his head to look at Janet. He was assessing

heir's fiancée. A messy extraction would

ulled his hand away from the radio, but he kept his

sha comman

ing mother and her paralyzed cousin, and wal