Chapter 19
Kai
Today was the day. The day we took back everything.
Dannie had never been the kind of man who sat around waiting for things to happen. If an opportunity appeared, he seized it. If there was a fight to be won, he made the first move.
And today, we had been handed an opportunity too good to ignore. Everyone would be at the old temple. It was a day of worship. A sacred day. The rules were clear: no fighting, no bloodshed, no war.
No one would expect an attack there.
Which was exactly why we were going.
Our people had split into four teams, each taking up position around an old, nondescript building.
Its weathered walls were stained in uneven shades of white and grey, blending seamlessly with the surrounding buildings.
The windows were dark and dusty, the entrance barely noticeable beneath a faded sign.
Thousands of people passed it every day without giving it a second glance, never suspecting what lay behind its worn facade.
The air felt different that morning. Even before we moved into position. Traffic continued along the street. People walked past, completely unaware that armed men were waiting only metres away.
We knew what was coming. We knew there would be shouting, gunfire, blood and people who wouldn't walk out of this building alive.
I checked my weapon for the third time, then adjusted the earpiece tucked beneath my collar. My injured back protested with every movement, the fresh stitches pulling whenever I twisted too quickly, but I ignored it.
Everything felt ready. At least, as ready as any of us could be.
Be careful.
June's voice echoed in my mind.
But those words hadn't been meant for me.
They had been for Dannie. We'd all said goodbye to our families before leaving, like soldiers heading into a war with no guarantee of coming home.
We smiled. We promised we'd be careful. We told them we'd see them again soon.
But beneath every smile lingered the same unspoken question.
What if we don't?
Our mission was simple: take back the base. To do that, we'd have to fight our way through the opposition and reclaim control of the triad.
There would be injuries. There would be blood. There would almost certainly be death. None of us needed to say it aloud.
Earlier, when Lucy had stepped into my arms, I'd hugged her tightly. But my eyes had never left June.
She stood beside Dannie, trying to be brave, trying to hide the worry written across her face. Her fingers had curled tightly around the edge of her sleeve, a tiny movement I knew meant she was anxious. She kept glancing between us as though she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
“Go.”
Dannie's command crackled through my earpiece.
His team moved first, disappearing up the stairwell. There was no elevator in the five-storey building, so the stairs were the only way to reach the upper floors. I waited until the last man disappeared through the doorway before moving.
Then it was our turn.
Beng and Matteo remained on the ground floor, securing the entrance. Their job was to stop anyone from getting in—or out—and provide backup if any of the assault teams ran into trouble. I gave them one final glance before turning toward the stairs.
Then we moved.
We hadn't even reached the top when shouts echoed down the stairwell, followed by the unmistakable clang of metal striking metal.
A crash.
Furniture splintered against the floor.
I picked up my pace, taking the stairs two at a time.
Clare swore behind me, telling me to slow down, but I barely heard her.
My back screamed with every step, heat spreading beneath the bandages, but adrenaline drowned it out.
The final flight seemed impossibly long before we finally burst through the doorway.
I froze for half a second.
I’d known we were heading into a private temple. I’d expected something quiet. Modest, perhaps. I hadn’t expected this.
The hall was grand and magnificent, its ornate carvings and towering pillars rising around us. Whatever serenity had once lived inside these walls was gone.
Chaos had taken its place.
Men fought with fists, blades and whatever they could get their hands on.
Wooden stools and offering trays had been ripped from their places and hurled across the room.
Sacred ornaments lay broken among overturned prayer candles, while offerings had been trampled beneath boots.
Pieces of wood and shattered ceramic littered the floor, forcing me to step around them as I searched for an opening.
Someone crashed into one of the pillars.
Another man went down hard beside the altar.
The temple had become a battlefield, and no one seemed to care what they destroyed in the process.
Dannie roared, the sound seemed to shake the entire room.
He charged without hesitation, fear or mercy. His Chinese sword flashed through the air as though it weighed nothing. Every swing was precise. Every strike deliberate. He moved through the chaos with terrifying calm, turning effortlessly to avoid one attack before delivering another.
He slashed, punched and cut. Anyone reckless enough to stand in his path went down.
Seeing that side of Dannie ignited something deep inside me. Something I hadn't felt in years.
I wanted blood.
I wanted revenge.
I wanted the power that ran through my veins.
Adrenaline drowned out every rational thought as I charged into the chaos, reckless and without a plan, searching for the next enemy to bring down.
Someone swung at me from the side. I ducked, felt the weapon cut through the air above my head, then drove my shoulder into his chest. He staggered backward, and I followed, refusing to give him time to recover.
“Kai!” Clare's voice came from behind me.
She was yelling for me to slow down and stay with the team, sounding less like my lieutenant and more like my guardian now that Dave was gone.
I ignored her and kept moving.
My back throbbed in response, the wound flaring as though it remembered every drop I'd lost. It wanted repayment.
Then I saw her.
A young woman lifted a metal rod—or maybe it was a sword. I couldn't tell. Everything was happening too quickly. Men moved between us, bodies collided, weapons flashed beneath the temple lights.
Laura.
For a heartbeat, I almost didn't recognise her. She'd dyed her hair blonde and pulled it into a tight bun. The disguise didn't fool me.
Then our eyes met.
Time slowed.
There.
An opening.
Her guard dropped for the briefest second, and my gaze locked onto the exposed line of her throat. Wide. Unprotected. Waiting.
I could have ended it there.
Instead, I drove my boot into her stomach.
The impact sent her crashing backward, her body skidding across the temple floor before slamming into a fallen table. Wood cracked beneath her weight. She gasped, trying to push herself upright, but I gave her no chance to recover.
Because I wanted her alive.
I wanted answers. I needed to know why she'd betrayed Dannie, and I wasn't leaving this temple until she told me.
I sprinted toward her. Before she could scramble to her feet, I kicked her weapon—a samurai sword—sending it skidding across the temple floor. Then I grabbed a fistful of her hair and hauled her upright. She struggled, clawing at my wrist and trying to break free.
I'd never treated a woman like this before. Every instinct in me told me it was wrong. Yet another part of me felt something else.
Power.
“Tell your people to surrender,” I ordered, keeping a firm grip on her hair as I hauled her fully to her feet.
She glared at me, breathing hard. “No.” She spat the word at me. “Never.”
Before I could think better of it, I struck her across the face with my free hand. She slowly turned her head back, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and smiled. It wasn’t fear I saw in her eyes. It was defiance.
“Tie her up,” I barked at Clare. She’d been covering my back the entire time. Without a word, she stepped forward, seized Laura’s wrists, and secured them behind her.
The moment Laura was captured, the momentum of the fight shifted.
Her people hesitated, weapons lowering by a fraction as they looked toward their leader, waiting for instructions that never came.
Within seconds, Dannie was at my side. His sword was stained from the battle, but his expression remained calm, cold, and completely in control. His eyes settled on Laura.
“So,” he said quietly. “Let’s talk.”
Laura looked around the ruined temple, her gaze catching on the broken statues and scattered offerings.
“Today…” she paused. “You know what today is?”
“Of course I know.” His eyes flicked toward the altar. “The anniversary of the club’s founding.”
She gave a humourless laugh. “Then why are you bringing a war into the temple?”
“Because all of you will be here.”
“You don’t believe in bad luck?” Laura’s gaze pierced through Dannie’s.
Dannie glanced around at the destruction. “I didn’t build my territory on superstition.”
“This is wrong.” Laura spat the words. “There are rules here.”
“Who do you think started those rules?” Dannie pointed at himself. “Me.”
“Whatever.” Laura lifted her chin. “You’re no longer part of the triad.”
“Says who?”
“We voted you out.” Her gaze dropped as guilt flickered across her face. “We had no choice. You forgot our roots. You forgot what we stand for.”
Dannie let out a humourless laugh. His voice was calm, but it carried across the silent temple. “You mean the casinos, the drugs, and the human trafficking?”
She looked up finally. “That’s how we made our money.”
“That’s the old way.” Dannie’s gaze never left hers. “The world has changed. If the club was going to survive, we had to go legitimate. I thought you understood that.”
“You sound like Grandma.” Laura's voice hardened.
“Don’t say her name.” For the first time, anger slipped into Dannie’s voice. “You don’t deserve to call her Grandma.”
Laura laughed bitterly. “I loved her. She never loved me back.”
My patience snapped. “Is that why you kill her?”