Chapter four

Rowan woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of Kael's voice.

"...need to move fast. Elena won't wait long before she tries again."

Rowan sat up, wincing at the pull of sore muscles. The events of the previous night came rushing back—the attack, the chase, the desperate intimacy that had followed. What the hell am I doing?

Kael stood by the window, phone pressed to his ear, his back to Rowan. He was shirtless, and Rowan found himself staring at the intricate tattoos that covered his torso—dragons and thorns and symbols Rowan couldn't read.

"Lucien," Kael said into the phone. "I need you to run interference. Make sure Elena thinks we're still at the penthouse."

His brother. The one who smiled too much and watched too closely.

Kael ended the call and turned, catching Rowan staring. "Morning."

"Morning." Rowan pulled the sheet up to cover his chest, suddenly self-conscious. "About last night—"

"Don't." Kael's voice was firm but not unkind. "Don't overthink it. We needed each other. That's all."

That's all. The words stung more than they should have. This is fake. This is pretend. This is not real.

"Right," Rowan said, forcing a smile. "Just stress relief."

Kael's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. "We need to talk about what happens next."

"Elena."

"Elena," Kael agreed. "And the fact that you're now officially my fiancé. The media is having a field day."

Rowan groaned. "My career is already in ruins. This is just going to make it worse."

"Or better." Kael tossed him a tablet. "Check the headlines."

Rowan scrolled through the articles, his stomach sinking. "Disgraced Journalist Snags Mafia Heir" and "From Scandal to Engagement: Rowan Vale's Dramatic Rise" and "Kael Draven's Secret Romance Revealed."

"This is a nightmare," Rowan muttered.

"This is opportunity." Kael sat on the edge of the bed, close enough that Rowan could feel the heat radiating from his body. "Elena can't touch you now. Not without starting a war."

"And you get your distraction."

"And I get you." Kael's hand found Rowan's knee, thumb tracing circles on bare skin. "Safe. Protected. Mine."

Rowan swallowed hard. "For now."

"For now," Kael agreed. "But maybe... maybe we could make it real."

The words hung between them, fragile and terrifying. Rowan wanted to reach for them, to grab hold of something that felt like hope. But fear held him back.

"I can't," he whispered. "Not yet. Not until this is over."

Kael nodded, but Rowan could see the hurt in his eyes. He cares. He actually cares.

"Then let's end it," Kael said. "Together."

---

The safe house felt smaller with every passing hour.

Rowan paced the length of the living room, mind racing. Kael had left to meet with his brother, leaving Rowan alone with his thoughts and the weight of their situation. What am I doing? What have I gotten myself into?

The door opened, and Kael returned with takeout and a grim expression.

"Lucien says Elena is planning something big," Kael said, setting down the food. "Something that will destroy us both."

"What kind of something?"

"She's going to expose your past." Kael's eyes met Rowan's. "Everything you've been running from."

Rowan's blood ran cold. No. Not that. Anything but that.

"How does she know?" Rowan whispered.

"Because she has sources. Because she's been watching you. Because she's Elena fucking Voss." Kael moved closer, hands settling on Rowan's shoulders. "But we can beat her. Together."

Rowan looked up at Kael, seeing the determination in his eyes, the fierce protectiveness that made his chest tight. This man would burn the world for me. And I would let him.

"Tell me what to do," Rowan said.

Kael's smile was sharp and satisfied. "That's my fiancé."

They spent the next hour planning, going over every detail of Elena's operation, every weakness they could exploit. It was intimate in a way that had nothing to do with sex—the way Kael trusted Rowan with his secrets, the way Rowan trusted Kael with his life.

When they finally collapsed onto the couch, exhausted but determined, Kael pulled Rowan into his arms.

"We'll win this," Kael murmured against Rowan's hair. "And when we do, maybe we can talk about making this real."

Rowan closed his eyes, letting himself believe for just a moment. Maybe. Maybe we can have this. Maybe we can have each other.

The sound of shattering glass shattered the moment.

Kael was on his feet in an instant, gun drawn, body shielding Rowan's. "Stay down."

But it wasn't an attack. It was a message.

A single photograph lay on the floor, slipped through the broken window. Rowan picked it up with shaking hands.

It was a picture of his mother—Elena Voss—smiling at the camera with a baby in her arms. A baby with Rowan's eyes.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

"Rowan?" Kael's voice seemed to come from very far away. "What is it?"

Rowan looked up at Kael, tears streaming down his face. "She's my mother. Elena is my mother. And she gave me away."

Kael's face went pale. "What?"

"She gave me away," Rowan repeated, the words tasting like ash. "And now she's going to use that against me. Against us."

Kael pulled Rowan into his arms, holding him tight as the world crumbled around them. "We'll figure this out. Together."

But as Rowan clung to Kael, he couldn't shake the feeling that everything was about to change. That the secrets they'd been running from were about to catch up with them.

And when they did, nothing would ever be the same again.