Page 54 of The Sniper

Reyna never let her guard down. But right now? She was letting him in.

Slowly, deliberately, he released her wrist, letting his hand trail down to lace their fingers together. “You trust me?”

Her grip tightened. “With my life.”

Daniels held her gaze. “And your heart?”

She hesitated, the question hanging between them, raw and real. But then she did something that knocked the breath out of his lungs.

She leaned in, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to his lips.

It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t desperate.

It was intentional.

And it was everything.

When she pulled back, her voice was steady. “Yeah, Daniels. With my heart, too.”

Daniels closed his eyes for a beat, letting the words settle in his chest like a brand. When he opened them again, he was certain of one thing.

Artemis had no idea what she’d just done.

Because now? Now she wasn’t just after the traffickers and Cerberus. She was after the woman he knew was his. And Daniels never lost what was his.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

REYNA

The Cerberus war room was buzzing with an undercurrent of tension that crackled through the air like a live wire. The monitors lining the walls flickered with grainy surveillance footage, freeze-framing on a black SUV idling outside the Velvet Glove. Jonas Hartley—one of the last names on Artemis’s hit list—was caught in the moment before his disappearance, a gloved hand yanking him backward into the vehicle. No plates. No clear identifiers. Just another ghost vanishing into the city’s underbelly.

Reyna stood at the back of the room, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her ribs still aching from Artemis’s fists, her skin still stinging from where the ropes had bitten into her wrists. She should’ve been resting, recovering from the abduction, but that wasn’t how she operated. If anything, the fury boiling inside her made her more determined. Artemis had gotten away. Again. And now, another life was hanging in the balance.

Daniels was at the front, speaking in that low, commanding voice that sent shivers through her spine for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.

“She’s escalating,” he said, his eyes locked onto Fitz. “She took Hartley in broad daylight, at the site of the first murder. She’s not just eliminating names—she’s making a statement.”

Fitz exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know. And I don’t like it. She’s getting bolder, but she’s not getting sloppy. This was planned.” His gaze flicked toward Reyna, assessing. “How’s your head?”

Reyna lifted her chin. “Fine.”

Daniels turned then, his eyes pinning her in place. “You need more time to rest.”

A muscle in her jaw ticked. “I need to be out there.”

Daniels took a step closer, towering over her in that way he did when he was about to give her an order, she had no intention of following. “You were drugged, beaten, and tied to a chair less than twenty-four hours ago.”

“I’m aware.”

“And you think you’re fit for the field?”

Reyna lifted her gaze to his, daring him to challenge her. “IknowI am.”

Fitz cleared his throat. “You’re on recon, Reyna. You track the vehicle. No direct engagement.”

Reyna balled her fists, barely holding back her frustration. She wanted more. Wantedin. But Fitz wasn’t giving her room to argue.

Daniels nodded approvingly. “Smart move.”

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