Page 2 of Hardline Torque
Niko swore, then nodded once.“Yeah.That’s ...not great.”
The fight surged around them.The sound was overwhelming—gunfire, shouted callouts, the metallic clang of rounds striking steel.Someone screamed and then the sound cut off abruptly.
Tane’s gut twisted.
This was wrong.
Not just bad luck.Not just sloppy intel.
Someone had known exactly where they’d funnel.Exactly when they’d pause, which meant it was someone who worked with or knew how Black Tide worked.
“Fall back!”Luca called.“We’re boxed in!”
Kael’s voice cut through the noise, low and sharp.“They’re herding us.”
That sent a chill straight down Tane’s spine.
He hauled Niko up, bracing him against his shoulder.“You stay with me,” he ordered.“You hear me?”
Niko gave a breathless laugh.“Not planning on going anywhere.”
The lights cut out.
Darkness slammed down hard, swallowing the warehouse whole.Gunfire stuttered, then shifted—controlled bursts now, deliberate, forcing Black Tide to move.
Tane tightened his grip on his weapon, heart hammering.His instincts screamed that this wasn’t the end of the fight.
It was the start of something worse.
As they pushed toward the exit, dragging the injured with them, Tane had one bone-deep certainty.
This was how Black Tide rolled.
And someone out there had just decided to test it.
Chapter One
