Page 59 of The Sniper

Hartley groaned from his own chair across the room. “She’s not finished.”

Daniels turned to him. “Talk.”

Hartley looked like hell—his face bruised, his lip split—but his eyes were clear, sharp. “She told me,” he muttered. “She wasn’t done. That this was just the prelude.”

Daniels crossed his arms. “Prelude to what?”

Hartley swallowed. “To her final act. The one that’ll send a message to everyone who wronged her sister.”

Daniels’ gut tightened. “Who?”

Hartley hesitated.

Daniels moved fast, grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking him forward. “Who?”

Hartley’s breath hitched. “Someone tied to Cerberus.”

Silence.

Daniels’ pulse pounded in his ears.

“Shit,” Mitch muttered.

Reyna stiffened beside him. “She’s coming for Archer.”

Daniels turned to her sharply. “No. She’s coming for you.”

Reyna’s eyes flashed. “That’s bullshit.”

Daniels didn’t flinch. “You were there the night of the raid. You’re the one who pulled Titan’s records. You’re the one who’s been tracking her, outmaneuvering her, getting too damn close.”

Reyna shook her head, scoffing. “She wants the people responsible for her sister’s death. That’s not me.”

Daniels’ blood boiled. “You’re not seeing this clearly.”

She took a step forward, defiant. “And you are?”

“You think I don’t see what’s happening?” he asked. “You’re making decisions based on anger. You’re reckless, Reyna. She’s baiting you, and you’re walking right into it.”

Her hands curled into fists. “Don’t talk to me like I’m some goddamn rookie who doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“You’re acting like one.”

“Fuck you.”

Daniels let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head. “That all you got, sweetheart?”

Reyna’s glare could’ve melted steel. “I don’t need you protecting me. I don’t need you making decisions for me.”

“You sure about that?”

Fitz groaned from his chair. “Christ, you two need to screw it out already. Get the hell out.”

Daniels barely registered the others leaving as he grabbed Reyna’s arm and dragged her toward the back hall, leading straight to one of the bedrooms. She didn’t fight him, but she didn’t make it easy, either.

The moment they were inside, Daniels kicked the door shut.

Daniels had never been a man to let anger dictate his actions. He was control. Precision. A strategist who played the long game.

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