Page 42 of Shadow's Edge

Kyle grinned, then she cut in front of them, nearly clipping one’s bumper.

“Oopsy,” shesang, lifting a delicate hand in mock apology.

The next five minutes werefucking insane. She wove through traffic like she was born for it, cutting sharp, squeezing between cars, playing chicken with every lane. The guys following us weren’t as lucky. The pissed-off drivers she’d just dodged slowed down,boxing them in.

As soon as I saw them fighting to swerve around, Kyle tooka sharp right, killing the lights as we disappeared down a side road. Pitch black, no headlights, just instinct.

I watched what was going on behind us in the rearview mirror, heart hammering. But there was nothing.

Five minutes later, the tension wascrushing me. “Pull over,” I ground out.

Kyle’s hands stayed steady on the wheel. “We’ll be back at the Compound in thirty minutes.”

No, not this time.

“Pull. Over.”

She continued to ignore me, and my pulsespiked, fury curling in my gut, the adrenaline andthe absolute fucking terrorI hadn’t let myself feel until nowhitting all at once. I opened my mouth to demand it again, just as the Bluetooth rang.

Duke’s name flashed across the dash, and I swear I saw red.

“Motherfucker!” I roared, slamming my fist into the dashboard.

“Jagger.” Duke’s voice came over the speakers, sharp,commanding, no room for argument. “Keep your fucking shit together. You need to get back here ASAP.” That was when I knew for sure, we were fucked. “Kyle, we’re rerouting the traffic cameras. Put your foot down and come straight here.” Then, inpure Duke fashion, he hung up.

Kyle frowned, her lips pressing together as she followed Duke’s orders, driving well above the speed limit with the headlights still off. The engine hummed beneath us, the dark road ahead nothing but a blur as we raced toward the Compound. The tension inside the car was thick, suffocating, and I could feel my own pulse thrumming hard in my ears.

Fifteen minutes, that was all it took to make it back—half the time it should have. The whole time Kyle didn’t speak one word. Then again, neither did I.

By the time she pulled through the Compound gates, the walls looming around us like a fortress, my hands were shaking. Not from fear. Not from adrenaline. From the rage still boiling under my skin, and from the worry twisting my insides into knots. Mainly, it was from the fact that we were supposed to be safe, and yet, someone had known.

As we stepped out of the vehicle, I caught movement ahead—every single Ghost and Knight was outside the main building had their weapons drawn.

Fuck.

“Get in!” Duke’s voice bellowed across the open space.

Kyle didn’t hesitate. She moved fast, too fast for someone in heels, her posture controlled, but I knew her well enough to see the tension threading through her body. I stayed close behind her, glancing over my shoulder every few steps. We may have been inside the walls, but I didn’t trust a damn thing.

I hadn’t forgotten the feeling I’d gotten when we went to retrieve Perry. Someone had tipped off the enemyback then, and it sure as hell looked like someone had tipped them off againtonight.

No one stood out so far because they hadn’t slipped up enough for us to focus on them.Yet.

Then there was Jared, that asshole. He was still here in the Compound. Still setting off every goddamn alarm in my head. I couldn’t say that he was the one leaking our information or if hewas just acting off, but there was something about him I didn’t trust.

I clenched my jaw and kept moving. Inside Church, the doors shut behind us with a finality that made my skin itch.

It was just me, Kyle, Preacher, Duke, and Data. What the fuck was going on?

I couldfeelJagger’s anger. It had been simmering all night, creeping up my spine, and growing hotter with every second we spent in that room. That wasone of the reasons I hadn’t wanted him there in the first place. Jagger didn’t understand the way these people operated—the way theywatched, but I did.

I knew their power plays, the way they pushed and tested boundaries, the silent threats disguised as casual conversation. But what I hadn’t accounted for was Cristóbal Santino being there. He was supposed to be in El Salvador, tied up with amassivedrug shipment. Not at that party.Not staring me down like a predator who just spotted his prey.

The moment he figured out who I was, I’d felt it. Roughly twenty minutes after we first met, I’d caught him looking at me—his posture still, his expression unchanged—but I’d still seen it. The exact second it clicked. His gaze had darkened, and his lips twitched in realization.

ButI never reacted, not once. I’d just smiled at him like I hadn’t noticed a damn thing.

And now, sitting in this room, I was trying to figure out what thefuckto do next.

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