Page 39 of Us Defiant Few

And then…

Nothing.

The rest was a blank canvas, like trying to flip to a previous chapter of a book to find the pages torn out.

The last thing he remembered was waking up in Hermes and receiving orders from Doctor Strauss to destroy the Aces and bring their criminal leader, Jack, to justice.

Once Doctor Strauss gave him the order, Takeshi had an undeniable urge to follow it. To not even question the command.

But when that dangerously beautiful girl called his name outside the Aces’ hideout, something menacing stirred within him. Her voice was a violent gut punch that left him reeling, and his brain demanded he destroy her.

But Takeshi was unsuccessful, and his enemies captured him.

His first plan when he awoke was to kill them all and report back to Doctor Strauss.

Especially her.

The girl who sat across from him in the tiny cell and claimed to have known him in Braderhelm Prison.

He quickly dismissed it as a farce.

Takeshi would’ve remembered a girl like her.

She was a complete and utter stranger. Not to be trusted.

But for some inexplicable reason, his heart disagreed. It beat a battle drum in his chest. His muscles clenched and tightened, wanting to draw closer to her.

And when he stared into her eyes, a dark voice inside him bellowed.

But he ignored the strange echo and saw the insignificant girl for what she was—a tool and a pest to eradicate.

That’s what he kept repeating to himself in the cell.

Follow the mission. Be the soldier you were trained to be. Obey.

But ignoring her was like convincing his lungs to never inhale.

She was an enthralling creature. Her eyes were like stars he’d never witnessed. And the longer she spoke, the more Takeshi wanted to rip open her mind and memorize all her fears.

His enemies were clever in choosing her. She was a perfect distraction and handpicked to break him.

His only option was to crush her first.

But when he came up with an escape plan, a more nefarious idea took shape. He could take her with him. Tie her up. Make her his prisoner and extract every secret buried beneath those eyes.

But that opportunity never arrived. He was knocked unconscious and woke in a makeshift hospital bed, surrounded by doctors in white robes.

Lane was the only person who spoke in his presence. The others were too terrified. A smart reaction.

Lane quickly explained the surgery they’d performed to remove a chip implanted in his brain. He said the chip had given him false memories and was designed to control him.

Takeshi refused to believe the doctor.

But then, Lane showed him video footage of them extracting the chip.

Takeshi nearly killed every doctor in his vicinity.

Someone had implanted a device in him without permission?