Page 158 of The Darkest Hour

Just the stark reality of what had happened.

Xavior and his team had been slaughtered in a way that spoke of precision, yet with a ferocity that was almost animalistic.

Primal.

His body had been found in the study, slumped over his desk, his throat slit so deeply that the blade had severed his spine.

His men, a group of highly trained operatives, had been taken out one by one. Some had been shot, the bullets expertly placed to cause maximum damage with minimal noise.

Others had their necks broken, their bodies crumpled in unnatural positions as if they had been caught by surprise.

Good god. This was a massacre.

There were no signs of a struggle, no alarms triggered. It was as if death had walked in silently and snuffed out their lives before they could even react.

Those facts sent chilling shivers down my spine, though I would never admit it.

This wasn’t the work of a lone wolf.

No, it couldn’t be.

One person, no matter how skilled, couldn’t have executed such a flawless takedown.

It had to be a team—a well-coordinated, highly efficient team.

At least six people. Anything less would be impossible.

I reached for my glass of pink gin, the three additional splashes of champagne creating a subtle effervescence that tickled my tongue as I sipped.

My mind churned, contemplating how I could find this team, or even if they could be found at all.

They were ghosts, shadows that moved unseen, leaving nothing but death in their wake. And they’d been causing trouble all month, killing agency heads over and over.

They may be darkness, but every shadow has a source of light that cast it.

I just had to find that light, no matter how faint.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and I turned my head slightly as one of my men entered the room.

He looked at me. “Sir, Indra has arrived and is waiting in your office.”

I pushed the report’s horrors away and smiled.

Indra.

A hint of lust curled in my gut and tightened my chest.

I set the report aside. “Very well.”

Heat thrummed through my veins.

“Hold all calls and make sure no one disturbs me for two hours.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard turned and exited, I took another sip of my drink.

Indra was exactly what I needed right now to calm my nerves.

Orgasms were great stress relievers.

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