Alyssa’s POV
“This is a mistake,” Isabella’s voice crackled through my earpiece, laced with urgency. “You’re prioritizing Ethan over the Circle. We need to stop this new enemy before they take everything from you.”
I gritted my teeth, pressing myself against the cold steel wall of the facility’s exterior. The night air was thick with the scent of damp concrete and gun oil, a sign that the place was crawling with heavily armed guards.
“If I lose Ethan, there is no Circle,” I hissed back, scanning the perimeter with my thermal scope. “If he dies, what the hell am I even fighting for?”
A pause. Then a resigned sigh. “At least let me send backup.”
“No,” I snapped. “The more people involved, the more noise we make. This has to be surgical.”
Leon crouched beside me, adjusting his bulletproof vest with a smirk. “You trust me to get you inside without setting off every alarm?”
I didn’t trust Leon. Not completely. He had sold me out before, and I still wasn’t convinced he wasn’t playing both sides. But right now, I needed him.
“I trust you to want to keep breathing,” I said flatly. “You know what happens if you cross me again.”
His smirk faltered for half a second before he flashed his signature cocky grin. “Cold as ever, sweetheart. Let’s do this.”
Leon worked fast, hacking into the security panel while I kept watch. The mercenaries patrolled in groups of three, their movements precise and well-coordinated. This wasn’t some second-rate security team. Whoever was behind this had money.
“Got it,” Leon whispered, the door hissing open.
We slipped inside, moving through the dimly lit corridors. I knew exactly what I was looking for-Room 47A. A secured vault where an experimental treatment was stored, one that could slow Ethan’s decline.
I clutched my gun tighter as we navigated the halls, each step calculated, every shadow a potential threat.
Then Leon stopped abruptly, holding up a fist. I froze.
Footsteps. Two guards coming from the left.
Leon signaled: Take them out silently.
I nodded. As they passed, I struck first, wrapping an arm around the closest guard’s throat and yanking him into the darkness. He struggled, his muffled cries fading as his body went limp.
Leon took care of the other one, a quick knife to the ribs before lowering him to the floor without a sound.
We kept moving.
Room 47A was locked down tighter than I expected. Thick reinforced doors, a fingerprint scanner, and a retinal lock.
Leon whistled low. “You weren’t kidding. Whatever’s in there, someone really doesn’t want it getting out.”
“Can you crack it?” I asked.
He studied the scanner, muttering under his breath before pulling out a small device. “I can bypass the fingerprint scanner, but the retinal lock… we need an eye.”
I glanced at the bodies we left behind. “Stay here.”
I moved quickly, retrieving what we needed from one of the guards before returning. The process took seconds. The vault door slid open with a soft hiss.
Inside, a row of temperature-controlled cases glowed softly under the cold blue lights.
Leon grabbed a small vial and held it up. “This it?”
I checked the label. It matched the files I had stolen. “That’s the one.”
Relief coursed through me. Ethan had a chance.
But that relief lasted only seconds.
Because then the alarms blared.
Leon cursed. “We tripped something.”
No. Someone had triggered it.
I pulled my gun, backing toward the door. My earpiece crackled to life.
“Alyssa!” Isabella’s voice was sharp. “It’s a trap. They knew you’d come. Get out-”
Too late.
The facility’s main doors slammed shut, locking us in. Red emergency lights bathed the hallway in an eerie glow.
Then I heard them.
Boots. Dozens of them.
Armed men flooded in from every direction, their rifles aimed at me and Leon.
A slow, mocking clap echoed through the corridor.
I turned my head-and my stomach dropped.
At the front of the mercenaries stood a man I hadn’t seen in years. His scarred face twisted into a smirk, his cold eyes filled with amusement.
Luca Devereaux.
An old associate of Xavier. A ghost from my past. And now, apparently, my newest enemy.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he drawled, stepping forward. “You’ve been a very bad girl.”
I tightened my grip on my gun. “Funny. I don’t remember inviting you to this party.”
Luca chuckled. “Oh, Alyssa. You really thought you were in control, didn’t you?” He gestured around us. “But you walked right into my hands.”
Leon took a cautious step back. “Alyssa…”
I ignored him. My mind raced. We were surrounded. Outgunned. No obvious exits.
Luca stepped closer, tilting his head. “Now, you have something I want.” His eyes flicked to the vial in my hand. “Hand it over, and maybe I won’t kill you just yet.”
I smirked. “Maybe you should try and take it from me.”
His grin widened. “Oh, I plan to.”
With a snap of his fingers, his men raised their weapons.
I exhaled slowly, my mind sharpening.
No way out. No reinforcements.
But I had one advantage.
They thought they had me cornered.
They didn’t know what I was willing to do to win.
As Luca took another step, I whispered, “Leon, run.”
Then I raised my gun-
And everything exploded into chaos.
The first shot rang out before I could fully process what was happening. The hallway erupted in gunfire, red flashes bursting through the dim light.
I moved fast, ducking behind a metal console, returning fire as bullets whizzed past me. Leon dove behind a supply crate, firing back with wild, desperate shots.
Luca barely flinched, stepping back as his men swarmed forward.
“Don’t let her leave this place alive,” he commanded.
I clenched my jaw.
The gunfight was brutal. Two mercenaries dropped from my shots, but more replaced them instantly.
Then I heard the unmistakable sound of gas canisters rolling across the floor.
Shit.
I spun around, grabbing Leon’s arm. “Move-”
But it was too late.
Thick, choking gas filled the air, burning my lungs instantly. My vision blurred. My limbs felt heavy.
Luca’s silhouette loomed through the haze.
“You should have taken the deal, sweetheart.”
My knees buckled. My fingers loosened around my gun.
I fought to stay upright, but my body betrayed me.
The last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me whole-
Luca’s laughter.
And then-
Nothing.