Page 158 of Villainous Intent

The lab’s destruction around me was nothing. Just a tantrum, a child breaking toys.

What I would bring to Chroma Bay tonight? That would be a masterpiece of devastation.

CHAPTER 32

ANNIE

I stared at the VEN broadcast, my brain refusing to process what I was seeing. The bright red ticker tape scrolling across the bottom of the screen read: “CIPHER’S NIGHT OF TERROR: 27 DEAD ACROSS CHROMA BAY.”

Viper’s green-tinted hair seemed particularly venomous this morning as she delivered the news with barely concealed excitement.

“—sources confirm all victims had connections to the late Baron Ash, leading analysts to speculate this unprecedented rampage was Cipher’s way of securing his position at the top of the League rankings for the rest of the season. Let’s take a look at those numbers now⁠—“

The screen shifted to the League rankings board. Cipher’s name blazed at the top, his point total so astronomically higher than second place that it looked like a glitch in the system.

I heard the shatter before I registered that my coffee cup had slipped from my fingers. Hot liquid splashed across my bare feet, but I couldn’t feel it.

Twenty-seven people. Dead. In one night.

“Annie?”

Havoc’s voice came from behind me. I couldn’t turn around. Couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen where Viper was now showing grainy security footage of a shadow moving through a warehouse, followed by flashes of light and then nothing.

“Annie, your cup.” Havoc stepped around me, his body blocking my view of the screen. He glanced down at the ceramic shards scattered across the kitchen floor, then up at the television. “Oh, that.”

“That?” My voice came out strangled. “Twenty-seven people are dead, and you’re saying ‘oh, that’ like he forgot to take out the trash?”

Havoc’s expression didn’t change. “They were Baron Ash’s network.”

I stared at him, this man who’d raised me, who’d taught me about rules and boundaries and the careful balance between Heroes and Villains. “Since when do you condone mass murder?”

“Since when do you care about the people who helped drug and kidnap you?” He countered, his blue eyes piercing mine.

I flinched. Last night I’d come here because I couldn’t go home to Dawn covered in blood. I’d needed Havoc and his steady presence while I tried to process what had happened in that recovery room.

What I’d let happen. What I’d wanted to happen.

“He sent me away,” I said, hating how small my voice sounded. “Like I was nothing. And then he went and—” I gestured helplessly at the screen, where they were now showing body bags being loaded into coroner vans.

Havoc’s expression softened. “Annie⁠—”

“Don’t ‘Annie’ me! Twenty-seven people! That’s—“ My voice cracked. I bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the mug, but Havoc caught my arm.

“Leave it. Sit down.”

I let him guide me to one of the kitchen stools, as the VEN broadcast continued in the background, Viper’s voice now excitedly breaking down Cipher’s meteoric rise in the rankings.

“He fucked me and sent me away,” I said, the words tumbling out. “Used me like a fucking stress ball and then dismissed me so he could go on his murder spree.”

Havoc’s expression shifted, his eyes widening slightly. Oops. Probably shouldn’t have led with that particular detail.

“Annie—”

“Twenty-seven people, Havoc!” My hands fluttered in the air, gesturing wildly at the screen. “Because Baron Ash touched his property. That’s all I am to him, a possession. Something he owns. And when someone messed with his things, he had to send a message.”

I was talking too fast, my words running together. The coffee puddle spread across the floor, seeping between the tiles. I couldn’t stop staring at it, watching it divide into tiny rivers.

“He got what he needed from me. A quick fuck to take the edge off before he went hunting. Because that’s our arrangement, right? No strings attached. Just bodies.” I laughed. “And now everyone knows exactly what happens when you touch Cipher’s plaything.”