Raven burst out of the building, rage coursing through her veins.
"Shit."
The curse came out of her mouth as she got on her motorcycle and kicked the engine to life. The machine roared under her, and she sped down the road, the cold night air cutting across her face.
For a moment, she thought she had gotten away, but she was wrong because the headlights suddenly appeared behind her.
Her stomach tightened. 'They were following her.'
Raven looked in the rearview mirror and saw the dark SUV cutting through traffic with ruthless determination. A few men leaned out of the windows with their guns already raised.
"They're still on me," she murmured quietly.
'How did they find me?'
She gritted her teeth and turned the throttle up even more. The bike accelerated forward, slicing through speeding cars as horns blared all around her.
Raven Young. One of the DarkKnight Clan's best snipers. And tonight she had failed her first mission.
Failure alone was bad enough. Being discovered was worse and now they were hunting her like prey.
A loud crack split the air.
BANG!
The bullet shattered her mirror.
Raven's eyes widened for a split second before her instincts snapped into place.
BANG.
Another shot whistled past her ear.
"Shit."
Her grip tightened on the handlebars as she leaned low against the bike and swerved sharply between two trucks. The wind howled around her as the engine screamed.
Bullets continued to chase her through the darkness. Each one coming dangerously close, but Raven continued moving with terrifying precision, weaving through traffic like a ghost.
Still, the SUV refused to fall back.
Her mind raced.
'What went wrong?'
She had never missed a target before. But tonight everything had spiraled out of control.
She had not even meant to hit that woman, but then the memory flashed through her mind.
The man who had turned and looked straight toward her hiding spot.
It was impossible. She had been positioned hundreds of meters away. Yet somehow he had seen her.
The moment that woman beside him collapsed. His gaze had locked directly onto her.
Cold. Sharp. Knowing.
Raven shivered despite the speed.
"Damn it," she hissed.
Suddenly the road curved sharply and before she could react, the path ended.
"SHIT!"
She slammed the brakes.
The tires screamed violently against the asphalt as the bike skidded forward before stopping at the very edge of a cliff.
Below her, the dark ocean churned violently against the rocks.
Her heart pounded wildly inside her chest. Her breathing turned uneven as the realization sank in.
"Dead end," she said quietly, feeling the dread.
Behind her, engines roared.
Several vehicles screeched to a halt, their headlights flooding the cliff with blinding white light.
Doors slammed. Boots hit the ground and a tall man stepped forward, raising his gun directly at her.
"Surrender."
The wind whipped around Raven, tugging at her clothes as the night grew colder.
She stared at the men surrounding her.
Raven had never known surrender. And tonight would not be the first time. Not when someone had clearly betrayed her.
Someone had exposed her position. Someone had set her up.
Her fingers slowly reached for the sniper rifle strapped across her back.
'No. Not until I find who did this.'
A strange laugh slipped from her lips.
"Surrender?" she said softly. Then her smile turned sharp.
"In your dreams."
She lifted the rifle and aimed straight at them.
Raven knew exactly what would happen. Even if she managed to shoot one or two of them, their bullets would tear through her body within seconds.
Still, surrender was not an option.
"Fight me," she shouted.
Her finger pulled the trigger and a gunshot exploded into the night.
"Shoot!" the man in charge roared.
Gunfire erupted across the cliff turning the world into chaos.
Bullets tore through the air. One slammed into her stomach. Another ripped through her leg.
"Ah"
Pain exploded through Raven's body as she staggered backward, blood spilling down her side.
Her foot slipped on the loose gravel.
For a single second she felt nothing but the cold wind against her skin.
Then the ground disappeared beneath her.
Raven fell from the cliff. Her body plunged into the dark ocean below, the freezing water swallowing her whole.
And as the darkness closed in around her, everything faded to black.
....
"I think she's regaining consciousness," a woman said softly.
Raven heard the voice before she fully felt her body.
Pain slowly returned to her chest, spreading through her ribs like burning fire. Her eyelids twitched before finally opening.
The bright white lights above her made her wince.
For a few seconds, everything looked blurred. Then the shapes slowly sharpened.
A hospital ceiling. Machines. White curtains and two nurses standing beside her bed.
"The patient is awake," one nurse announced quickly. "Go call the doctor."
The other nurse immediately rushed out of the room.
Raven's lips moved weakly.
"Water." Her voice was barely a whisper as her throat felt like sand.
The nurse quickly lifted a small glass and helped her sip. The cool water slid down her throat, but before she could even process the relief, something slammed into her mind.
The cliff, gunshots, and the fall.
Her breathing suddenly grew uneven, and her eyes widened in realization.
Where am I?
"Where am I?" she demanded, her voice rough but sharp.
The nurse blinked, confused by the sudden intensity.
"You're in the hospital, Miss. You were unconscious all the—" before she could finish, Raven pushed herself up.
Pain exploded through her heart, but she ignored it.
"Miss, you can't get up!" the nurse gasped.
Raven had already ripped the IV needle from her arm. Blood trickled down her wrist as she swung her legs off the bed.
Her mind raced wildly.
'Did they capture me? Is this some kind of trap?'
The nurse tried to grab her arm. "Please lie down. Your injury are still—"
Raven yanked her arm away with dangerous force. "I said don't touch me."
Fear flashed across the nurse's face. "Miss, please calm down."
Raven's eyes darted across the room like a trapped animal searching for an exit.. until the door suddenly opened and a middle-aged doctor stepped inside.
"Ah good, you're awake. You sustained a severe injury and—" He paused in mid-sentence, seeing Raven, who had already moved.
Her hand snatched the metal medical scissors from the tray beside the bed, and before anyone could react, she charged forward.
"Stay back," Raven warned coldly.
The cold metal pressed directly against the doctor's throat as the nurses screamed.
Her eyes were sharp and wild.
"Madam please calm down," the doctor stammered, raising his hands slowly.
Raven tightened her grip around his collar and dragged him toward the door.
"You're going to walk," she whispered dangerously. "And you're going to get me out of here."
The doctor swallowed nervously.
"Please… you're mistaken. No one is holding you here."
"Move." Her voice held zero patience as they stepped out into the hospital corridor.
Nurses froze while the patients outside stared.
Someone gasped as the scissors pressed harder against the doctor's throat.
"Everyone back!" Raven ordered.
No one dared move.
Her vision blurred slightly from blood loss, but she forced herself to stay focused.
'Just get outside. Just escape.' She took another step forward.
Then suddenly— a man appeared at the end of the corridor.
Tall, broad shoulders and dark presence.
Raven's body froze instantly.
'No. It couldn't be.'
Her breath caught in her throat. But it was.
The same man.
The man who had looked straight at her the night of the mission.
The one who had somehow seen her from hundreds of meters away.
And as his eyes locked onto hers again, Raven felt the strength drain from her body.
Her grip loosened as the scissors slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the floor.
Her vision spun violently.
"No…" she whispered weakly.
The last thing she saw was him walking toward her.
Then everything went black again.