"Miss Darling," Joshua ventured, his curiosity getting the better of him, "how did you get so good at hypnosis? I thought it involved a lot more steps."


    Danielle gave a nonchnt shrug. "You either have it or you don’t."


    Joshua decided to drop the subject.


    "Hugh is likely already in Soufield. The maids in various households are probably his contacts. If that’s the case, then the Wulf n is definitely linked to the Shadow Domain," Danielle deduced aloud.


    David nodded grimly. "That’s a certainty now. I’ve been holding back on dealing with him to see if he’d lead us to his superiors."


    Joshua brightened up. "By the way, Miss Darling, my grandfather’s eightieth birthday is next month. You and David have toe!"


    "David already mentioned it. I’ll be there," Danielle replied. Still, her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She couldn’t shake the unease over Elliot’s safety.


    Elliot and his team were tracking a major drug lord, and after days of monitoring, they finally got a lead. The word was that the transaction would take ce tonight at the Wesnd abandoned warehouse. They had been tailing the operation for days and were ready to act.


    Elliot nced at his watch-there was still half an hour until 8 PM. "Position yourselves and stay hidden. Our primary target is Scorpion. Try to capture him alive. As soon as the deal starts, we move in," he instructed.


    "Understood."


    At 8 PM sharp, several cars slowly rolled into the warehouse. The headlights turned off, but the people inside didn’t get out for several minutes, making it hard to tell how many there were.


    From his hidden spot in the corner, Elliot checked his watch again. Twenty minutes had passed, and no one had made a move yet. It didn’t seem like they’d been exposed-if they had, the targets would have bolted by now. All they could do was wait.


    Ten minutester, more cars arrived. The headlights went out, and again, the upants stayed inside.


    "Hold your positions," Elliot whispered into his earpiece.


    Five minutester, two men finally got out of the vehicles. They appeared to be in the middle of a conversation. The team kept their distance to avoid alerting them, unsure of what was being said.


    It seemed like the deal was about to happen.


    A tall man approached a 4x4 vehicle, and the rear window rolled down. Inside sat a man in his forties, dressed in ck.


    The moment the window dropped, Elliot’s eyes locked onto the man in the car-it was their primary target, the elusive drug lord.


    This operation wasn’t supposed to involve them