Page 144 of Fallen Empire
We still hadn’t heard from Layla. Not a single lead. Not a single camera hit. She’d vanished like she’d never existed to begin with.
And if Savannah had really gone after him, then Koslov could have all three of them. Layla. Millie. Savannah.
Three women. Three lives in his hands. And if he decided they were worth more dead than alive, the city wouldn’t even have time to bury the bodies before he was gone.
I didn’t need to know Koslov personally to understand what that meant. Nic’s story about him torturing his own brother had been enough to tell me exactly what kind of man he was. The kind who didn’t need leverage to hurt someone, he just needed an opportunity.
The idea of him holding all three at once made my chest tighten until breathing felt like a chore. There was no scenario where all of them walked out alive. Hell, there was no guaranteeanyof them would. And if we were wrong—if Savannah’s gamble didn’t pay off—it wouldn’t just be her blood on my hands.
It would be all of theirs.
Reaper’s voice cut through the tension like a hot blade. “She wants us to find her. She’s not stupid. The only question is—has she bought enough time for us to get there?”
That snapped me into motion. “Nic, pull every camera around 45 Park Place. Street, rooftops, anything.”
“I’ll have eyes in under a minute,” she said, already working. “But inside that building? Total dead zone.”
“Then we hit it from the outside,” I said, reaching for my jacket.
Ben buckled his sidearm with a sharp snap. “We’re wasting seconds.”
“Not if we don’t walk in blind,” I shot back. “Go in without knowing who’s inside, we hand him four more hostages.”
He gave me a look that was pure, dangerous agreement.
Reaper crossed his arms. “You’re thinking we cut him off before she steps inside?”
“I’m thinking we make damn sure Koslov never knows she made it this far,” I said, jaw locking.
“Got her,” Nic said suddenly.
Every head snapped toward the monitors.
And there she was. Savannah. Standing at the entrance of 45 Park Place, one hand on the door handle, her body angled just enough to glance over her shoulder like she was checking for a tail.
Time stopped. The noise in the room went quiet. My vision tunneled, every other sound bleeding away until it was just her and the echo of my own pulse in my ears.
She was about to do it again. Sacrifice herself for someone else. First it was me. Now Millie. Didn’t she care about her own life? Didn’t she care what living in a world without her would do to me now that I’ve had her in my arms, now that I’ve breathed her in and tasted what it’s like to finally feel alive again?
The fear in my gut burned into something sharper, hotter. Rage. Not at her, but at the world that had her believing she was disposable. At Koslov for making her somehow believe this was the only way.
She moved. Her fingers pressed against the door handle, then she pulled…
And my heart sank into my stomach. Fear wasn’t something I was used to, but it had become common with her in my life. The fear of someone hurting her. Me losing her. The kind of fear that crawled under your skin and stayed there, whispering you’d never get her back.
“Jax, if she goes in, we lose her completely.” I heard every word Nic said, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the monitor. Everything slowed as I watched the woman I love hesitate before stepping into her own execution.
My chest tightened with the same cold dread I’d felt hours ago, sitting in this very room, watching the replay of Layla. She’d walked into a building and never stepped back out. No sound. No movement. Just the door closing, sealing her fate. And now, I was watching Savannah make the same move.
“We have to fucking move.Now.” Ben’s voice sliced through me, each word dripping with venom.
Reaper’s eyes locked on mine. “Jax, we’re going to need more than just a few handguns.”
I didn’t argue. “Safe room. Everything we need is in there.”
That was all it took. Ben was already moving, tension rolling off him in waves, and Reaper was right behind him. No one had to say it. We didn’t know how many men Koslov had inside, but it wouldn’t matter if we hesitated.
Nic kept her eyes glued to the monitors. “I’ll watch for anything moving on the inside.”
