Page 79 of Over the Edge

Fuck.

Flynn and Lyric weren’t here.

They’d been working the crowd twenty minutes ago, but I hadn’t seen them since the auction started.

I tapped my ear once, activating the encrypted comm link. “Dealer, do you have eyes on Outlaw or Siren?”

Decker didn’t visibly react, but his voice came through crisp in my earpiece. “Negative, Vigil. Last visual was Siren with Moreau near the terrace doors. Outlaw was at the bar watching them, looking pissed.”

I kept my expression neutral as I moved toward the eastern wall, finding a better vantage point while maintaining my cover as Decker’s security. Something wasn’t right. Operatives don’t just disappear during a mission unless they’re compromised.

“I don’t like this,” I murmured just loud enough for the comm to pick up.

“Makes two of us.” He took a slow sip of champagne, his gaze sweeping the room. “Moreau’s gone, too.”

“I’ll check the east wing,” I said quietly. “You take west. Rendezvous back here in ten.”

Decker nodded, already drifting away, that easy smile back in place as he slipped through the crowd like smoke.

I moved along the perimeter of the room. Moreau’s guards tracked me with their eyes but didn’t interfere. To them, I was just another security detail, watching my principal’s back. They had no idea I was hunting.

I had just stepped into the hallway when a murmur went through the crowd behind me. I backtracked in time to see Moreau return to the ballroom, his security detail forming a tight perimeter around him. His face was placid, but there was a cold satisfaction in his eyes that made all of my instincts fire.

I had no doubt he’d made our operatives, but Flynn and Lyric weren’t with him.

What the fuck was going on?

I spotted Decker on the other side of the ballroom. Several Russian men in suits had waylaid him, chatting animatedly, which was for the better. At least I didn’t have to go searching for him now. I cut through the crowd, headed back toward him.

“Mission’s blown,” Decker said into his champagne when I reached his side and pulled him away from the Russians.

Yeah, no shit,I wanted to say, but kept my mouth shut.

He nodded and smiled at a passing guest, still playing his part. “What’s the plan now?”

I had no fucking idea.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Moreau called and held up his hands, waiting until the chatter died down. “Before we continue the auction, I’ve arranged one final demonstration.”

My gut tightened.

This was not going to be good.

“Follow me, if you would.” He gestured toward the terrace doors. “I believe you’ll find this particular performance... enlightening.”

The crowd moved as one, murmuring with dark anticipation.

Whatever he was about to show his guests, it wasn’t just going to be tech.

As we joined the flow of bodies, I ran through all the contingency plans, but the only one that made sense was a hot extraction. We needed Nolan here with the helo ASAP, but contacting him was going to be next to impossible. Our comms worked within the house, but no signal was getting off the island.

The terrace opened onto a courtyard I hadn’t seen during recon. Wide, circular, enclosed by high walls. Four exits, each manned by armed guards. Torches ringed the perimeter, their flames casting long shadows. It felt like a Roman arena. The kind that had only one purpose: Execution.

Decker let out a low breath. “Who the fucking fuck builds a colosseum in their backyard?”

I didn’t respond. Didn’t need to. He’d summed it up succinctly enough.

Moreau climbed a short platform at the north end, positioning himself so every eye was on him. He raised his arms like he was Caesar or some fucking thing. All he needed was a toga.

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