Alyssa’s POV
The scent of smoke and blood clung to the air like a suffocating fog. My ears were ringing, my vision blurred at the edges as I struggled to steady myself. The explosion had ripped through the safehouse with a force that shattered concrete and sent fire licking into the night sky.
I had been inside when it happened.
Barely made it out alive.
“Alyssa!” Ethan’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp with urgency. His hands gripped my shoulders, forcing me to focus. “Are you hurt?”
My body ached like I’d been slammed into a brick wall-because I had. But nothing felt broken. No warm wetness of blood pooling anywhere vital. I was lucky. My men inside weren’t.
“I’m fine,” I said, shoving away the panic clawing at my throat. “Whoever did this wanted to wipe out my entire circle.”
“They almost did,” Ethan muttered. His gaze flickered to the rubble, his jaw tightening. “This wasn’t just a warning. This was an execution.”
Dominic staggered toward us, his face smeared with soot, his arm hanging at an awkward angle. “Most of our guys didn’t make it,” he said, voice raw with pain. “They set us up, Alyssa. This was planned down to the second.”
I forced myself to stay upright, pushing through the shock and the grief threatening to take hold. “Then we need to move. We can’t stay out in the open.”
Leon appeared from the shadows, completely untouched, a smirk playing on his lips. “Damn, sweetheart. I didn’t think you’d actually walk out of that one.”
Ethan lunged for him, but I put a hand on his chest, stopping him. “Not now.”
Ethan’s muscles tensed beneath my touch, but he stepped back, though his glare didn’t waver. “Tell me why I shouldn’t put a bullet between his eyes right now.”
“Because I’m your only shot at winning this war,” Leon said, brushing dust off his expensive suit like he hadn’t just walked through hell with us. “And because I didn’t set the bomb.”
“Then who the hell did?” I snapped.
Leon tilted his head. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”
A familiar vibration buzzed against my hip-my burner phone.
I pulled it out, my pulse spiking when I saw the name flashing on the screen. Unknown Caller.
I hesitated, then answered. “Who is this?”
A deep chuckle slithered through the line, one I hadn’t heard in what felt like a lifetime. A ghost from the past.
“Alyssa,” the voice crooned, smooth as silk, dark as sin. “Did you miss me?”
My breath caught. No. It wasn’t possible.
Xavier.
He was dead. He was supposed to be dead.
“What the fuck,” I whispered.
Ethan stiffened at my reaction, immediately on alert. “Who is it?”
I ignored him, my fingers tightening around the phone. “You’re dead,” I said, my voice cold and steady despite the storm raging inside me.
Another low chuckle. “You always underestimated me, Alyssa. But I was never gone. I’ve just been waiting for the right moment.”
Rage flooded my veins, hot and sharp. “Waiting for what?”
“For the mastermind to make his final move.”
The blood drained from my face. “You’re working with him.”
Xavier hummed in approval. “Very good, princess. You always were quick on the uptake.”
My free hand curled into a fist. “You were my enemy once. Now you’re working for the one trying to destroy everything?”
“Working with him,” Xavier corrected. “Not for him. There’s a difference. And soon, you’ll see why it was the best decision I ever made.”
I clenched my teeth, swallowing down the fury threatening to consume me. “If you think for a second that I’ll let you and your boss take control, you’re even more delusional than I remember.”
Xavier tsked. “Still so feisty. I always liked that about you.”
I forced my voice to stay level. “Tell me, Xavier, did you set the bomb?”
A pause. Then, “Now, now, let’s not spoil the surprise. But I will say this-your little empire? It’s crumbling. The people you trust? They won’t be there much longer. And me? I’m coming for what’s mine.”
“I will kill you,” I said, meaning every word.
Xavier let out a dark laugh. “We’ll see about that, cara mia.”
The line went dead.
I stood there, my heartbeat hammering in my chest, my breath coming too fast, too shallow.
Ethan stepped closer. “Alyssa. Who was that?”
I lifted my gaze to meet his. “Xavier.”
Shock flickered across Ethan’s face, followed by something darker, something lethal. “That’s impossible.”
“Apparently not.” My grip on the phone was so tight my knuckles turned white. “He’s alive. And he’s been working with the mastermind all along.”
Leon let out a low whistle. “Damn. That’s one hell of a plot twist.”
Ethan ignored him. “If Xavier’s back, it means we’re in more danger than we realized.”
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to think through the red haze of fury clouding my thoughts. “Then we take him out. Both of them. Before they have the chance to finish what they started.”
Ethan nodded, his jaw set. “Agreed. But we need to be smart. If Xavier’s been planning this for months-maybe even years-then he’s not coming at us without an advantage.”
Dominic, still cradling his injured arm, cursed under his breath. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
“We need a plan,” I said, forcing myself to focus. “Something that will put us one step ahead. No more reacting. We take control now.”
Ethan’s eyes darkened with determination. “Then let’s get to work.”
But even as I spoke the words, even as I pushed forward, there was one thought that wouldn’t leave me.
Xavier wasn’t just alive.
He was coming for me.
And I wasn’t sure I was ready.