Chapter 3 Blood and Bourbon

SCARLETT'S POV

Darkness. Complete, suffocating darkness. The club's music cut off mid-beat, replaced by screams and the sound of shattering glass. Xavier's grip on my wrist tightened as a gunshot rang out, close, too close.

"Down!" He yanked me behind the VIP booth just as another bullet splintered the wood where my head had been. I twisted free, pulling my Glock.

"Friends of yours?" "Not likely." His breath was warm against my ear despite the chaos.

"You pissed someone off recently?" I scoffed. "You mean besides you?" Another shot. The muzzle flash briefly illuminated the panic around us-people stampeding toward exits, bottles smashing on the floor. Xavier moved like a shadow, pressing close.

"We need to move. Now." "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on." He grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him even in the dark. "Someone doesn't want us talking. That enough for you?" A crash near the stage. Heavy footsteps. Multiple. Armed. Shit. I shoved him back. "Fine. But this doesn't mean we're on the same side." His teeth flashed in the dark. "Wouldn't dream of it." We moved in sync, dodging between overturned tables toward the back hallways. The emergency lights flickered on, casting the club in an eerie red glow. Three men in tactical gear blocked the exit. I didn't hesitate-two shots, center mass. They dropped. Xavier whistled.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." "Too late." I kicked open the door to the kitchen, where chefs crouched behind stainless steel counters. "Out. Now." We burst through the back exit into an alley reeking of garbage and gasoline. The moment the door slammed behind us, Xavier pinned me against the brick wall.

"Who did you tell about Berlin?" I kneed him in the thigh-not hard enough to disable, just enough to make him grunt. "No one. That op was buried." "Then how the hell did they..." A bullet ricocheted off the dumpster beside us. Move. We sprinted down the alley, gunfire echoing behind us. Xavier grabbed my arm, pulling me into a narrow side passage. "In here." He punched a code into a nondescript door. It swung open to reveal a dimly lit stairwell. I didn't move.

"Where does this lead?" "Somewhere they won't find us." I raised my gun. "Try again." He exhaled sharply. "Safe house. Mine." Of course he had a bolthole in the middle of Vegas. Probably next to a chapel and a pawn shop. Another volley of shots decided for me. I shoved past him, taking the stairs two at a time. The door at the top opened into a sleek, modern loft-all black leather and steel. Expensive. Temporary. I turned on him. "Start talking. Who were those men?" Xavier strode to a hidden panel in the wall, retrieving a first aid kit.

"You're bleeding." I hadn't even noticed the graze on my arm. "Answer the question." He tossed me a bandage. "They're with the Syndicate." The name hit like a punch. The Syndicate. The most powerful underground network in the world. And the reason I'd buried Berlin so deep even I had nightmares about it. I forced my voice steady.

"Why would they care about us?" Xavier poured two fingers of bourbon, downing one before answering. "Because you didn't just steal a file that night, Scarlett. You stole proof. " "Proof of what?" He met my gaze, his own deadly calm. "That the Syndicate ordered the hit on your father."

XAVIER'S POV

The glass shattered in her hand. Blood and bourbon dripped onto the floor, but Scarlett didn't flinch. Her entire body had gone still in that terrifying way it did right before she killed someone.

"You're lying." I didn't bother denying it. "The file you took from me-it wasn't just intel on their operations. It was a ledger. Names. Payments. Your father's name." She moved faster than I expected. One second she was across the room, the next she had a knife pressed to my throat. "Say that again." Her voice was ice. I didn't pull away. "Jonathan Vaughn was assassinated on Syndicate orders. And the man who gave the order?" I reached into my pocket, slowly pulling out a folded photo.

"Recognize him?" Her breath hitched. The man in the photo was her uncle. Her father's brother. The current head of the Vaughn empire. The knife trembled against my skin.

"I'll kill him." I caught her wrist before she could step back. "Not alone, you won't." She yanked free. "Why the hell would you help me?" "Because they tried to kill me too." I rolled up my sleeve, revealing a fresh bullet graze. "Turns out, the Syndicate doesn't like loose ends." For the first time, uncertainty flickered in her eyes. I pressed my advantage. "Truce? Just until we take them down." She stared at me for a long moment. Then, with a humorless smile: "On one condition." "Name it." She picked up the bourbon bottle, taking a long swig before answering. "We do it my way."

SCARLETT (Two Hours Later)

The Vaughn family estate loomed ahead, its gates gleaming under the moonlight. I adjusted the comm in my ear. "You sure this will work?" Xavier's voice crackled through.

"Trust me." I snorted. "Not happening." But I moved forward anyway, pressing my palm to the biometric scanner. The gates swung open silently. Too easy. The mansion was dark except for the study light. Right where he'd said it would be. I slipped inside, avoiding the motion sensors with practiced ease. The study door was ajar. Uncle Daniel sat behind the desk, pouring a drink. He didn't look up. "I wondered when you'd come." I stepped into the light, gun raised.

"You murdered my father." He sighed, as if disappointed. "And you brought him along. Really, Scarlett?" Before I could react, the lights blazed on. Xavier stood in the doorway, his own weapon drawn. But behind him.. Oh, no. A dozen armed men. Syndicate. Daniel smiled.

"Did you really think I wouldn't know?" Xavier met my gaze. Now. I dove as the first shots rang out.

XAVIER

Chaos. Scarlett moved like a storm, taking out three men before they could blink. I covered her flank, dropping two more. Daniel Vaughn bolted for the panic room. "Scarlett!" She was already moving, sprinting after him. I followed, barely dodging a bullet to the shoulder. The panic room door was closing. Scarlett jammed her knife into the mechanism, prying it open just enough to slip through. I barely made it before it sealed behind us. Silence. Then, gun cocked. Daniel stood across the room, his weapon trained on Scarlett's heart.

"Such a waste." She didn't lower her own gun. "Tell me why." He shrugged. "Power. What else?" I saw her finger tighten on the trigger- And then the room exploded.