Noah
Adonis’s office had that unnaturally pristine quality that raised my eyebrows in suspicion.
There was no clutter, no stray files—a sleek desk, two monitors, and a bottle of fine scotch that had clearly been gathering dust for months.
Liam was already there, lounging on the edge of the desk like a cat that had lost its interest in play, casually tossing a throwing knife between his fingers.
Adonis stood there, arms crossed, staring at the screen as if it had just insulted his mother.
“Can you tell me why I’m here?” I asked, gently closing the door behind me.
Adonis didn’t even glance my way.
“Something landed on my desk this morning,” he replied, his eyes still glued to the file. “Black-flagged, off-books, eyes-only until we get the green light. At first, I thought it was a joke.”
Liam scoffed, “Yeah, real knee-slapper.”
Adonis turned the monitor toward me, revealing an encrypted mission profile that had been decrypted, the words glowing ominously on the screen. That’s when I saw the name: Delacroix, Nathaniel. A chill ran through me.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I muttered, disbelief coating my words.
“Wish I was,” Adonis replied, his tone heavy. “But apparently, Daddy Dearest is alive and well, dishing out operations like he never vanished off the grid five years ago, after… well, you know, dying.”
“He’s alive,” I whispered, the realization settling in like a weight.
Liam nodded slowly.
“And here’s the kicker—he requested you.”
I stepped closer, scanning the document. My name was right there, tagged as primary tactical support… and just beneath it: Operative: Elizabeth Delacroix.
“He wants me to back her up on her mission?” I asked, incredulous.
“Not just back her up,” Adonis clarified. “He wants you at her six. Every step of the way. No distance, no deviation.”
“Like hell,” I growled. “I’m not letting her walk into this.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Liam interjected. “The mission’s already greenlit. Her father provided enough intel to set off alarms across six continents.”
“What’s the operation?” I asked, my jaw tightening.
Adonis moved to the center of the room and pulled up the second screen. Satellite images, redacted names, biohazard markers filled the display.
“There’s a new player in bioweapons manufacturing. Codename: Spectre. No known face, no location until recently. They’ve developed a gene-coded viral agent—weaponized to target bloodlines. Selective genetic warfare.”
Liam’s voice turned serious.
“This isn’t your average black-market hustle. We’re facing ethnic cleansing in a vial.”
Adonis tapped the screen.
“The virus was tested in a ghost town off the grid two months ago. Wiped out the population in twelve hours. Quiet. Controlled. No mess.” He paused, letting the weight of the information settle.
“We didn’t find out until Virelli surfaced with real intel—stuff we couldn’t get through any of our usual channels. ”
I clenched my fists.
“So Liz is supposed to walk into that? Alone?”
“She’s not alone,” Liam reminded me, nodding in my direction. “She has you.”
I shook my head firmly.
“Send me in. Just me. I’ll infiltrate, neutralize, and extract the data. Liz doesn’t need to be involved.”
Adonis gave me a look that said he’d already considered that option—and dismissed it.
“She’s the key, Noah. Her father’s files indicate the virus code is based on her own DNA signature. She was the control model. Spectre’s weapon is designed to recognize her genome.”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“They can’t trigger the virus without her.”
I staggered back, the implications hitting me like a punch to the gut.
“What the hell did they do to her?”
Adonis didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. Deep down, I already knew. She wasn’t just involved—she was the mission.
“You said yes to this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I didn’t say anything,” Adonis replied. “The order came from the top. We’re being looped in now because you are her handler. At least, that’s what you are now.”
I rubbed my hand over my face, feeling the weight of the situation.
“She doesn’t even know I know this.”
“She will,” Liam said, his tone more serious than I’d ever heard it. “Soon.”
Adonis stepped closer, fixing me with an intense gaze.
“Look, I don’t care if you’ve got feelings for her. But if you’re going to do this, you need to get your head straight. Because what we’re walking into? It’s not about pride or jealousy or whatever it is you think you’re protecting her from.
He locked eyes with me.
“It’s war. And you’d better be ready to fight it with her.”
My chest was burning.
Not with fear. With rage. They used her. Again. And this time, I wasn’t letting her walk into it alone.