Axel slammed the brakes before the car had fully stopped, asphalt skidding beneath the tires. He was out before the engine finished its growl.
The wind carried smoke, the metallic stench of wreckage, and something far more sinister...fear.
His heart sank like a stone dropped into an abyss.
Team Two's vehicles were scattered along the roadside, doors open, men on alert.
One of the guards approached him with panic barely contained.
"Sir…"
The guard's voice cracked, but Axel didn't hear anything beyond the hammering in his head.
He didn't have the time, nor the space within his chest, to manage his anger.
Not yet.
Now, he needed to find Evelyn.
Everything else could burn.
"Where is she?" Axel's voice was steady, too steady, like the final breath before a storm breaks.
The guard stiffened.
