They stormed my store to reclaim a 130-pound Cane Corso, but when his billionaire owner finally arrived, the dog ignored his command and sat on my foot—then suddenly froze at something behind him.

The first explosion shook the bunker so violently that I was thrown off my feet. Dust and debris rained down from the concrete ceiling. The progress bar on the screen crawled to 12%.

"They are bombing the main entrance!" Roman yelled over the deafening noise. He tossed a flashbang grenade toward the heavy steel door just as a massive shape-charge ripped the metal off its hinges.

The blinding light of the flashbang detonated, followed by the frantic screams of mercenaries caught in the blast. Roman did not hesitate. He stepped out from cover, firing short, controlled bursts into the smoke. Three men in white winter camouflage dropped heavily to the floor.

"Titan, flank!" Roman commanded.

The giant dog shot forward like a furry missile, vanishing into the thick smoke. A second later, a terrifying scream echoed from the corridor, accompanied by the sickening crunch of bone. Titan was doing exactly what he was trained to do.

I crouched behind the server banks, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip my pistol. The progress bar hit 25%.

Suddenly, the reinforced glass skylight above the armory shattered. Ropes dropped into the room, and heavily armed men began repelling directly into the bunker from a hovering helicopter.

"Above us!" I screamed, raising my pistol and firing blindly at the falling figures. I managed to clip one mercenary in the shoulder, sending him crashing into a weapons rack, but there were too many of them.

Roman spun around, unleashing a hail of bullets at the skylight to force the helicopter to pull away. But the distraction cost him. A massive mercenary stepped through the smoking ruins of the front door, raising a grenade launcher directly at Roman.

"Roman, look out!" I shrieked.

Titan leaped over a fallen concrete block, biting viciously into the mercenary's leg. The man stumbled, firing the grenade wildly. It missed Roman but struck the power conduit along the right wall.

The explosion was catastrophic. The blast threw me backward, my head slamming hard against the metal grating of the floor. The world spun in dizzying circles, and a high-pitched ringing drowned out the sounds of gunfire.

Through my blurred vision, I saw the bunker’s main lights flicker and die, replaced by the eerie red glow of emergency backups. The servers sparked, but thankfully, the progress bar kept inching upward. 48%...

I tried to push myself up, but a heavy combat boot slammed down on my chest, pinning me to the floor. I gasped for air, looking up into the cold, dead eyes of a man wearing a black tactical mask.

"Hold your fire, Calder!" a smooth, chilling voice echoed over a megaphone from outside the bunker.

Roman stopped shooting. He stepped out from behind a concrete pillar, his rifle lowered but his eyes blazing with murderous fury. Titan stood by his side, covered in dust and blood, barring his terrifying teeth.

Walking through the shattered entrance was a tall, elegant man wearing a pristine black winter coat that looked entirely out of place in a warzone. His silver hair was perfectly combed.

"Silas," Roman growled.