Page 54

“I ended you,” Elena said.

His hand went for the desk drawer. Elena was faster.

She ran.

Chapter Thirteen

Elena made it three steps before Toro caught her.

His hand fisted in her hair, yanking her backward hard enough that her vision sparked. Pain exploded across her scalp, bright and immediate. She went with the momentum instead of fighting it, tucking and rolling, using his grip against him.

They went down in a tangle of limbs. His weight crushed the air from her lungs, and for one terrible second she was back there, helpless under hands that hurt and took and destroyed.

No.

She drove her elbow into his ribs with everything she had. Felt something give. Toro grunted, his grip loosening just enough for her to twist free. She scrambled backward, reaching for the boot knife, but he was already moving.

His fist caught her jaw, snapping her head sideways. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. She rolled with the hit, kept moving, got her feet under her.

“You stupid—” Toro’s face was twisted with rage, all the sophisticated pretense stripped away. This was the real man. The animal underneath. “You think you can betray me in my own house?”

He came at her again, and Elena dropped low, swept his legs. He crashed into the desk, sending the computer monitor to the floor with a crash of breaking glass.

“Elena, what’s happening?” Cal’s voice in her ear, sharp with concern. “Your vitals just spiked. Are you⁠—”

She couldn’t answer. Couldn’t do anything but survive.

Toro grabbed a letter opener from the desk—six inches of polished steel with a wicked point. The overhead lights caught the edge as he lunged, and Elena barely twisted aside in time. The blade scored across her ribs, a line of fire that made her gasp.

Not deep. Not disabling. But it hurt.

In the corridor outside, guards were shouting. Trying doors. The virus had crashed the electronic locks—some had failed open, some had failed closed. Chaos was spreading through the temple like wildfire.

“Phantom, Elena’s in trouble,” Cal’s voice cut across the comms. “I’m hearing a fight. Elevated heart rate, rapid breathing. She’s engaged.”

22:09 Hours—South Perimeter

The words hit Brock like a bullet.

“Reaper, I’m going in.” He was already moving, bursting from cover, sprinting toward the temple entrance.

“Negative, Phantom. Hold your position. We don’t know⁠—”

“She’s fighting Toro alone.” Brock’s voice was ice and fury. “I’m not leaving her in there.”

“Then I’m with you.” Atticus appeared at his side, weapon ready. “Ghost, Merlin—converge on the main entrance. Viper, keep your position and cover our approach. We’re extracting Elena. Now.”

The guards at the main entrance were confused, distracted by the system failures. They never saw Brock and Atticus coming.

Two suppressed shots. Both guards dropped.

They breached the entrance, moving fast and silent through corridors Elena had mapped from memory. Level two. Northeast wing. Every second was an eternity.

Brock’s mind showed him possibilities he couldn’t afford to consider—Elena hurt, bleeding, Toro standing over her the way he’d stood over her before.

No. She was strong. She was capable. She’d survived once and she’d survive again.

He just had to get there.