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Chapter 39: Mastermind's Gambit
last update2025-03-21 15:01:57

Jones woke up to pain. A dull, throbbing agony that radiated from his ribs, his jaw, his knuckles. His body felt like it had been run over by a truck—no, by Calhoun.

But he was alive.

Barely.

He blinked against the harsh light, his vision swimming. A broken ceiling fan spun lazily above him, the rusted metal groaning with every turn. The air smelled of dust, old leather, and something metallic—blood. His own.

A shadow moved beside him.

“Jones,” Riley’s voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “You with me?”

He turned his head slightly. Riley was crouched beside him, her face streaked with dirt and dried blood. Her eyes, though tired, burned with something fierce. Determination.

Across the room, Kayla was pressing a torn cloth to Jace’s shoulder, whispering something he was too weak to respond to. Dre was slumped against a crate, his breathing shallow but steady.

They had all barely survived.

And Clinton was still out there.

Jones exhaled slowly, shifting, forcing himself to sit up de
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