The gun on the table was real. I knew that before I saw the man holding it. In the most expensive restaurant in New York, a three-year-old boy was screaming so hard the crystal

The heavy locks gave way with a loud metallic snap.

The double doors swung open slowly, revealing Victor Vance standing in the doorway. He was wearing a tactical vest over his suit, holding an assault rifle, flanked by four armed mercenaries.

"Ricardo!" Victor’s voice echoed through the high-ceilinged gallery. "Come out, come out, wherever you are! You can't hide behind dead memories forever!"

Victor stepped into the room, his heavy boots clicking against the polished hardwood floor. He looked around at the portraits of Sophia, a twisted, cruel grin spreading across his face.

"Five years I waited for this," Victor sneered, raising his rifle and shooting out one of the large framed photographs on the wall. Glass shattered everywhere. "She thought she was so clever, hiding that ledger. And now, I get to kill her husband and the little rat who watched her die in Boston!"

Behind the piano, Ricardo looked at me. His eyes were dark, filled with an unshakeable, lethal determination. He squeezed my hand tight.

"Stay down," Ricardo whispered into my ear. "No matter what happens."

Before I could stop him, Ricardo stood up from behind the piano, his weapon held at his side.

"Victor," Ricardo said coldly, his voice echoing through the room. "You talk too much."

Victor’s mercenaries instantly raised their weapons, but Ricardo was faster.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Ricardo fired with terrifying precision. Three mercenaries dropped to the floor before they could even pull their triggers. The fourth mercenary fired a wild burst, striking Ricardo in the left shoulder.

Ricardo grunted, stumbling back against the piano, his gun slipping from his fingers.

"Ricardo!" I screamed, breaking cover and raising my pistol.

Victor spun around, swinging his rifle toward me, a manic laugh escaping his throat. "There she is! The brave little witness!"

CRACK!

I pulled the trigger of my pistol, striking Victor square in the chest armor. The force of the bullet knocked him off balance, forcing him back a step.

Victor spat blood, his eyes burning with fury as he leveled his rifle straight at my head. "You're dead, girl!"

Suddenly, a shadow rose up behind him.

Ricardo, despite the blood soaking his left arm, lunged forward with devastating power. He grabbed Victor’s rifle, twisted it out of his hands, and slammed a heavy right hook into Victor’s jaw.

Victor crashed onto the hardwood floor, his weapon skidding across the room.

Ricardo stood over him, breathing heavily, his dark eyes glowing with pure, unadulterated vengeance. He pulled a secondary blade from his belt, pinning Victor to the floor with his boot pressed firmly against his neck.

"This is for Sophia," Ricardo growled, his voice vibrating with five years of buried rage.

"Wait!" Victor gasped, choking under the heavy boot. "Ricardo... wait! The ledger! I know where the ledger is!"