The last rogue wolf collapsed near the warehouse doors.
Silence slowly returned to the docks, broken only by the distant rumble of the trucks disappearing into the night.
Vivian stood in the middle of the warehouse, breathing hard.
Her knife was still in her hand.
Blood some hers, most not stained the concrete around her boots.
Jamo's wolf form shifted back into human shape a few feet away. He grabbed a discarded jacket from one of the crates and pulled it over his shoulders as if the brutal fight had been nothing more than an inconvenience.
But his eyes were dark.
Watching her.
Vivian didn't notice.
Her gaze was still locked on the photograph in her hand.
Lucas.
Alive in that picture.
Standing beside Reyes.
Leading them.
Her mind rejected it completely.
"No," she whispered again.
Jamo approached slowly.
"You're thinking too loudly."
Vivian shot him a sharp look.
"My brother was not working with traffickers."
"I didn't say he was."
"The picture says otherwise."
Jamo stopped beside her.
He studied the photograph again.
Lucas stood at the front of the group, arms crossed, expression cold and focused. Nothing like the brother Vivian remembered.
But pictures could lie.
"Photos can be staged," Jamo said.
Vivian exhaled slowly.
"That's what I'm hoping."
Jamo crouched beside one of the unconscious rogues and checked his pulse.
Alive.
Barely.
"Good," Jamo muttered.
Vivian frowned.
"Why?"
Jamo stood again.
"Because he's going to answer some questions."
Outside, his men were already dragging two surviving rogues into the warehouse.
One of them groaned weakly.
Vivian stepped closer.
The rogue looked young. Maybe twenty. His face was bruised and bloodied from the fight.
But his eyes were still sharp.
Still defiant.
Jamo grabbed a metal chair and dragged it across the floor, the scraping sound echoing through the empty building.
He placed it directly in front of the captive wolf.
"Sit him up."
Two of Jamo's men forced the rogue into the chair.
Vivian leaned against a nearby crate, watching quietly.
Jamo crouched down so he was eye level with the captive.
"Your name."
The rogue spat blood onto the floor.
"Go to hell."
Jamo sighed.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Without warning, his fist slammed into the rogue's ribs.
A sickening crack followed.
The rogue gasped, struggling to breathe.
Vivian raised an eyebrow.
"You're very persuasive."
Jamo ignored the comment.
"Let's try again," he said calmly. "Your name."
The rogue coughed painfully.
"…Evan."
Jamo nodded once.
"Evan."
His voice stayed calm.
"Who gave the order for tonight's trap?"
Evan hesitated.
Jamo leaned closer.
"You've already lost," he said quietly. "Your friends are gone. Reyes ran."
The rogue's eyes flickered.
That reaction told them everything.
Vivian stepped forward slightly.
"You didn't expect him to leave you behind, did you?"
Evan's jaw tightened.
"He'll come back."
Jamo chuckled softly.
"No."
The word landed like a hammer.
"Reyes is many things," Jamo continued. "But loyal isn't one of them."
Evan said nothing.
Vivian crouched beside him now.
Her voice softened slightly.
"Tell us where he's going."
Evan looked at her.
Something strange passed through his expression.
Recognition.
"You're Vivian Black."
She froze.
Jamo noticed immediately.
"You know her."
Evan nodded slowly.
"Everyone does."
Vivian frowned.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Evan swallowed.
"You're the reason this started."
The words sent a ripple through the room.
Jamo's gaze sharpened.
"Explain."
Evan laughed weakly.
"You really don't know, Alpha?"
Vivian grabbed the front of his shirt.
"Know what?"
Evan's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Your brother isn't running from Black Unit."
Vivian's heart pounded.
"Then what is he doing?"
Evan's eyes locked on hers.
"He's running it."
The warehouse went completely still.
Vivian slowly released his shirt.
"No."
Evan smiled faintly through the blood on his lips.
"You want to know the truth?"
Her hands curled into fists.
"Yes."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Your brother built the biggest wolf trafficking network in the country."
The words hit harder than any punch.
Vivian staggered back slightly.
"That's a lie."
Jamo said nothing.
He was watching her carefully.
Evan continued speaking.
"Black Unit wasn't created by traffickers."
Vivian's voice trembled.
"Then who created it?"
Evan's smile widened.
"Lucas Black."
The photograph slipped from Vivian's hand and fell to the floor.
For the first time since the night began
She felt truly lost.
Jamo stepped forward slowly.
His voice was quiet but steady.
"That's enough."
Evan leaned back in the chair.
"You can kill me if you want," he said. "It won't change the truth."
Vivian looked down at the photograph again.
Lucas's face stared back at her.
The brother she had spent years searching for.
The brother she believed had been a victim.
Jamo picked up the photo and handed it back to her.
His voice softened slightly.
"Pictures and enemies don't decide the truth."
Vivian looked up at him.
"Then what does?"
Jamo's gaze hardened.
"We do."
Outside, the fog over the river thickened.
Somewhere in the darkness, Daniel Reyes was escaping.
And if Evan was telling the truth
The most dangerous man in this war wasn't Reyes.
It was Vivian's brother.
Lucas Black.
And they had just stepped into his game.