Page 191 of Villainous Intent

There was nowhere left to run. And no one coming to save me.

CHAPTER 39

CIPHER

I stood at the edge of my headquarters’ roof, the night air doing nothing to cool the rage burning through me. The city lights blurred as my hands clenched into fists so tight my nails broke skin. Didn’t matter. It would heal in seconds.

“Fucking manipulative—” I slammed my fist into the concrete barrier, watching it crumble under the impact. The pain was fleeting, gone before it could register.

How dare she? How fucking dare Annie try to play me like that? That innocent voice, those wide eyes, all a performance to get me to confess feelings I’d barely admitted to myself.

You’re one to talk about manipulation, that irritating voice in my head whispered. I crushed it down.

“It’s different,” I growled to the empty air. “She was supposed to be better than this.”

I’d expected this kind of behavior from everyone else. But Annie? I’d thought she was genuine. That was the whole fucking problem, I’d believed in her.

Another section of rooftop crumbled under my fist. I’d been out here for close to a fucking hour and I still couldn’t go inside yet. If I did, there wouldn’t be anything of the Labyrinth left.

Everything had been so clear before her. Become an Arch Villain. Challenge Havoc and become his Nemesis. Build my legacy. Now my thoughts were a chaotic mess, and I hated her for it.

I ripped off my mask, needing to feel the air on my face. The city stretched before me, waiting for my next move. It was time to remember who I was.

And Annie Bishop? She’d just become another obstacle to eliminate on my path.

I stared at the shattered concrete, my own words echoing in my mind. Obstacle to eliminate.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

Annie wasn’t some problem to be solved or enemy to destroy. She was⁠—

The mask in my hand snapped under the pressure of my grip. I tossed the broken pieces aside, disgusted with myself.

I should be focused on what mattered. Dread had the name of the other Warden already. That’s what I should be concerned about. Who was this poor bastard about to be wiped from existence? I needed to go inside, check the systems, find out who Dread was hunting.

But my mind kept circling back to Annie.

Annie who had cast me aside because I couldn’t give her what she wanted. She demanded too much. Asked for things I couldn’t provide. What the hell had that message been about? What was said to her that made her suddenly need declarations and promises? Why the fuck wasn’t I going to see for myself? I’d left the video feed decrypting while I’d gone to handle the fucking fight with the Alliance asshole and it would be finished by now.

I stormed down to my lab, ignoring any of the henchmen who tried to speak to me. The notification light on my main terminal was blinking. Analysis complete on the Warden files. But I couldn’t care less about some random Warden. I needed to know what had happened at the Tower.

My fingers flew across the keyboard, bypassing Havoc’s security systems.

I found the timestamp that matched when Annie would have arrived and⁠—

“Fuck.”

A Council member. In Havoc’s office.

The masked figure sat across from Havoc, both men silent. I’d never seen a Council member in person before. Few had. They existed as whispers, shadows pulling strings from behind closed doors. Yet here one was, waiting in Havoc’s office like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I let the footage continue playing while pulling up the decoded Warden files on my second screen. The folder labeled “Survivor” beckoned, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the Council member. What the hell was one of them doing there?

My attention remained fixed on the silent footage. Two of the most powerful beings in the world, sitting in complete silence, waiting.

For Annie. My Annie.

Annie appeared, approaching Havoc’s desk. She took a seat beside the Council member, her back rigid, hands clasped tightly in her lap. I knew that posture. She was terrified, but fighting not to show it.