Page 56 of Controlled Drift
They weren’t amateurs.But they weren’t Black Tide.
Niko took them apart with ruthless efficiency, every movement honed, every shot measured.No wasted rounds.No hesitation.This wasn’t a raid.
This was extermination.
The estate rose ahead of them, lights blazing against the night like a dare.
Gregory Payne was home.
Niko felt the weight of it settle into his bones—not fear.Not rage.
Purpose.
Whatever trap Gregory thought he’d laid.
Whatever game he thought he was still playing.
He’d forgotten one thing.
Ethan Payne was no longer alone.
And Black Tide had come to collect.
Chapter Eleven
“Front team set.”
Niko didn’t raise his voice.He didn’t need to.Every man on comms was already still, breath slowed, weapons up, the world narrowed to angles and shadows and the weight of what waited inside.
The estate loomed above them, all glass and stone and deliberate arrogance.Lights burned in every room, a deliberate choice.Gregory had never liked the dark.Darkness hid too much.Light, he believed, gave control.
Niko pressed his shoulder against the outer wall, the cold seeping through fabric and muscle, grounding him.Ethan stood at his right, silent, eyes fixed on the wide-open front doors like they were a wound in the house’s body.
Unlocked.
That detail gnawed at him.
