She stepped into the room and settled into the chair next to the bed as if she had done this many times before.

Feeling satisfied, Zayden turned to find Aylin waiting in the hallway.

"Let’s head to the operations room," he said.

She walked beside him.

The operations room was a stark contrast to the fancy mansion, filled with sleek screens, tactical maps, and encrypted communication gear.

Leo was already there, fingers flying over the keyboard. Reyes stood by the window, arms crossed, while Jax and Jane flanked the doorway.

Zayden walked to the center of the room. "Give me an update."

Leo didn’t look up from his screen. "Liam’s real identity is buried deep. He has multiple aliases, ghost protocols, and encrypted files. This guy knows what he’s doing."

"Keep digging," Zayden ordered.

His phone buzzed, and he quickly glanced at the screen, his mood shifting at the sight of the caller.

"Selina," he muttered.

He switched the call to speaker.

"Hope I’m not bothering you," Selina’s smooth voice came through the phone.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I thought you’d want to know, Alpha and Maksim are cooking up something special for tonight. They’re planning to drop by your nice mansion."

Aylin’s head shot up. "What?"

"They’re coming for William," Selina continued. "Probably around midnight. Just thought I’d give you a heads-up from your favorite double agent."

Zayden’s jaw tightened. "How many?"

"Enough to make it interesting. I’d guess around twenty, maybe thirty operatives. They’re bringing some serious firepower."

"Got it."

"Oh, and Zayden?" Selina’s tone became serious. "Watch your back. Alpha’s getting desperate. Desperate men do reckless things."

The call ended.

Zayden looked around the room. "You heard her. We’ve got until midnight."

He turned to Leo and Aylin. "You two, find out everything about Liam. I want to know who he is, who he works for, and what he wants from us. You’ll work in the hidden room. No interruptions."

Leo nodded, but Aylin looked unsure yet stayed quiet.

Zayden then faced Jax and Jane. "You two stick with Aylin. Don’t let her out of your sight."

"Copy that," Jax said.

Then Zayden turned to Reyes. "Get your guys ready. You’re on backup, but not with me. If I give the signal, you move. Clear?"

Reyes’ face showed little emotion. "Are you sure you don’t want me with you?"

"I need you as a backup plan. If things go wrong, you’re my best shot."

Reyes nodded slowly. "Got it."

Zayden turned to Kade, who had just walked in. "Get all the guards ready. We’ll act like we don’t know about the attack, business as usual. Keep William secure; don’t let anyone touch him. Got it?"

"Yep, boss," Kade replied firmly.

As everyone scrambled to follow orders, Aylin grabbed Zayden’s arm.

"Hold on. Did you say there’s a hidden room?"

Zayden smirked slightly. "Yeah, it’s below my office. It’s kind of like a basement but safer. There’s another door down there that leads to the kitchen, hidden in one of the cabinets. But don’t even think about using it; only Mr. Moore knows about that entrance."

Aylin blinked in surprise. "How many secret rooms do you have around here?"

"More than enough," Zayden said, his smile becoming genuine. "Leo will show you down there. You’ll be safe."

She nodded, but a wrinkle of worry creased her forehead. "And what about you?"

He gently cupped her face with his hand. "I’ll be fine. I always am."

"That doesn’t help."

"It’s the best I can do." He kissed her forehead. "Now go. We’ve got things to take care of."

****

Miles away, in a warehouse that smelled of oil and old blood, Alpha Dark stood over a large tactical map spread out on a metal table.

Maksim Karza leaned against the wall, playing with a knife, while Selina sat on the edge of the table, appearing calm and collected.

Around them, thirty heavily armed mercenaries were checking their gear and weapons.

"The east wing of Hazard King’s tower is the weakest spot," Alpha said, pointing at the map with a gloved finger. "Two guards switch every hour. We’ll hit them at 11:58, right before the shift change."

Maksim chuckled lightly. "You really think HK’s security is that careless?"

"I think he’s too full of himself," Alpha replied sharply. "Hazard King believes his tower is unbreakable. That overconfidence will be his downfall."

Selina examined her nails. "And what about William? Where is he locked up?"

"Third floor, west wing of the tower," Alpha answered. "Heavily guarded, but it’s doable."

"Doable," Maksim said with a dark chuckle. "I like your positivity."

Alpha narrowed his eyes. "This isn’t just about being positive; it’s strategy. We go in, grab William, and bail out before Hazard King even realizes what’s happening."

"And if he fights back?" Selina asked casually.

"Then we take him out."

The room fell silent.

Maksim pushed off the wall, grinning wider. "Now that’s more like it. But what about Lunel? She’s not exactly a pushover. Last I heard, she was with HK in the tower." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Aylin Lunel," Alpha spat out her name like it was poison. "She’ll be collateral damage if she gets in our way."

Selina’s expression remained unchanged, but something flickered in her eyes, almost like a warning. "You’d be making a mistake if you underestimate her. She took out fifteen of Scorpion’s guys in Prague without breaking a sweat."

"I’m not underestimating anyone," Alpha shot back. "But getting sentimental makes people weak. If she’s there, she goes down with the rest."

Maksim twirled his knife around. "What about Hazard King himself? The guy is a ghost. Nobody even knows what he looks like under that stupid mask. How do we know he won’t just vanish?"

"He won’t," Alpha said with icy certainty. "Not with William there. He’s too invested in keeping my brother locked up. That’s his weak point, he thinks he’s protecting something valuable."

Selina gracefully got off the table. "What about the mansion connected to the tower? Intelligence reports that there are hidden passages between the two places."

Alpha’s jaw tightened. "We’re not going near the mansion. Our goal is the tower, specifically the west wing, where William is held. Quick extraction, no mess."

"Nothing about this will be neat," Maksim mumbled, though a grin was on his face. "When do we move?"

"Midnight," Alpha replied.