Page 113 of Inked Athena

I scan the incoming reports with numb fingers. Each one is worse than the last. Our Dubai shipping operation—decimated. The Chicago data center—breached. Three warehouses in Moscow’s industrial district—burning.

Sixteen dead. Twenty-eight wounded. Millions in assets, gone.

The timestamps tell the story. Every attack executed within the same five-minute window. This wasn’t just Katerina beingclever with a hotel trap. This was a masterpiece of timing and coordination, planned down to the second.

And I fucking missed it.

I’ve been too distracted building my fairy tale here in Scotland. Playing lord of the manor while Katerina and Ilya meticulously tied a noose around my throat. They used my own tactics against me—patience, precision, the long game.

All those surveillance photos of Katerina in Geneva? Bait. The IP address she “accidentally” revealed? Bullshit. She wanted me focused there while they positioned their pieces everywhere else.

My phone buzzes again. Myles.

“Three more locations hit in St. Petersburg,” he says without preamble. “They’re going after everything, Sam. Even the legitimate businesses. They just blew up a fucking laundromat in Queens, for God’s sake.”

Through the window, I catch a glimpse of Nova still laughing with Hope in the library.

I’ve tried to keep her separate from this darkness. To give her the peaceful life she deserves.

But now, my enemies have declared total war. And I’ll have to become the monster she fears to keep her safe.

Myles bursts into the room, panting. “Sam?—”

“Get Artem’s team in Chicago to summon all hands on deck,” I tell him, my voice dropping to the arctic register I haven’t used since coming to Scotland. “And call in every favor we’re owed from every fucking family in Chicago. We’re going to war.”

“Sam, I?—”

“War means follow fucking orders, Myles. The only thing I want to hear from you isyes, pakhan.”

He sighs. I see all the questions in his eyes, the dying hope, the withering belief that maybe the man I used to be was actually gone for good. Fuck, I’d almost believed it, too.

Katerina and Ilya have proved us both wrong.

“Pull in every soldier we have between here and Moscow. I want a strike team ready in four hours.”

“Sam,” Myles says one last time, “you’re talking about a lot of people losing their lives. You’re talking about Armageddon.”

“They already started it.” I check my weapons, the familiar weight of my Glock settling against my ribs like an old friend. “I’m going to finish it.”

Through the study door, I hear Nova’s laughter fade. Soon, she’ll realize her fairytale is over. That her prince is actually the dragon.

“What about Nova?” Myles asks quietly. “She’s going to?—”

“She knew what I was when she agreed to marry me.” The words come out sharp as broken glass. “This is who I am. Who I’ve always been. I just forgot for a while.”

I move toward the door, already plotting trajectories and kill zones. The monster my father created is wide awake now, and he’s thirsty for blood.

“Sound general quarters,” I order. “We’re going hunting.”

I stride down the hallway, my footsteps echoing off stone walls that have witnessed centuries of violence. Fitting, since I’m about to add a new, bloody chapter to the history books.

The library’s oak door swings open before I reach it. Nova stands in the opening, her gold-flecked eyes wide with concern. “Sam, I—” She sees my face and frowns. “Sam…? What’s happening?”

Her voice—so soft, so fucking tender—makes my hands curl into fists. I shoulder past her to the walk-in closet, yanking tactical gear from hangers.

“Go back to your books,” I snarl. “This doesn’t concern you.”

She flinches but plants herself in place. Always so brave, my little queen. So determined to save everyone, even the monsters who don’t deserve it.

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