In Plain Sight

Damien's POV

Before long, we rolled into Churchill Street. It wasn’t like the estates near my penthouse…the kind of streets where the trees were groomed, the lampposts ornate, and the air smelled faintly of privilege. No.

Churchill Street was ordinary. The kind of street where life moved at its own pace, the kind where neighbors waved to each other, where kids on bikes squealed past parked cars, and the occasional dog barked at anything that moved.

Apartment blocks rose modestly on either side, their paint peeling in places, balconies crowded with potted plants or laundry flapping in the breeze. It was…real. Harshly real compared to my polished world.

Jaxon slowed in front of a narrow, beige apartment building. I didn’t wait for him to climb down before I did. “Drag her out here,” I said sharply, leaning against the car, letting the street absorb my presence.

My phone buzzed in my hand, but I ignored it, scrolling through business news with a practiced disinterest unti