<b>Chapter 192 </b>
Author’s POV:
Jade slipped back into the arms dealer’s territory under the cover of darkness, her footsteps silent as she navigated between the shadows. Security had tightened since theirst visit–Scorpio’s manhunt had everyone on edge. Finding a small venttion shaft near the main building’s back, she positioned herself where she could hear Sloane and Maverick’s conversation clearly.
“That girl came from Scorpio’s auction house,” Sloane’s voice carried a sharp edge of concern. “They brought her here so openly. What if this is their way of drawing trouble to us? By taking her in, you’ve given Scorpio the perfect excuse toe after us.”
Despite her protests, she’d already arranged transportation for the rescued girl with Night’s men. Her loyalty to Maverick was evident, even when she disagreed with him.
Maverickughed dismissively. “How many times have we crossed Scorpio over the years? What’s one more offense to add to the list?”
“It’s different this time,” Sloane insisted. “These Americans aren’t ordinary tourists. They burned down five auction houses in one night.”
“I’ll have our people investigate their backgrounds,” Maverick replied. “You contact the boss–tell him about our visitors. If he has no quarrel with us, we can consider this a goodwill gesture toward potential friends. But if they have other intentions…” his voice dropped, “they’ll be formidable enemies.”
Jade had heard enough. Silently, she withdrew into the night.
In his New York office, Ethan Haxton looked up from his investment reports as Connor entered with a troubled expression.
“Sir, we’ve identified those strangers in Crimson Valley,” Connor announced. “Based on our sources, they appear to be Jade Morgan, Night, and Chris Jensen.”
Ethan set aside his papers. “What are they doing there?”
“Yesterday they burned down Scorpio family’s auction houses. Now they’re being hunted.” Connor shifted ufortably. “Today they came to our territory asking for weapons.”
“Interesting.” Ethan tapped his fingers against his desk. “Why would they target Scorpio specifically?”
“Unclear<b>, </b>sir. But I’m concerned that…” Connor hesitated, “if she was denied weapons, she might decide to burn <b>our </b>operation down too.”
<b>8:20 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>25 </b>
A slight smile touched Ethan’s lips. “Then we should be careful not to upset her, shouldn’t we<b>?</b>”
??))
At Scorpio headquarters, Marcus paced furiously around his office. Outside, several bodiesy at the entrance–men he’d sent to capture the Americans.
“Useless! All of you are useless!” he roared, sweeping items off his desk.
Loki stood calmly by the door. “Perhaps we should request additional support from the family. These people are clearly not ordinary American tourists.”
“Shut up!” Marcus whirled on him. “You worthless piece of shit! You think the family will send reinforcements for this minor problem?”
“They might be hiding with the local drug lord or arms dealer,” Loki suggested evenly. “We could concentrate our
search in those areas.”
Marcus sneered. “I don’t need you to tell me how to do my job.” He summoned several men, issuing new pursuit
orders.
As Marcus sent more men to their deaths, Loki suppressed a smile. The more men who died, the more Marcus would have to answer to the family. And if these Americans were provoked further, Marcus himself might not survive- which would solve many of Loki’s problems.
Jade decided to visit the local drug lord’s territory alone. Burning Scorpio’s auction houses and killing their men hadn’t drawn out any significant yers yet. The drug lord might have information about Ace of Spades that she could use.
After gathering intelligence, her n was to blow up the arms dealer’s weapons cache. That should be enough to flush out the mysterious “boss” Maverick had mentioned.
As she made her way through the outskirts, taking a winding dirt road, she spotted a ck Maybach stuck in the
mud ahead.
Ethan watched Connor struggle with the car’s tires, sinking deeper into the muck with each attempt to free them. Suddenly, Connor froze, his hand moving toward his concealed weapon.
“Mr. Haxton, doing business again?” Jade’s voice cut through the darkness.
Ethan lowered his window, his expression shifting from surprise to amusement when he saw her standing in the moonlight.
<b>97 </b>
“Sightseeing again?” he countered with equal sarcasm.
“I just arrived, and it’s already dark,” Ethan said. “Where are you headed?”
“Just looking around,” <b>she </b>replied, then extended her hand toward him. “Want to join me?”
Without hesitation, Ethan stepped out of the car, instructing Connor to handle the vehicle situation.
“I’ll call you when I need pickup.”
Connor’s objections died on his lips as Ethan walked away with Jade.
They followed the narrow path, guided only by moonlight filtering through the trees.
“I heard you burnt down the auction houses?” Ethan finally asked.
“I saw something I didn’t like. Got itchy fingers,” she answered casually.
Ethan chuckled. “I sometimes forget you’re supposedly studying to save lives.”
At this, Jade gave a small, humorless smile. “That’s not why I’m interested in medicine.”
“What’s your real purpose here?” he pressed.
She didn’t answer directly. “Curiosity killed the cat, Mr. Haxton.”
“But satisfaction brought it back,” hepleted the saying, his eyes never leaving her face.
The drug lord’spound was more heavily guarded than Jade had anticipated. After they’d burned Scorpio’s operations, security everywhere had tightened. Armed men patrolled the perimeter in pairs.
“I didn’t bring a weapon,” Ethan whispered as they crouched behind a low wall.
“We’re just observing,” she assured him, though her eyes were systematically scanning each building, identifying entry points and guard rotations.
Ethan noticed her calcted assessment. Though she imed they were just “looking around,” her movements <b>were </b>clearly purposeful, targeting areas where important people would likely be found.
<b>They </b>carefully avoided the patrol routes<b>, </b>eventually reaching a luxurious vi. Through a partially open window, they could hear voices inside.
8:20 Thu, Sep <b>25 </b>
…
<b>97 </b>
“We’ve identified all three of them,” a man’s voice reported. “One is themanding officer of Group 791, another <b>is </b>
some mob prince, and the third is a student.”
“A student?” another voice questioned skeptically. “What kind of student associates with people like that?”
“The female student apparently has an unusual rtionship with the Haxton family in New York,” the first voice
continued.
Ethan, with his tall frame, was briefly silhouetted against the window. A guard in the distance shouted, “Hey!
Someone’s by the window!”
By the time the guards reached the spot, they had vanished.
The men inside came out to investigate. “What’s happening?”
‘I saw someone at the window, sir.”
“Secure every exit! Don’t <b>let </b>anyone suspicious escape! Find them now!”
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