Novels by Olabisi Akande

Selene’s POVThe storm arrived like it had been hunting us all night. Rain slammed against the service station roof, shaking loose bolts and dust.Cassius stood in front of me, gun raised, every line of his body coiled tight. He didn’t blink, he didn’t breathe.Boots crunched outside. Slow, heavy, and deliberate.My pulse climbed into my throat. “Cassius…that sounds like”“Livia,” he finished.Lightning flashed, cutting through the cracked window. Her shadow appeared, soaked, furious, and pacing like a predator waiting for blood.“Cassius!” she yelled. “You can’t hide her forever!”Cassius didn’t move. “Stay behind me,” he said without looking back.I obeyed, even though my legs were shaking hard enough to rattle the shelf behind me.The door handle shook violently. Then again, even harder.“Open the damn door!” she screamed.Cassius’s voice dropped into a deadly whisper. “Quiet.”The command wrapped around my spine. I held my breath as Livia kicked the door again.The wood split near

Selene’s POVThe desert wind whipped across my face as Cassius pushed the bike deeper into nowhere. He didn’t slow, didn’t speak, and didn’t even look back.Something heavy sat between us, not just fear but truth he hadn’t said yet, one I could feel pressing on the air like it was quietly waiting to explode.I could feel it pressing down on my chest, cold and relentless, twisting my stomach into knots. God, it was suffocating.We stopped at an abandoned service station miles off the main road. The place looked like a skeleton of a building with rusted beams, cracked walls, and broken windows, like it had been forgotten long before we arrived.Cassius parked behind it and scanned the area as if danger lived in the shadows. Every movement he made was precise, almost predatory, as though he expected trouble to come crashing through the walls at any second.“Get inside,” he said.The door creaked loudly as we stepped into the dim, dusty room. Old tires were stacked in one corner. A broken

Selene’s POVThe envelope felt heavier than paper should. Maybe because my name was written on it like a threat, sharp enough to leave a mark on my skin.Cassius placed it on the table between us. His jaw was locked tight, a muscle ticking like he was holding back something violent.“Open it,” he said.My fingers trembled as I tore it gently. A single note slid out.WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE, SELENE.WE KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE.My breath caught, stuck in my throat. “What does this mean?”Cassius watched me carefully. “It means Darius knows you’re here.”Livia muttered a curse under her breath. “Someone’s talking. Someone inside here.”My stomach twisted hard. “Why would Darius want me? I don’t have anything.”Cassius took one step closer. “That’s the problem.”“What?”“He thinks you do.”His voice was low, steady, terrifyingly calm. I shook my head.“My father left me with nothing.”Cassius’s eyes softened for the smallest second, a flicker of pity or something close to it, then it hardened agai

Selene’s POVThe gun didn’t move. The man kept the gun aimed straight at my chest. His hands shook, but his eyes were steady, too steady. That was what scared me most.He took one step inside the office. “Don’t move,” he said.I froze. My breath lodged in my throat, sharp and painful.Before he could speak again, Cassius’s voice cracked down the hallway like a whip. “Put it down.”The man didn’t turn. He didn’t lower his arm.“She’s the reason Darius found us,” he spat. “Her old man brought hell here, and I’m ending it.”My knees weakened. Cassius stepped into the doorway like a storm waiting to break, all muscle and fury.“Point that gun at her again,” he said quietly, “and you won’t walk out.”The man laughed, but it sounded strained, and desperate. “You’re protecting her? After what her father did to us?”Cassius didn’t blink. “Last warning.”The man’s finger tightened on the trigger. The click echoed in my ears like lightning splitting the room.Cassius moved faster than I though

Selene’s POVThe night smelled like rain and gasoline. I locked the café door and pulled my jacket tighter as the desert wind slid across my skin, sharp enough to make me flinch.It had been a long shift. Too many customers, too many stories I didn’t care to hear, God, I was exhausted.I stepped onto the gravel road. It was quiet, the kind of quiet that made you hear your own heartbeat and wonder if something was listening back.My boots crunched softly as I walked. Arizona nights usually felt safe but not tonight. Something felt off, like the air was watching me.One engine growled behind me, then another. The sound thickened until the air vibrated, like it was warning me.I stopped walking without meaning to. “Not tonight,” I whispered to nobody.Headlights exploded across the road. Bright white swallowed me whole, like a punch of light straight to my chest.My throat tightened. My legs refused to move.Six motorcycles slowed to a circle around me. Leather, chrome, and rumbling engi