Page 98 of Knuckles & Knives
“Someone who has backup he never anticipated,” Dom adds, his arm tightening protectively around all of us.
“Someone who learned that the best strategies aren’t about controlling chaos,” Axel concludes with a satisfied grin, “but about riding it to victory.”
I smile to myself. When Alexander Cross comes for us—and he will come—he’ll face five people who’ve found in each other everything worth fighting for, everything worth dying for, and everything worth living for.
He taught me strategy, but he never taught me love, and that’s going to be his downfall.
“Get some rest,” I tell my men, my family, my heart made manifest in four completely different but perfectly complementary forms. “Tomorrow we start the final phase of this war.”
In the quiet darkness of our safe house, surrounded by the men who’ve chosen to stand with me against impossible odds, I finally understand what my father never could. True power doesn’t come from fear or control or dominance.
It comes from love, and love is the most devastating force in any war.
CHAPTER 30
The synchronized assault begins at exactly 3:17 AM, when the city sleeps and Alexander Cross believes he holds all the strategic advantages. What he doesn’t know is that we’ve spent the past seventy-two hours dismantling every assumption he’s made about our capabilities, our resources, and our willingness to embrace chaos over conventional tactics.
“Phase One initiation in sixty seconds,” Marcus reports through our encrypted communications, his voice carrying the calm precision that masks fierce determination. “All teams confirm ready status.”
“Chaos Protocol active,” Axel responds from his position overlooking Cross’s primary data center, his wild energy focused into deadly purpose despite his healing injuries. “Going to make some beautiful noise.”
“Defensive positions secured,” Dom adds, his deep voice radiating the confidence of a man who’s transformed our safe house into an impregnable fortress. “Let them come.”
“Political pressure mounting,” Kieran confirms from his mobile command center, having spent days rebuilding his network of contacts outside Sterling Syndicate influence.“Cross’s legitimate businesses are about to face some very uncomfortable scrutiny.”
I stand in the center of our operations hub, watching feeds from four different locations while coordinating an assault that Alexander Cross—my father’s former lieutenant, my strategic mentor, my would-be destroyer—never could have anticipated. Because the woman he’s preparing to face no longer exists.
“Execute,” I command.
What follows unfolds with the devastating precision of a symphony conducted by masters of their craft.
Axel strikes first, his infiltration of Cross’s data center showcasing skills that go far beyond anything I’ve witnessed before. Through thermal imaging, I watch him move through supposedly impregnable security like smoke given form, bypassing laser grids and motion sensors with an almost supernatural ability to occupy spaces that shouldn’t exist.
“First server bank down,” he reports, his voice tight with concentration. “Financial records corrupted, communication networks disrupted. Cross is going blind and broke simultaneously.”
“Beautiful work,” I tell him, watching security personnel scramble to respond to threats they can’t identify or locate.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Axel replies, and I can hear his wild grin through the comm system. “Phase Two of chaos protocol engaging now.”
The explosions that light up Cross’s data center aren’t random destruction—they’re calculated demolition, each blast precisely placed to maximize psychological impact while minimizing collateral damage. Axel isn’t just destroying Cross’s infrastructure; he’s sending a message that nowhere is safe, nothing is secure, chaos can strike anywhere.
Meanwhile, Kieran’s political assault unfolds with the kind of elegant precision that would make his Sterling ancestors proud,if they weren’t busy disowning him. Federal investigators, armed with carefully curated evidence of Cross’s money laundering operations, begin simultaneous raids on seventeen different legitimate businesses that serve as fronts for his criminal empire.
“Tax evasion charges filed in federal court,” Kieran reports with satisfaction. “Securities fraud investigation launched. Three shell companies frozen pending audit. Cross’s political protection is evaporating as we speak.”
“How did you manage federal coordination so quickly?” I ask, genuinely impressed by the speed of his legal maneuvering.
“Turns out several federal prosecutors have been waiting years for actionable intelligence on Cross’s operations,” Kieran explains. “They just needed someone to provide the evidence and point them in the right direction.”
“And Sterling Syndicate contacts?”
“Let’s just say that certain former family members maintain friendships that transcend blood loyalty,” he says with dark humor. “Cross made the mistake of assuming I burned all my bridges when I chose you over them.”
The third phase of our assault showcases Marcus’s analytical genius transformed into active warfare. While Axel destroys and Kieran prosecutes, Marcus infiltrates Cross’s remaining networks with surgical precision, turning the man’s own surveillance systems against him.
“I have eyes on Cross’s personal location,” Marcus reports, his fingers flying over multiple keyboards as he commandeers security cameras throughout the city. “He’s at the Meridian Tower, forty-second floor, emergency meeting with remaining lieutenants.”
“How many people with him?”
