He crouches near Eli. “You had one job. Keep her safe. You failed.”
Eli’s eyes flick to Olivia. Guilt. Clear as blood.
Olivia shakes her head as much as the restraints allow. “No.” Her voice is hoarse. Small. But steady enough. “No, Eli.”
The man looks between them, amused. “Sweet.”
I feel the first crack. Not outside. Inside. A line splitting down something already under too much pressure.
Logan’s voice comes from somewhere far away. “Cobra, stay with me.”
I don’t look at him.
The man on-screen stands. “We have buyers who like untouched merchandise,” he says conversationally. “Others like a girl already trained enough not to make things difficult. Your girl caused trouble twice. That lowers value unless we correct the problem.”
Blaze lunges toward the desk. “I’ll fucking kill—”
Shadow yanks him back. “Not helping.”
“Correct?” Cain’s voice is barely human.
Joker whispers, “I want him.”
No one argues.
The masked man turns toward Eli again. “So here’s the lesson,” he says. “You’re going to help break her in.”
The office goes silent. Not quiet. Silent. The kind of silence that happens when every man in the room understands something too ugly to put words around.
Eli lifts his head slowly. “What?”
The man off-screen laughs again. “You heard him.”
Olivia goes still. Completely. Her eyes find Eli. Not pleading. Not blaming. Just fear.
Eli sees it. Something changes in his face. The kid looks half-dead already. Beaten, tied, bleeding. Young enough that he should be bitching about gate duty and trying too hard to look tough in front of patched men. But right then, he looks like a brother. “No,” Eli says.
The masked man sighs theatrically. “That’s unfortunate.”
“You touch her and you die,” Eli says, voice breaking but loud enough.
The man laughs. “You’re in no position to make threats.”
Eli’s gaze cuts to the camera. For one second, he looks right at us. At me. “I’m sorry,” he says.
Olivia makes a broken sound. “No. Don’t. Eli, don’t—”
He turns back to the masked man. “Fuck you.”
The gun appears fast. Too fast. The shot is louder than it should be through the speakers.
Olivia screams. The sound tears through the office and through every layer of control I have left.
Eli drops. Not slow. Not dramatic. Just down.Blood splashes across the wall. Across the floor.
Across Olivia’s side where she jerks against the restraints, screaming his name. “Eli!”
Dom flinches back from the laptop like the bullet came through the screen. Blaze makes a sound I’ve never heard from him and drives his fist into the wall. Cain roars a curse, already moving, looking for something to destroy. Hammer grabs the edge of Logan’s desk and shoves hard enough that papers scatter. Shadow stands frozen, face carved from stone, eyes black with promise.
