Page 77 of Declan

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” I mutter, standing slowly.

Her gaze flicks to the lifeless body, then up to me. A smirk curves her lips.

“The gun I gave you?” I ask, my voice dry.

She shrugs. She fucking shrugs. “I prefer the knife. It’s more… intimate.”

I shake my head, fighting the urge to laugh. This woman will be the death of me.

Flynn glances over his shoulder, gun still raised. The living room is quiet now, the smoke clearing.

“Only one left,” he grumbles.

I’ve had enough of this shit. Stepping into the living room, I call out, “Hey, fucker!”

The idiot peeks out from behind the couch. I don’t hesitate—one clean shot to the forehead.

“Impressive,” Viviana says, amusement dripping from her tone as she steps up beside Flynn.

I glance at her, covered in blood but unshaken. My chest tightens—not with fear, but with pride. My fucking firecracker saved my life.

“Shit, mate, I don’t want to get on her bad side,” Flynn mutters, grinning, eyes still on Viviana.

She’s a sight to see—hair piled in a messy bun, wearing nothing but my white shirt, the hem barely brushing her thighs. Most of it’s smeared with blood, the knife in her hand still dripping.

There’s a spark in her eyes and wild energy as she wipes the blade clean on Flynn’s sleeve.

He raises an eyebrow, his tone dry. “Can I get you a cloth or something?”

Viviana laughs, a soft, throaty sound that somehow cuts through the tension in the room.

The elevator dings again.We all snap to attention, guns raised, but it’s just three of the security team. They freeze in their tracks, eyes darting to the bodies scattered across the living room.

“Fuck,” one of them mutters, wide-eyed.

“There are two more inside,” I say, jerking toward the hallway.

They nod, but Mike, the head of the team, steps closer. His gaze shifts to Viviana, his face pale. “Is she okay?”

“It’s not her blood,” I reply flatly.

“What the hell happened? How’d they get in?” My voice is sharp as I turn to him, frustration boiling.

Mike rubs his beard, guilt written all over his face. “We were hacked. The video feed was on a loop, so everything looked normal. We couldn’t hear the elevator from the security room. We heard something, but someone blocked it. We had to take the fire stairs and unblock it on the 10th floor.”

I nod, biting back the anger threatening to spill over. This is why I prefer the mansion. This kind of shit wouldn’t happen there.

“Get this cleaned up,” I say, gesturing to the mess.

Mike nods, signalling the others to get to work. My floor’s soundproof, at least, so I don’t have to worry about anyone hearing the shots. One less thing to deal with tonight.

“Fuck, what the hell happened?” Connor says, walking in, chuckling. “We can’t leave you alone for a day.”

“Everyone okay?” Kian asks, his tone serious, scanning the room. His eyes land on me and Flynn in the kitchen.

“Yeah, Viviana’s in the shower,” I reply, glancing toward the hallway. The security team is still busy removing the corpses.

“She took two down and saved Dec’s life,” Flynn says, raising his glass with a smirk. Connor and Kian exchange a look, grinning. I shake my head—there’s no way they’ll let this go anytime soon.

---