She shook her head. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. What about over there?” The moonlight allowed her to see the road, but not much beyond it. Vincent glanced toward the lifeless body. “He took his own life. We’ll have to search the area for more answers.”

The enemy had several vehicles. They might uncover something useful inside.

Katelyn nodded. “Understood.”

Vincent turned to his team. “Take her back. The rest of you, follow me.” Knowing there was no reason for her to stay, Katelyn didn’t argue. She quietly walked toward the other side of the bridge with her assigned escorts. Flashlights cut through the darkness as they moved.

When Samuel and the others spotted her, a wave of relief washed over them. The earlier shootout had been brutal, and they couldn’t see what had happened from their position. Samuel had been restless with worry. If it weren’t for watching over Sophia, he would have rushed to help. Now that Katelyn had returned safely, he finally let out a small smile.

All of a sudden, Samuel felt a sharp stab of pain. He felt the cold steel of a dagger sink into his back. His instincts screamed that something was wrong. He tried to raise his gun, but before he could react, he was stabbed again.

A chilling voice whispered against his ear. “Die.”

Sophia, previously restrained, now had her hands free. She also removed the duct tape from her mouth.

Samuel was enduring severe pain. Though growing weaker, he still managed to hold the gun steady, aiming it at Sophia’s abdomen.

Bang!

Upon hearing the gunshot, Katelyn was shocked. Her face fell as she exclaimed, “Damn it! Something’s gone wrong!” She and her team hastened their pace, rushing toward the location where they had parked.

As Katelyn and her group turned the corner, they noticed the car door was slightly open. Someone had fallen out of the car. Before Katelyn could react, one of her men shouted, “It’s Samuel!”

ν?

Katelyn sprinted toward Samuel as quickly as she could. With the car door open, there was some illumination in that area. However, Katelyn wasn’t watching her step. She tripped several times but quickly got back up and kept running desperately.

With her gun drawn, Katelyn peered into the car, then turned to Samuel on the ground and asked, “Samuel, are you okay?”

At that moment, Sophia, clutching her abdomen and bleeding from her mouth, sat in the car. Her eyes filled with mockery as she said, “Katelyn, I’ll make sure you end up with no information, and you’ll be torn apart by the shadows.” Then, she aimed her gun at Katelyn.

Sophia had injured her right hand earlier, so she used her left hand to hold the gun this time. However, her left hand wasn’t as quick as her right, making her a bit slower than Katelyn in the end.

Katelyn’s bullet struck Sophia’s left hand.

Vincent, who was checking something nearby, became alarmed when he heard the gunshots. “Leave one person here. Everyone else, back now! Hurry!”

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