Page 79

“What are you going to do now?” I asked Arkane, who kept staring at the dark ocean without blinking. He looked exhausted and lost, but the look of determination in his eyes was menacing.

“What I should’ve done a long time ago,” he said quietly after a long minute, his eyes snapping to me. “What I should’ve done a long time ago, Bella,” he said it more like a promise this time.

And I just knew that tonight wasn’t going to end well.

An hour later, we arrived at a heavily gated, opulent mansion on the hills that stretched across acres of land on the upper crest of the Lowers. It was the Covents’ main house.

As soon as we reached their street, Arkane got out and headed straight to the trunk of our truck, which looked more like a military-grade armory. He wasted no time and started to check and arm himself with about six guns and one too many tactical knives.

“You’ll stay here,” he said, more like a command than a request.

I watched the veins in his hands bulge as he loaded another magazine with AR bullets. “No, I won’t,” I replied flatly. “I can handle myself, Stormhold.”

“I know you can.” He paused, his eyes flying to me. “But this isn’t going to be a knife fight, Bella. Guns are going to be blazing everywhere. I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire.”

“You do what you have to do, Ark,” I said softly. “I know how to handle a gunfight, too.”

“Fuck, fine,” he cursed under his breath and handed me a COBRA M10, one of Stormhold Tech’s best SMGs. “Take this, at least.”

I eyed it, shaking my head. It was too big for my frame. “That will only slow me down, Arkane.”

He let out a frustrated sigh and gave me a pistol. His favorite semi-automatic. Venom Stinger. “Take this—it’s a semi-automatic and can fire sixteen rounds without a hitch.”

I nodded. It was pretty lightweight and small enough that it wouldn’t be in my way. I knew it would be of no use to me, but I took it to appease him.

Soon, the entire road started to swarm with big black trucks as more of Arkane’s men arrived. The Covent’s gate remained closed. There was a buzz of activity there, but they didn’t make a move.

The attack wasn’t one of surprise. The enemy knew we were coming, and they were ready for us. Which meant they weren’t worried. Instead, they had something sinister planned to keep an upper hand. But I didn’t think even that was stopping Arkane tonight.

He had a certain resolve in his eyes that said nothing was going to stop him.

Lucien, Karl, and Jon soon joined us, going about the possible logistics of the plan. According to them, the place had about forty-nine Surman agents, armed and ready to kill. It would take at least two agents on our side to take down a Surman. They were very fast and merciless, so quick thinking and apt delivery would be our friend.

I kept quiet, asking no questions as the men discussed. The plan was to kill the enemy on sight and finish the Covent once and for all. It was a brazen move. I didn’t know if it stemmed suddenly from pure anger after the events of today, or if this was the opportunity Arkane had waited for all along. Knowing him, it was possibly the latter, only I didn’t think he ever expected it to be at the cost of his nephew’s life. That cost was too high.

And only more lives were going to be lost tonight.

Mikhail announced that they would be going in five, and Arkane nodded. He looked like some kind of dark knight that I had to take a moment longer just to commit him to memory. His raven hair was a mess, but a masterful mess as it fell perfectly over his face. He simply wore a black shirt and his vintage-style slacks, with holsters holding his guns.

Jon was fully armed, his dead eyes ready to kill as he took his brother’s side, the same as Lucien Greigewood. Karl Ford decided to stay back as a comms operator. The man barely spared me a glance for someone interested in courting me, which told me that to a man like him, his duty was more important.

Eyeing the blueprint of the compound one last time, I walked over to Arkane’s side and whispered in his ear, “You go ahead. I’ll find another way.”

He frowned at me before slowly nodding. “Fine,” he muttered, and before I could walk away, his hand clasped mine, his intense eyes on me. “Be careful.”

I smiled. “Don’t die, Ark,” I said, and with that, I walked away without looking back. My brilliant plan tonight was to not get into the crossfire and evade it altogether, and sneak into the mansion without catching anyone’s attention.

Being strong didn’t mean going into any battle with the confidence that I could trust my abilities. It was more about picking the right battle, and tonight, my battle was simply Heath Glen.

CHAPTER 23

BELLE

I waited for the distant sound of an explosion, which was soon followed by the loud boom and pop of the guns firing rapidly. Taking the opportunity, I swung a rope over the compound wall and hauled myself over it. In one quick move, I landed inside on the wet mud with a soft thud.

It was only when I ventured farther that I noticed a few agents in the shadows, standing guard at the back of the house, while the others were too busy fighting the enemy at the front lines. I easily evaded them and slipped in unnoticed. I knew how to be pretty quiet, and the pitch-black night was my friend.

It didn’t take long for me to sneak into the mansion by prying open one of the windows and jumping into a room that looked like some kind of break room. Thankfully, it was empty as well. Crouching low, I walked up to the door and poked my head outside.