Chapter 13

The days drag on with agonizing slowness, each one a torturous reminder of Everly”s absence and our failure to find her. We stayed at the cabin an extra day before returning to headquarters, but still couldn’t find Everly, and so far Tavish has had no luck finding her either.

The tension in our group grows palpable, thick enough to suffocate. Every passing day without a lead on Everly”s whereabouts only serves to exacerbate the strain. Killian”s once ironclad composure begins to crack, his patience wearing thin like a fraying thread on the verge of snapping.

I watch with growing unease as his tolerance dwindles, his actions becoming increasingly ruthless and unforgiving. Just yesterday, Damon had to physically restrain him from killing our target too quickly, depriving us of the vital information we were sent to retrieve.

His sanity is slowly disappearing and as much as I understand it, I know we must tread carefully. His brutal efficiency may be an asset in our line of work, but unchecked, it threatens to consume him—and perhaps us all.

Meanwhile, I struggle to contain the raging inferno of anger and frustration burning within me. Every day that passes without news of Everly feels like another dagger to the heart. I want to set the world on fire, to leave a trail of destruction in my wake until someone breaks and gives us the information we need to find her.

But Damon, usually the voice of reason among us, is retreating into himself. His once-bright spirit is dimming and twisting, overshadowed by the weight of our failure to save Everly. I know though, if we”re not careful, there”s a very real risk that he may become an even greater threat than the emotionless killer Killian presents.

Owen, our boss, seems to sense the shift in our demeanor. He”s a shrewd man, always calculating, always watching. He can see the simmering anger beneath the surface, the desperation clawing at the edges of our sanity. And rather than try to quell it, he feeds it.

If anything, Owen takes advantage of our heightened ruthlessness. He can see it in the evidence we provide when we finish a job, in the way we carry ourselves, in the glint of steel in our eyes. And so, he sends us out on more jobs, utilizing our efficient brutality for his own gain.

Each assignment becomes more demanding, more dangerous. The targets become more high-profile, the risks greater. But we don”t protest. We welcome the chance to channel our frustration, our rage, into something tangible, something productive. Anything to drown out the gnawing emptiness left by Everly”s absence.

And with each successful mission, Owen”s confidence in us grows. He sees us as his most valuable assets, his weapons of choice in a world where power is everything. And we, in turn, become more dependent on him, more reliant on the rush of adrenaline that comes with each kill.

But beneath the surface, a storm is brewing. The cracks in our facade deepen with each passing day, threatening to shatter the fragile illusion of control we”ve built around ourselves. And as the darkness closes in, I can”t help but wonder if we”ll ever find our way back to the light.