A starving dog nearly tore into me when I approached an eight-year-old girl sleeping beside a dumpster—but the child wasn’t hiding from me. She had been sent to find me, the most feared man in the city, and what she pulled from beneath her sweater connected her to the only woman I had ever loved—and to a man I had watched die six years ago.

With Vane and his surviving guards securely zip-tied to the heavy steel support pillars of the bunker, the tension in the room finally subsided into a tense, suffocating quiet.

I walked over to the titanium partition where Lily sat hugging her knees, her big dark eyes wide with shock. I knelt down so I was at eye level with her.

“You okay, kiddo?” I asked softly, my rough exterior melting away just a fraction.

She nodded slowly, then reached out and tentatively touched the back of my tattooed hand. “You fight like a bear.”

A rare, genuine smile touched my lips. “Well, Bear helped too.”

Across the room, the rescued dog was currently sniffing suspiciously around Vane’s expensive leather shoes, letting out an occasional low grumble that made the traitor flinch nervously.

Marcus walked over, handing me a fresh bottle of water before sitting down on the edge of the cot next to his daughter. The six years of separation seemed to melt away every time he looked at her, his hand resting gently on her dark curls.

“We can’t stay here much longer,” Marcus said, his voice grim. “Vane’s backup will realize something is wrong within the hour. Once they trace his comm-link, this entire waterfront will be crawling with hit squads.”

“Let them come,” I repeated, standing up and walking over to the main terminal. “For twelve years, I let ghosts dictate my life. I let grief make me blind. Tonight, we finish this. We take the fight straight to the High Council penthouse.”

Vane let out a raspy, hysterical laugh from his post against the pillar. “You’re walking into a slaughterhouse! There are fifty armed capos waiting at the penthouse for the midnight summit. You and Marcus—plus a starving dog and an eight-year-old kid—expect to take down the entire syndicate?”

I turned slowly, walking over until I stood right in front of Vane. I reached down, grabbed him by the collar, and hauled him up until his toes barely touched the floor.

“You forgot one thing, Vane,” I whispered, my eyes burning with cold fury. “You forgot who built this empire in the first place.”