Page 7 of The Sniper

“Or draw you out,” Daniels countered. His arms crossed over his chest, his sharp gaze locked onto her. “Either way, this isn’t random. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.”

Reyna snorted and began pacing, the steady click of her boots against the pavement filling the silence. “Veda wasn’t one of us. She wasn’t even a regular at Southside. Why would someone target her to get to us?”

Daniels watched her, his expression unreadable. “Maybe she knew something she wasn’t supposed to. Or maybe she wasleverage. Either way, we need to figure it out before this gets any worse.”

Reyna stopped abruptly, turning to face him. Her jaw tightened, suspicion narrowing her gaze. “You think Lang could be behind this?”

Daniels considered it, his features hardening. Lang had been a ghost in the underworld for years—an elusive predator orchestrating human trafficking rings with brutal efficiency. Cerberus had finally taken him down, but men like him had long shadows. “It’s possible,” he admitted. “But this feels… personal. Lang’s people wouldn’t leave a trail this obvious.”

Reyna shifted, tension coiling inside her. Lang’s downfall had been a victory, but it had also left dangerous pieces scattered across the board. Someone was still playing the game.

“So what’s the plan?” she asked, her voice clipped, determined.

Daniels stepped closer, the air between them shifting. His voice dropped, calm but commanding. “We start with Veda’s connections. Someone knew she had guest privileges at Southside. That’s not public knowledge. We dig into her life, her play partners, anyone she might have crossed paths with.”

Reyna nodded, her mind already calculating their next steps. “I’ll call the team. We’ll run background checks and surveillance on everyone in her orbit. Someone had a reason to go after her.”

Daniels hesitated for half a beat, then spoke, his voice lower this time. “And Reyna…”

She turned back to him, her eyebrow lifting slightly at the shift in his tone.

“Be careful,” he said, something unspoken threading through the words. “Whoever did this isn’t afraid to get tough

. I don’t want you walking into something we can’t get you out of.”

A slow smile ghosted across her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You worried about me, Daniels?”

His answer was immediate, no hesitation. “Always.”

The quiet confession hung between them, thickening the air. His gaze held hers, steady and unwavering. For a moment, it wasn’t just about the job, the case, or the body count. It was something else—something neither of them had the luxury of acknowledging right now.

Reyna breathed, breaking the moment before it could take root. “Well, don’t be. I don’t know that the FBI needs to get involved in this. Cerberus can handle it.”

“Officially, you shouldn’t even be here,” he replied, his voice as sharp as hers.

Reyna felt the familiar fire rise that always accompanied Daniels trying to pull rank outside of the club. “And yet you called me in. I might point out that this isn’t an FBI matter. It’s a local homicide,” she snapped. “This is Chicago PD business, and I’m sure they’ll ask for our help if they want it.”

Daniels didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, his gaze stayed fixed on hers, calm but unwavering. “Jurisdiction doesn’t matter when someone’s writing messages in their own blood,” he said evenly. “You think the mayor or the Police Commissioner are going to ignore that? They asked for the Bureau’s help, and they’re going to get it.”

“It has nothing to do with you,” she snorted. “How do you know this isn’t some random murder, Daniels? I haven’t heard of anything operating in Chicago that might be of concern to the FBI. This is either a setup or a distraction.”

“From what?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. What I will say is that I don’t need the FBI breathing down my neck while I figure out which one.”

He stepped closer, his broad frame blocking her view of the bloodstained pavement. “You might not need me,” he said, hisvoice dropping to that quiet, commanding tone that always set her on edge. “But you’ve got me. Whether you like it or not. In case it has slipped your mind, Cerberus has no official standing.”

Her jaw clenched, the tension between them thick enough to strangle. “I am aware, but this involves us, and we won’t be excluded.”

“No one’s trying to exclude you. Someone left a body with a message tied directly to your team,” Daniels replied, his tone hardening. “But I’m not about to let you play Lone Ranger on something this big. You don’t have to want my help, Reyna, but you’re damn well going to take it.”

Reyna stared him down, her arms still crossed, her sharp gaze drilling into him. For a moment, she thought about telling him to fuck off. About walking away and letting him deal with the fallout on his own. But the truth was, she couldn’t. This wasn’t just about Cerberus. It wasn’t even about her. It was bigger than that, and Daniels knew it just as well as she did.

“This is personal,” she said finally, her voice quieter now. “For me. For my team. You don’t understand what that means.”

Daniels stepped even closer, his voice lowering. “You think it’s not personal for me? I’ve seen what happens when people like this don’t get stopped in time. I’ve lived with the aftermath. So don’t stand there and act like you’ve got a monopoly on caring about this, because you don’t.”

His words hit harder than she expected, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to respond. Her fists clenched at her sides, her mind racing for a retort, but nothing came. Instead, she turned her attention back to the bloodstained pavement, the scrawled letters staring back at her like a challenge.

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