Sheena Ryder Blacked ~upd~ -

The serpent man's smile faltered. Marcus lunged, zip-ties and all, knocking the blade from his hand. The other two men moved. Sheena kicked the taser toward Marcus, who caught it with his bound hands and fired.

Sheena Ryder reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and deleted the violation report. Then she looked at the man who had shown her that the most dangerous blackout wasn't a lost signal—it was the darkness inside a fortress that had forgotten how to let anyone in. sheena ryder blacked

The world narrowed to a pinprick. Sheena had no partner. No backup. The fortress she'd built had no doors—for anyone else. She had walked into a trap not of violence, but of leverage. And Marcus, the con man, the ghost, was the black ink they were using to sign her surrender. The serpent man's smile faltered

The boiler room exploded into a chaos of blue light, shouts, and the screech of metal. Sheena grabbed a fire extinguisher, swung it like a club, and didn't stop swinging until the only people left standing were her and the man she was supposed to lock away. Sheena kicked the taser toward Marcus, who caught

Marcus looked up. His face was bruised, one eye swollen shut. But his gaze was clear, and it pinned her with a strange, desperate urgency. "Sheena, listen to me. The blackout wasn't a violation. It was a beacon. They needed you to come alone."

"Your ankle monitor," she said, breathless. "It's still off."