Marcus POV
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The thump of bass echoed beneath Marcus Vex's feet as he stepped into his private lounge above the main club. The music below pulsed like a living creature, vibrating through the marble floor, but it barely registered in his mind. He waved a dismissive hand to the girl curled on the plush sofa near the corner—another nameless face from the night before. She took the hint and quickly grabbed her things, vanishing through the side door.
He poured himself a drink—something dark and strong—and walked over to the window overlooking the club. The neon lights bathed the crowd in electric blues and reds, bodies writhing and grinding without a care in the world. The chaos used to thrill him. Now? It was noise. A distraction.
A knock came at the door. Marcus didn't turn. "Speak."
"Sir," his second-in-command, Darrin, stepped inside, hesitating before he continued. "We… we received word from our contacts. Valkyrie hasn't checked in for two days. She's… missing."
Silence stretched.
Marcus took a slow sip of his drink, silver eyes narrowing just slightly. "And?"
Darrin blinked. "And… we thought you should know. Some of the men are starting to worry."
Finally, Marcus turned. He leaned his hip against the edge of the glass table, one brow raised lazily. "Do I look like someone who worries?"
"No, sir."
"Then why the hell are you?"
Darrin looked uncomfortable, shifting on his feet. "Because it's Valkyrie."
Marcus set the glass down and crossed his arms. "Exactly. It's Valkyrie. I trained her myself. She's survived ambushes, torture, and betrayal. She's outlasted people twice as skilled. Do you think a couple of missing hours, or even days, mean she's dead?"
Darrin shook his head. "No, of course not. But—"
"She's not dead," Marcus said firmly, voice hardening. "She's probably tracking someone, or laying low until the right moment. You don't cage a panther and expect it to meow. Valkyrie is lethal and smart. When she wants to be found, she'll appear."
Still, even after the words left his mouth, a flicker of something passed through his mind—an image of her, bloodied and young, when he found her years ago. Angry. Alone. Just like him.
He shook the thought away.
"I want updates," he added, turning back to the window. "But I don't want panic. If the men are that concerned, maybe I need to reassign them to something more useful."
"Yes, sir."
"And Darrin?"
"Yes?"
"If anyone even thinks of trying to go out and find her without orders, cut off their legs and drop them at my doorstep. I don't want interference."
Darrin swallowed hard. "Understood."
When the door finally shut behind him, silence returned.
Marcus leaned both hands against the window, staring down at the movement below without really seeing. A long exhale slipped past his lips.
Valkyrie was many things. Reckless. Brilliant. A force to be reckoned with. But more than that, she was the only family he had left. Not by blood—but by survival.
They'd fought side by side, bled together. He'd taught her to survive in a world that wanted to swallow people like them whole. And in return, she had remained loyal—viciously so.
Which is why this silence nagged at him.
He turned and grabbed his phone from the table, scrolling through the last messages from her. A small smirk curled at the corner of his mouth as he read her last one: "Don't wait up, old man." That was her.
Arrogant. Free. Untouchable.
His smirk faded.
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but the idea that something might have actually happened to her…it settled uneasily in his chest.
He poured another drink. Sat back.
No. She was fine.
She had to be.
He'd trained her too damn well for her to disappear so easily.
Still, he tapped out a quick encrypted message on his phone.
To: Shadow Net Status: Red Eye. Target: Valkyrie. Location Ping: Last seen East Sector, Grid 7. Alert: Silent Watch only. Do NOT engage. Do NOT alert target. —M.V.
He locked the phone and tossed it on the table.
He wasn't going to sit around and brood like some sentimental fool. But he would keep his eye on the board. Quietly. Strategically.
Just in case.
With another sip of his drink, he leaned back and let the silence settle once more.
Marcus Vex never worried.
And yet, for the first time in a long time, something in his chest twisted with an emotion he didn't want to name.
He pushed it down.
Valkyrie would be fine.
She had to be.
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