The SUV tore through the snow-choked forest, its powerful engine a low growl. Inside, the ride was smooth, but nothing could stop the violent tremors racking Etta's body.
She was trapped in a fever dream, a nightmare reel of Jeffrey's face, his boot connecting with her hand, his voice pronouncing her a "calculated loss." The betrayal was a fresh wound, deeper and more painful than the gash in her side.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared through the vehicle's interior.
"High-speed hostiles approaching!" Mya yelled from the front. "Multiple contacts, closing fast!"
On the tactical display, red dots swarmed their position. They weren't wolves. They were something worse. Biomechanical hounds, a favorite terror weapon of a rival private military contractor.
Etta only felt the SUV swerve hard, her limp body sliding against the restraints. A faint, distant part of her registered the increased shouting, the engine's sudden snarl, but it was like listening from the bottom of a frozen lake.
The heart monitor connected to her wrist began to beep a frantic, high-pitched alarm. Her heart rate was plummeting.
Kraig, sitting opposite her, saw the change. He saw the surrender in the slight slackening of her jaw, the flicker of resignation in her half-open eyes. A storm of pure, undiluted rage gathered in his gaze.
He didn't shout. He didn't curse. He simply moved.
The SUV door flew open, and he was outside again, stepping into the teeth of the gale as if it were a minor inconvenience.
The hounds burst from the trees, sleek, metallic bodies moving with unnatural speed. Their alloy jaws snapped, and their optical sensors glowed a malevolent red. They charged his vehicle.
Kraig reached into his coat, but he didn't draw a pistol. He produced a compact launcher, loaded with a single, specialized grenade. A thermobaric charge.
Without a moment's hesitation, he raised the weapon and fired.
A ball of incandescent fire erupted in the snow, a miniature sun that vaporized everything in its blast radius. The biomechanical hounds were instantly reduced to molten slag, their charge ending in a silent, searing flash.
Kraig walked back from the wall of flame and smoke, the scent of ozone and burnt metal clinging to him. He settled back into his seat as if he had just stepped out for a breath of fresh air.
Outside, Dex and Mya were already setting up a defensive perimeter, their movements sharp and efficient.
Kraig's attention was solely on Etta.
Mya leaned into the back, a medical scanner in her hand. "Boss, her blood loss is at critical. And the scanner confirms it-trace amounts of the R-type neurotoxin are in her system. It's spreading. We could all be exposed."
Kraig snatched the scanner from her hand and, with a flick of his wrist, smashed it against the armored window. It shattered into a dozen pieces.
"Get out," he said, his voice dangerously quiet.
Mya flinched and retreated without another word.
He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the seat on either side of Etta's head, caging her in. His body formed a protective shield over hers. Dex, catching the movement in the rearview mirror, felt a genuine knot of fear in his stomach. He had never, ever seen the boss lose control like this. Not for anyone.
Kraig reached out and cupped Etta's jaw, his thumb forcing her lips slightly apart, ensuring she kept breathing. His lips moved, barely audible, forming words that were not spoken but shaped against her skin-a silent, furious command meant for her alone.
He lowered his head, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. His whisper was a hot, possessive caress against her cold skin. "You are not allowed to die. Do you understand me? I forbid it."
His voice dropped even lower, each word carrying a terrifying weight of obsession. "If you go to hell, you're going as my property."
His fingers traced the line of her jaw, down to the delicate, fragile pulse beating weakly in her throat. He could feel her life, faint and fluttering, beneath his fingertips. A greedy, predatory darkness filled his eyes.
He turned his head slightly. "Mya. Activate the surgical suite."
Mya's voice, hesitant, came through the internal comm. "Boss, are you sure?"
"Now."
She pressed a button on the dash. A section of the rear seating whirred and folded away, replaced by a sterile, stainless-steel platform that rose from the floor. A compact, state-of-the-art surgical bay.
Kraig gently lifted Etta and placed her on the cold metal. He began to unfasten her blood-soaked tactical vest, his movements precise. As he peeled away the layers of clothing, revealing the bruised and wounded skin beneath, a complex storm of emotions washed over him-a fierce, painful ache in his chest, mixed with a dark, thrilling desire to destroy whoever had done this to her.
