So damn close.But he hadn’t expected the trap, and that had been a serious—nearly fatal—mistake on his part. But when Deanna had screamed, he had known why. Pursuit had seemed the only possible option, even though he was working alone and had known Stephan had come with an army.What Stephan’s army didn’t know was that their great leader didn’t give a damn about any one of them; they were there to be sacrificed, and that was that. The more fools Stephan gathered around himself, the more fools he had to sacrifice along the way, security against his own capture or death.It was actually a miracle, Mark thought, that he had managed to make it back.He rolled, got out of bed and walked to the bathroom, where he stared at his face in the mirror.He should have looked a hell of a lot worse. But he’d never given up his weapons. No matter how many hits he had taken after being led straight into an ambush, he’d kept hold of his weapons, weapons his opponents hadn’t been prepared for.Stephan had known, of course.But his minions had no idea that Stephan knew his enemy, and so they had died for him.Mark looked at his face in the mirror again, damning himself.
