EMBER’S POV

“That is enough, Knox Volkov.” Her breath saws against my ear. “Or I redecorate this floor with your girl’s skull. Drop the men, drop the chain, and get down. Now.”

Knox goes still.

He turns, slow, and takes in the sight of my own mother holding a gun to my head.

“Let her go,” he growls, dropping the rogue in his grip and diving forward.

Bang.

The gunshot cuts through the casino noise. A bullet buries itself into the floorboards an inch from Knox’s brogues, stopping his charge instantly.

Devika grinds the hot barrel violently into the base of my skull. Before I can gasp, her free hand...