The First Lie

010

​The red lights flashed against the metal walls of the archive, casting shadows across the computer racks. The air conditioner turned off with a heavy groan, and the room started getting cold fast as the lockdown stopped the airflow.

​I hit the metal door with my fists again, gasping for air as the oxygen slowly thinned.

​"Open up! Damn it, open up!" I shouted, knowing nobody could hear me through the thick steel.

​The person who locked the door remotely didn't just want to trap me; they wanted to force us out. The mysterious executioner hiding in the dark was playing mind games, trying to show Dante and me that we were not safe even inside our own home.

​Suddenly, I heard a loud sound from the other side of the heavy door. Someone was working fast at the control box in the hallway.

​BZZZZT!

​Blue sparks flew out from the wall panel beside the door. The heavy locks pulled back with a loud screech, and the metal door swung open from the outside.

​Dante stood in the doorway.

​His face was pale, and his dark eyes looked wide and terrified. He grabbed my arm hard, pulling me out of the freezing archive and slamming the door shut just as footsteps echoed down the hall.

​"Move!" Dante growled, pulling me behind him as he pulled out his gun and ran up the dark stairs, leading me through a maze of hallways until we were safely back inside his private office.

​The moment the office door was locked, Dante pushed me softly against the bookshelf, standing close to me. His chest was moving up and down fast, his breath hot against my face.

​"Are you out of your damn mind?" Dante roared, his voice shaking with anger. "The lockdown alert went straight to my computer! If I hadn't fixed the system and changed the power lines in time, you would have stayed locked down there until my father's men came to kill you!"

​"I found what we needed," I shot back, not backing down from his anger. I pulled my phone from my pocket and held it up between us, my eyes burning with fierce determination. "I have the bank papers. I have proof that your father's killer is alive, and I found the transfer records proving your father stole my family's money before he killed them."

​Dante stared at the phone screen, his jaw tightening as he read the file. But the anger in his eyes didn't go away. It turned into cold mistrust.

​"You did not listen to me," Dante hissed, his voice dropping low and dangerous. "I told you to wait. I told you the archive was a trap."

​"And if I waited, we would never know about the secret accounts!" I yelled, pushing my hands against his chest to put some space between us. The fear from the close call was wearing off, leaving only raw emotion. "You're angry because I didn't ask for your permission, Dante. You want a partner, but you only want someone who obeys your orders like a soldier!"

​"I want a partner who stays alive!" Dante shouted back, his hands shooting out to grab my waist, pulling me hard against his body so fast the breath left my lungs.

​The argument stopped right there, replaced by a sudden wave of heat.

​We stood in the dim light of the office, breathing each other's air. The anger between us turned into something heavy and desperate. Every fight and every secret had led to this exact moment.

​Dante looked down at my mouth, his dark eyes burning with a hunger that made no sense.

​"You drive me insane, Lyra," he whispered, his voice rough and broken. "Every time I try to keep you safe, you walk right into the fire."

​"Then stop trying to cage me," I whispered back softly to his ears, my hands sliding into his pants to rest in between his thighs. My heart pounded against my throat as a rush of pleasure engulfed me. 

​Dante let out a low, rough moan. He didn't answer with words. He lowered his head and kissed me deep and hard, swallowing every saliva from my mouth.

​It wasn't gentle. It was passionate and heavy with all the fear and anger we had been holding inside. I opened my mouth to his, matching his wild energy, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close until our bodies touched.

​His large hands slid up my back, gripping me tight as he lifted me up and set me down on the edge of the desk. I put my fingers in his dark hair, pulling him closer as his lips moved from my mouth down my jaw to my chest and all over my body. A sharp breath escaped my throat, and Dante groaned against my skin, holding my hips tight. I pleaded with me to stop wasting time and just enter inside of me as my body was trembling from the rush wave of emotions and pleasure.

​In that dark room, surrounded by enemies and hidden secrets, nothing else mattered. There was only the heat of his skin, the heavy sound of his heart, and the desperate need to feel alive.

​When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing hard, resting our foreheads together in the quiet room.

​Dante’s thumb brushed gently across my lower lip, a soft touch breaking through his hard armor. "We have to finish this, Lyra. Both of us. Together against my father."

​"Together," I agreed, my voice soft and steady.

​Before either of us could move, a phone beeped on the desk.

​BEEP-BEEP.

​Dante stepped back slowly, walking over to his desk where his burner phone lay face-down. He picked it up, swiped the screen, and froze completely.

​He turned the phone around so the screen faced me. Resting on the display was a new picture, taken just moments ago a picture of me standing inside the restricted archive, holding my flashlight. It was sent by the same mysterious executioner who had slipped the envelope through our door, proving he was the one playing tricks behind the lockdown.

​Underneath the picture were simple typed words:

​Your father's secrets are no longer yours alone.