Chapter 3

Selene’s POV

The 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 again.

“People like your father don’t leave anything behind.”

“What did he do?” I whispered. “What did he take?”

Cassius didn’t answer. He walked to the door instead, his silence louder than anything he could’ve said.

“Get your jacket,” he said. “We’re leaving.”

Livia stood quickly. “She’s not ready for this.”

“She doesn’t have a choice,” Cassius said. “She’s in the middle whether she likes it or not.”

My throat tightened. “Where are we going?”

Cassius turned to me. “To find Jasper.”

The name hit me like a bruise blooming under skin. “You know where he is?”

“I’ve always known,” Cassius said. “I just didn’t want to drag you into it.”

“But you’re dragging me now?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “Because someone wants you dead.”

Livia placed a hand on Cassius’s arm. “Be careful with her.”

Cassius didn’t say he would. He just looked at me, and somehow that was worse.

Outside, the yard buzzed with tense energy. Engines idled, and men whispered in tight circles like a hive ready to burst.

Cassius stood next to his Harley, helmet in hand. He watched me with unreadable eyes.

“Put it on,” he said.

My hands shook, but I did.

He swung onto the bike. I hesitated for one breath too long.

He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m not going to drop you, so get on the bike.”

I climbed on behind him and gripped his jacket. My fingers brushed the hard lines of muscle beneath the leather, and he stiffened for a moment.

Then the engine roared.

We shot forward. Wind ripped past my ears. Heat pressed against my skin from both the desert air and Cassius’s body.

Cassius didn’t speak once.

His hands were steady on the bars. The desert road stretched ahead of us, long and empty, like it was daring us to keep going.

My heartbeat echoed with the engine’s growl. “Where is Jasper?” I shouted.

“Far enough,” Cassius yelled back. “Hidden. Or trying to be.”

We rode for almost an hour before he slowed down. A rundown roadside motel came into view, sagging under its own weight.

The sign flickered with dying neon. Half the parking lot was empty.

Cassius parked behind the building. He pulled a gun from his jacket like it was just another tool.

“You’re taking that inside?” I asked.

He arched his brow. “You think Jasper will be happy to see us?”

My heart pounded. “Cassius… I’m scared.”

He looked at me. Really looked. Something soft flickered in his eyes.

“I know,” he said softly. “Stay behind me.”

Cassius kicked the door open. Jasper jumped to his feet.

His eyes widened when he saw me. “You brought her?” he shouted. “Are you insane?”

Cassius didn’t blink. “Where is Carter?”

“I told you, I haven’t seen him in a year!” Jasper said.

“Then why does Darius know her name?” Cassius growled.

Jasper’s face turned ghost-white. “Oh…God.”

“What?” I demanded. “Tell me.”

Jasper looked at me like I was a ticking bomb. “He thinks you have it.”

“Have WHAT?”

“Your father’s ledger,” Jasper whispered. “The cartel ledger.”

My throat closed. “I don’t know anything about a ledger!”

“He didn’t tell you?” Jasper asked softly. “Oh, Selene… he left you with more than you know.”

Cassius’s jaw tightened, but before he could speak, a gunshot exploded through the window.

Glass shattered.

Jasper screamed.

Cassius slammed me to the floor and covered me with his body, his weight solid and burning.

“Stay down!” he barked.

More bullets tore through the walls. Dust rained from the ceiling. Footsteps thundered outside, they were too many.

At least three. Maybe more. Cassius peeked up and cursed.

“Darius,” he growled. “He’s here.”

He fired two quick shots through the window. “Move!”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me through the back door. We sprinted across cracked asphalt.

My lungs burned. My legs trembled like they didn’t want to hold me up anymore.

“Cassius, they’re behind us!” I cried.

He shoved my helmet back on.

“On the bike!”

I climbed on with shaking hands. Cassius revved the engine hard.

“Hold on!”

We shot forward as bullets rained behind us. Two riders burst into view.

“They’re catching up!” I screamed.

“Not today,” Cassius growled.

He swerved sharply. One rider pulled up beside us, too close.

Cassius leaned and fired once. The rider crashed in a spray of dust and metal.

The second rider drew closer. Cassius gritted his teeth.

“Damn it…”

A bullet shot past my ear, close enough to make my skin sting. I ducked the bullet, and my heart started racing.

Cassius took a sharp turn onto a dirt trail. The bike rattled violently, every bump jarring.

I clung to him desperately. His body was the only solid thing in the world.

Finally, the engines behind us faded, leaving a silence that felt heavy and unsteady.

Cassius slowed near a ridge overlooking the desert. The horizon glowed with dying sunlight.

He killed the engine. I slid off the bike, trembling.

“You could’ve gotten us killed!” I yelled.

“You think I don’t know that?” he shouted back.

“Then why bring me?”

He stepped closer. Heat rolled off him, anger and something else tangled together.

“Because Darius wants you alive,” he said. “And I’m not letting him take you.”

My breath stilled. “You knew he’d come to the motel,” I whispered.

Cassius didn’t look away. “Yes.”

“So I was bait.”

His jaw clenched.

“You were safe with me.”

“Safe?” I scoffed. “That wasn’t safe.”

He grabbed my chin gently, not to hurt me, but to steady me.

“But you lived,” he said softly. “And you’ll keep living as long as you stay with me.”

His thumb grazed my jaw, a mistake but a confession I couldn’t ignore.

“I don’t apologize,” he murmured. “But I don’t let people die for my mistakes.”

I swallowed hard. “Are we going back to the clubhouse?”

Cassius looked toward the horizon. “No.”

“Why?”

He stepped away from me, shoulders tense, as if the truth weighed too much.

“Because someone back there wants you dead.”

A cold slid through me. “Who?”

Cassius turned back to me. For the first time, real fear flickered in his eyes.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m going to find out.”

The wind howled around us, thick with darkness, and something inside me shifted, uneasy and restless.

Not fear. Not just fear. Something deeper. Something dangerous.

Because Cassius Draven, the man who kidnapped me, was the only person keeping me alive.

And I didn’t know what terrified me more. Him or the fact that I didn’t want to run.