Inside, the warehouse was a fortress disguised as decay. Steel crates lined the walls, stocked with weapons—pistols, rifles, blades, and gadgets Alex couldn't name. Elena and Sophia moved with practiced ease, grabbing gear like they'd done this a thousand times. Alex followed, slower, his eyes scanning the arsenal. His wife's secret life lay bare in the glint of steel and the smell of gun oil.
He stopped at a sleek, all-black katana mounted on a rack. Its edge sang of lethality. He lifted it, testing its balance. It felt right, like an extension of his arm. Elena noticed, her gaze softening.
"You okay?" she asked, stepping close.
He met her eyes, the katana still in hand. "I'm processing. But I'm with you. Always."
She pulled him into a hug, her body warm against his. "I don't deserve you."
Before he could reply, the lights flickered and died, plunging the warehouse into darkness. A metallic clang echoed—someone had breached the perimeter.
"Game on," Sophia whispered, drawing her blades.
Elena's possessive fire reignited. "Stay close, Alex."
Figures slipped through the shadows—six attackers, armed and silent. The trio reacted instantly. Elena was a whirlwind, her dagger slicing through one man's chest before he could aim. Sophia danced between two, her twin blades carving arcs of blood. Alex gripped the katana, his movements sharper now, refined by muscle memory. He parried a knife thrust, countered with a slash that opened an attacker's throat, and spun to block another.
The fight was brutal, efficient. Alex's strikes grew cleaner, his footwork fluid, as if the years behind a desk had never dulled his edge. He dispatched the last attacker with a single, merciless thrust through the heart, his face a mask of cold focus. The man crumpled, lifeless.
Elena and Sophia froze, watching him. The lack of emotion in his eyes was new, unsettling. Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Viper, how much do you really know about his fighting background?"
Elena hesitated, wiping blood from her dagger. "He trained in his youth—martial arts, some underground stuff. He doesn't talk about growing up much. Said it was rough, so I never pushed."
Sophia smirked. "Rough, huh? That's not just training. That's instinct."
Alex knelt by the last attacker, prying an earpiece from the corpse. Static crackled, then a woman's voice—cold, familiar. "Unit Four, do you copy?"
He held it to his ear, listening. Another voice joined, identical to the first—Mara and Lila. "Unit Four's down. Someone else is on the line."
Alex's voice was dark, a low growl that sent a chill through Elena. "Come try."
The twins laughed, their voices eerie in unison. "Oh, we're coming, husband. For you and the Viper."
The line went dead. Alex stood, katana in hand, his handsome face set with a determination that bordered on predatory. Elena stepped closer, her hand on his chest, grounding him.
"We'll face them together," she said, her possessiveness now a vow.
Sophia chuckled, loading a pistol. "This just got interesting."