The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 104

A signature red smirk tugged at her lips full of unapologetic pride.

Wunder how Ray’s doing right now, Nova mused. “That guy.

“Sooner or later, I’ll cross paths with him again, she thought, her eyes ginting with a dangerous edge.

Aside from those small-time gigs she used to take on campus, this was her first real mission since breaking out of prison. Compared to the countless world-class, hell-level missions she’d crushed before her escape, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Once she rebuilt her power base in the shadową, she’d be back at her peak-just like before she ever set foot in prison. And that day was coming soon.

*****

Over at the Northern Squad, a shady underworld figure was kneeling in front of Pay Hale, shaking like a leaf.

He stammered, “I-I didn’t mean to… I swear I wasn’t trying to trick you… I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!

“It’s just… being a prison escapee got me a lot of perks, and I never thought it’d cause all this trouble…

“Please, just let me go! I swear I won’t do it again, I promise!”

This was the guy who’d been impersonating Nova, posing as one of the escapees from Devil’s Isle.

His desperate pleas had barely faded when-

Bang

Ray wasted no time-he put a bullet right through the guy, blood splattering across the room. His face twisted into a cold, menacing grimace, the very picture of ruthless fury.

“2366!

“Where the hell are you hiding?

“No matter where you run-even if you’re lost in some miserable corner of Africa, chilling in peaceful Zoria, or buried deep in the frozen wasteland…

“I swear, I’ll hunt you down and drag you back, no matter what it takes!”

*****

Back at the hotel, Nova and Andrew had barely stepped through the front door and made it up to the second floor when they were suddenly blocked at the stairwell by a group-including the selection officer, Oliver, Leanne, and Violet.

They looked like they’d just woken up, all anxious and ready to head out to look for someone. Their eyes widened the moment they caught sight of Nova and Andrew.

Oliver rushed over and said, “Where have you two been? I thought you were just going for a walk. You were gone forever! “I was worried sick, thinking something might’ve happened to you. I was about to wake everyone up to go look for you!” Violet looked totally wrecked, barely awake and way past sympathy for Nova. The moment she laid eyes on Nova, any hint of pity from earlier just disappeared.

Violet snapped, voice dripping with annoyance, “Can you not stir up drama for one second? Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?

“Seriously, with you around, there’s no way we can ever finish a mission!

“Because of you two, the whole team got yanked out of bed in the middle of the night. Nobody got any decent sleep, so how the hell are we supposed to survive tomorrow’s mission?

“So if we screw this up, who’s taking the blame, huh? You?

“Yeah right, like you’d ever be up for that! Don’t kid yourself!”

Everyone there, including the selection officer, threw Nova these disappointed looks, clearly fed up with her antics. They honestly felt she’d gone too far this time.

‘She’s just a teenager, after all… Maybe she got a bit full of herself after showing off with that AK-18 stunt, they all thought. ‘In the end, she’s just an ordinary girl. Guess we put way too much faith in her. Honestly, if she can just not drag us down, we should count ourselves lucky…

That was what went through everyone’s minds at that moment.

Before their disappointment could even set in, Nova stepped up, fishing a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and

M

Chapter 12 Mesi Arxemplthau

flashing it in front of the group.

rcing everyone’s jaws drop, Nova couldn’t help but smirk and with a teasing drawl, announced loud and clear. “This is Dr. Hayes’s research report-1 snagged it right from Mihoon. Mission? Absolutely crushed.”

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