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Mateo shoved the muzzle beneath his jaw and fired.

The top of the man’s head exploded, and his body folded in the doorway.

Behind me, Isabella stayed silent.

The camera operator stared at the bodies.

Marcela stood over Ciro with blood spattered across her white blouse and Mateo’s gun clenched in both hands. She stared down at his body, breathing hard. A short laugh escaped her before she caught it.

She was fucking exhilarated.

She turned toward the camera.

“Cut the feed.”

The operator didn’t move.

Marcela aimed the gun at him.

“Now.”

He lunged for the laptop and killed the stream. The image vanished, and the red light above the camera went dark.

Nik and Lucian were gone.

The operator closed the laptop and started pulling cables from the transmitter.

The radio on Mateo’s belt crackled.

Then an older man’s voice came through, calm and clear.

“Ciro Delgado is dead. Marcela Reyes and Mateo Cruz killed him. Seal the gates. Secure the armory. Do not let them leave.”

Marcela spun toward the open door.

“Rafael.”

The corridor beyond the dead guard was empty.

She rushed to the doorway and looked both ways, but the older man I’d noticed in the corridor was gone.

A second voice broke over the radio, demanding confirmation.

Then another.

Men began talking over one another in rapid Spanish.

One ordered the southern gate sealed.

Another shouted that no one was to obey until Ciro’s death was confirmed.

A third voice reported armed men moving toward the armory.

The compound hadn’t exploded yet.

It was deciding which fuse to light first.

Marcela snatched the radio from Mateo’s belt.