Dante (POV):
after release
I walked out of prison expecting to find Elena.
She wasn't there.
Morrison met me instead, her face grave.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
"Safe. But she can't see you right now."
"What do you mean she can't—"
"Viktor Kozlov put a contract out on her. Half a million dollars. We had to relocate her again, and we can't risk you leading him to her."
The ground tilted beneath me.
"How long?"
"Until we neutralize the threat. Could be months. Could be years."
Five years. I'd waited five years for this moment. To hold her again, to start our life together.
And I couldn't.
"I'll handle Kozlov myself," I said.
"You're on parole. Any contact with known criminals violates your terms. You'd go straight back to prison."
"I don't care."
"She does. Elena made me promise to keep you out of this. To keep you safe."
I wanted to scream. To tear something apart. To find Kozlov and end this myself.
But Elena had asked Morrison to protect me.
So I did the only thing I could.
I started hunting.
---
I still had contacts. People who owed me favors. People who remembered that I'd been fair when I ran the organization.
I called in every single one.
Within a week, I had information. Kozlov's location, his associates, his habits.
Within two weeks, I had a plan.
It was risky. Probably illegal. Definitely violated my parole.
But I was going to end this threat to Elena once and for all.