The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Lucas narrowed his eyes, a sign that he was contemplating the silence of Vivienne, who had been quiet up until this point. Despite her silence, he knew of her past accomplishments and didn’t underestimate the young woman.

“What is it?” he prompted.

Vivienne cocked an eyebrow, her voice laced with skepticism. “With all the higher-up hotshots, why send us?”

This mission reeked of danger.

If the higher-ups couldn’t find the evidence, what made Lucas think they could?

Dealing with a single GTO was tough enough, and they still hadn’t figured out who was pulling Samantha’s strings. She wasn’t about to take on a suicide mission without good reason.

Caught off guard by her directness, Lucas hesitated. His gaze settled on Percival, whose deep-set eyes betrayed no intention of stifling Vivienne’s challenge.

Two little foxes.

Lucas lowered his voice, “You two are rookies in the world of ancient warrior lineages, and this is a direct order from the top brass. You don’t have the luxury of refusal.”

A palpable sense of authority filled the study.

An average person would’ve crumbled under such pressure, but Vivienne remained composed.

“What if we don’t comply? You think you can boss us around with orders? That might work on your own people, but I’m just a regular citizen, not part of your machine. Orders don’t mean squat to me!” she retorted with a defiant lean in her chair.

“And besides, with all those ancient warrior lineages and their impressive skills and secret manuals, Mr. Wolf and I are just ordinary folks. This kind of gig? Not really our cup of tea.”

Lucas was taken aback. He had only just learned of Vivienne’s existence and knew nothing of her personality.

He had mistaken them for pliable kids, only to be surprised by Vivienne’s resistance.

Turning to Percival, Lucas remarked, “You’re one of us, Percival. The first rule of Vanguard Agency is to follow orders!”

I resigned a while back. I’m

‘plain’, Percival’s eyes

his status, he would have scolded them directly. What was so ‘plain’

of Vanguard Agency’s special

The guards outside

Behind the screen.

thick fabric obscured his view, allowing him only glimpses of the

but recalling the Percival he had encountered earlier

young man his father had praised was

young woman, so

honor, and yet she had the gall to refuse. How could Richard Ellington have chosen such a cowardly granddaughter-in-law

realized that

composure. Remembering the orders from above, he said, “Fine,

systems during the investigation. With this badge, you can act first and ask questions later, provided there’s a valid reason. Local resources and manpower are at your

and Percival shared a

document, skimmed it, and handed

and you can recruit anyone

and said, “Alright then, I’m

“I’ve

to confront the Abernathy family.

reason for them to linger. Lucas was eager for them to leave,

about to exit the study, Vivienne glanced back at the towering screen embroidered with a

“What are you looking at? Get

exchanged a look

way back, Percival drove while glancing at

fiddled with a trinket in the car and said,

a fourth presence in the room with them and

eyebrows rose; he knew Vivienne

didn’t at first, but…” he trailed