She Came Back. So Did the Kill Order.
In his sickroom, sutures tight, Jack watches the woman he buried step through the door—Katie, now Nancy, wearing their old ring and a new name. Hope sparks where scar tissue lives. But her connections run straight to Ace and Solitaire’s bloodline. His dog approves; his instincts don’t.
Minutes later, a hitter confesses a contract—signed, he swears, by Nancy. Sharks and piranha: another syndicate circling. Jack sets bait, plays loyalties he doesn’t believe in, and cracks a card cipher: crazy eight king. Thirteen days to a party full of faces and knives. Heal fast. Decide faster.