?Chapter 990:


    Just then, the numbness faded from her limbs. Quick as lightning, she reached out and locked her fingers around his throat. With a cool edge in her voice, she said, “I was stalling to wear off the anesthetic. What were you waiting for—your own death?”


    “This… this can’t be happening.” Wyatt simply couldn’t wrap his head around how Elena was still moving. After all, he’d personally tested the anesthetic—a dose strong enough to bring down a raging bull.


    But now, with his back pressed to the wall, Wyatt couldn’t even lift a finger. Only his voice remained free. “Who the hell are you? You should have been knocked out by now. How are you still moving?”


    Without a word, Elena grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him clean off the ground.


    Desperate for air, Wyatt’s face turned bright red as he wed at her grip.


    “I’ll ask you once again. Who sent you to kill me?” Elena’s voice was icy, each word sharp as ss.


    Wyatt’s legs iled wildly, his pupils dted, the whites of his eyes showing as a strangled gasp escaped him.


    She loosened her hold just enough for him to speak. “Talk.”


    Gasping for air and half-conscious, Wyatt heard her order and realized he was trapped. The thought of betraying his superiors shed through his mind, but he knew what would happen if he did. The punishment would make death look merciful.


    Just then, Cyrus walked over from outside and broke the heavy silence, his voice ringing out at the perfect moment. “Wyatt, are you finished here?”


    Seeing his chance, Wyatt shouted, “Cyrus, shoot her now!”


    Wasting no time, Cyrus drew his gun and pulled the trigger.


    With barely a flicker of movement, Elena slipped aside, dodging the bullet that missed her head by a breath.


    Spotting his opportunity, Wyatt fired three shots in rapid session. Together, he and Cyrus forced Elena deeper into the narrow alley, leaving her cornered.


    “You arrogant bitch! I have to put you in your ce now, or you’ll really start thinking you’re invincible!” Wyatt snarled, eyes burning with hatred as he aimed for lethal spots.


    where stories grow


    Elena dodged their barrage of bullets and then smoothly drew her sidearm from the holster strapped to her thigh. She fired at them, her shots crisp and precise.


    Cyrus dropped first, hit square in the chest, while Wyatt stumbled back, clutching his bleeding arm, and bolted without looking back.


    Elena let Wyatt go. Slipping the gun Wesley had given her back into ce, she stepped over to where Cyrus had fallen. He was fighting for breath, chest rising unevenly, before finally sumbing.


    Elena stood for a moment, letting the pieces fall into ce. Someone had clearly sent these men to kill her. But which of her many enemies had been behind this?


    Earle was her first suspect, though she dismissed the thought almost immediately. Earle wouldn’t send such ipetent thugs—he would never waste time or resources on men bound to fail.


    That left someone else. N’s name floated up in Elena’s mind. N had ess to high-grade military anesthetics, too convenient to ignore.


    Leaving the shadows of the alley behind, Elena nearly ran into Wesley, who had been searching for her.


    Wesley’s gaze swept over Elena, scanning for injuries. Once he was sure she was unscathed, he asked quietly, “What just went down here?” The echo of gunshots had reached his ears.


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