The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

In the dead of night, with the lights off and still in the bedroom!

“Damn it, Percival! What have you done to my daughter? She’s still a minor!”

Percival looked into Dorian’s fuming eyes with a hint of resignation, “We were just talking.”

“Talking? Why in the dark? Were you two kissing like Isolde said, right here in the room?” Thaddeus giggled behind his hand.

Isolde had spilled everything to Thaddeus, including when she overheard Vivienne and Percival kissing in the bedroom!

Dorian’s eyes seemed to bulge even more.

Cordelia’s cheeks flushed as she pulled Thaddeus away. “Thaddeus, stop making things up. Vivienne and Percival were just… doing homework. Yeah, that’s it. Now you better finish yours.”

Thaddeus snickered and scampered off to his room with his backpack.

Percival deliberately avoided Dorian’s gaze and cleared his throat, “Mom, Dad, I should head out.”

With that, Percival made a beeline for the door.

The more he thought about Thaddeus’s words, the guiltier he felt!

Where the heck was Leopold when he was supposed to be on the lookout?

Leopold and Anna were indeed on duty, standing guard with due diligence.

When Percival emerged from the house, Leopold dropped his guard and approached. “All sorted out, Percival?”

Percival responded with a swift kick to Leopold’s rear. “Didn’t you see someone go upstairs?”

Anna and Leopold looked baffled, nodding in unison.

“We saw, we even texted you.”

Especially Leopold, rubbing his backside with a woebegone expression. He had sent Percival the message the moment he saw Dorian’s family within thirty feet!

Percival glanced at his phone, and sure enough, there was a message, which he had missed while with Vivienne.

throat, Percival pointed at Anna and

turned to Leopold. “You’re

caught on, “Oh, got it. You’re in trouble with your father-in-law because you

“After you drop me off, do five hundred push-ups and six hundred sit-ups outside Griffin’s house. Don’t

picture of shock. Push-ups and sit-ups were one thing, but why outside Griffin’s

to split

from HQ to the Vanguard Agency’s

City. Wolf leads the

expressions vanished from their faces. Anna wanted to speak, but Percival cut her off. “You

saluted crisply, “Yes,

Leopold set out

deeply, his

Weststart City, a place known for its abandoned coal mines, far from

the sudden mission details to Vivienne, “It was all very abrupt; I don’t know the specifics. But Ms.

nodded in

aside the puzzling appearance of White Tiger in Weststart City, the

the command structure, snipers, and such. They would disseminate maps to squad leaders

emergencies, team leaders would have a heads-up to plan within half an hour before announcing

not afford to act rashly for the sake of

tracking CK and White Tiger as its

capture such a high-profile target with

her brow, “Anna, let’s

questions. She donned her coat, checked her sidearm, and left with

boarded the transport to Weststart

yet. Familiarize yourself with the basic

be in the field,

squad covered the perimeter, and Soren joined Percival to head straight for the heart

the car, and it was not because they were heading deep into enemy

you’re the commander, the head honcho. You shouldn’t be on the

to stay back and oversee the

squad leader, and to top it off, the deputy director, waltz into the lion’s

were linked to the command vehicle on-site, and Micah heard everything loud and

if he heard it all; the whole situation was out

the only person Percival had managed to tick off