Selina could feel Alpha’s stare cutting through her like a knife.

She didn’t want to look at him; giving him any satisfaction wasn’t an option, but she was aware.

She always knew when someone had it out for her.

Great, she thought coldly. Hate me. Underestimate me. It’ll make it way easier to take you out.

Maksim’s hand was warm on her thigh, his thumb drawing circles that were both annoying and distracting, but she forced herself to lean into it.

She needed to keep up the act.

Because that’s all this was: a show.

She wasn’t Maksim’s lover. She wasn’t Alpha’s enemy.

She was a survivor.

When it was all said and done, after Alpha and Maksim took each other out in their battle for HK’s throne, she would be the last one standing.

With Leo, she thought, allowing herself a brief moment of real feeling.

Sweet, frustrating Leo with his awful jokes and unexpected kindness. He was the one person who had looked at her and seen more than just a weapon or a hooker.

She had done some awful stuff. Unforgivable stuff.

But maybe, just maybe, if she helped bring down Alpha and Maksim, if she gave HK enough intel to end this whole war, Leo would forgive her.

Maybe she could start fresh.

When you’re both gone, she thought, looking between Alpha and Maksim, I’ll marry him. I’ll leave this life behind. No more blood. No more lies.

It was a fantasy, she knew.

But it was her fantasy.

And she’d take out anyone who tried to mess with it.

Maksim’s voice pulled her back to reality. "You’re pretty quiet tonight, little snake. What’s going on in that head of yours?"

Selina smiled, running her fingers along his collar. "Just thinking about what’s ahead."

"What’s ahead?" Maksim’s eyes lit up. "Share with us."

"I’m thinking," she replied slowly, glancing at Alpha for just a moment, "about what it’ll be like when this war is over. When HK is gone, and his empire is in ruins."

Alpha finally spoke up, his voice rough like gravel. "You really think we’ll win, huh? That’s pretty bold."

Selina turned to him, her smile sharp. "And it’s pretty bold of you to think you’ll lose."

The tension in the room got thicker.

Maksim laughed darkly, clearly amused. "She’s got a point. We totally underestimated HK last time. We won’t do that again."

"Right," Alpha said coldly. "Next time, we burn his tower down with him inside it."

"And what about William?" Maksim asked.

"We don’t need William anymore," Alpha said, brushing it off. "HK’s shown he’s too well-protected. We’ll find another way to get what we want."

Maksim’s hand tightened on Selina’s hip. "Or we could grab HK alive and make him spill everything before we take him out."

Alpha’s grin was cruel. "I like your way of thinking."

Selina kept a straight face, but inside, her mind was racing.

They have no clue, she thought. No idea that every word they’re saying is being recorded. HK is hearing this right now.

The chip in Maksim’s phone is still running, still transmitting.

And the second bug she set up in Alpha’s desk drawer last time is picking up everything, too.

Every plan. Every threat. Every bit of info.

It’s all going straight to Hazard King.

You’re already done for, she thought, glancing between them. You just don’t see it yet.

Maksim, completely unaware of what Selina was thinking, was lost in his own calculations.

He stroked her thigh absentmindedly, working through strategy like it was a game of chess.

Take out HK. Grab his throne. That’s priority one.

Take out Alpha. That’s priority two.

He looked at Alpha, sizing up the other guy’s surgically altered face...with a cold stare.

They had teamed up out of necessity, two predators circling the same target. Maksim had never trusted him and didn’t particularly like him either.

Alpha was too unpredictable, too violent, and way too ready to destroy everything if it wasn’t his.

As soon as HK was out of the picture, Maksim thought, you become a liability.

And liabilities don’t stick around long in this world.

He’d already put some plans in motion, quiet plans that Alpha wouldn’t see coming.

A bullet to the head. Quick. Clean.

And then?

Selina.

Maksim looked down at the woman resting in his lap: gorgeous, dangerous, playing both sides.

He wasn’t fooled; he knew she was using him just as much as he was using her.

But there was something about her, a sharpness, a ruthlessness, that he recognized in himself.

Once Alpha’s gone, he thought, I’ll make her my queen.

Not because he loved her, but because she was useful. Dangerous. Keeping her close meant she couldn’t backstab him.

Plus, the sex was amazing.

His hand slid higher up her thigh, and he felt her breath catch, just a little.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, her voice a bit breathy.

"Power," Maksim replied honestly. "Thrones. Empires."

"And me?" She tilted her head, playing coy.

"You," he said, pulling her in closer, "would look great sitting next to me when I take over everything HK built."

Selina chuckled softly. "Promises, promises."

"I don’t make promises," Maksim said, his voice dropping to something tense. "I make guarantees."

Alpha watched the whole scene unfold, barely keeping his anger in check.

Enough, he thought angrily.

He stood up abruptly and knocked back his whiskey in a single gulp.

"I’m going to track down our source," he said. "Someone gave us messed-up intel. Someone’s playing both sides. And when I find that person—"

"What are you gonna do?" Maksim interrupted casually. "Kill them? Torture them? Make an example out of them?"

"All of that," Alpha shot back coldly.

"Sounds good." Maksim stood up, carefully setting Selina down from his lap with surprising gentleness. "I’ll help. Two heads are better than one, right?"

Alpha narrowed his eyes. "I don’t need help."

"You needed help tonight," Maksim pointed out. "And we still lost."

The two men stared each other down, the tension between them thick with unspoken rivalry.