Se connecter"Two grand would cover it. Maybe three to be safe."Three thousand dollars. A month ago, that would have been an impossible amount. Now, with the Nightbane credit card in her wallet, it was nothing.But if she sent Tyler money, there would be a paper trail. Questions."I can't just send you three thousand dollars," she said. "They'll see it on the statements. They'll ask questions.""So make up an answer. Say you needed to pay off some debts from before. Student loans or something.""I didn't go to college, Tyler. They know that.""Then say it's for the Mercers. Final expenses or whatever. Medical bills they left behind."Karla considered. That... might actually work. The Mercers had died suddenly. There were bound to be outstanding bills. It would be reasonable for Karla to want to pay them off with her new resources."I'll see what I can do," she said. "But you need to be patient. I can't raise red flags this early.""I've been patient for four months, Karla. Ever since you dumped m
Karla's new bedroom at the Nightbane Estate was three times the size of the apartment she'd shared with her parents.Former parents.No. She had to stop thinking of the Mercers that way. They weren't her parents. They'd never been her parents. They'd been strangers who'd accidentally taken home the wrong baby and raised her in poverty while her real parents lived in a fucking mansion.Karla stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the manicured gardens, the Olympic-sized pool, the tennis courts she didn't even know how to use yet.This should have been hers from birth.All of it.Instead, she'd grown up in a cramped two-bedroom apartment where the heat didn't always work and her mother had to choose between paying the electric bill or buying groceries.While Lyra had lived here. With everything. The best schools. Designer clothes. Travel. Opportunities.Everything that should have been Karla's.Her phone buzzed on the nightstand...the cheap one, not the new iPhone that
Damien's jaw tightened.He needed to find out who was threatening him. And he needed to eliminate the threat before it became a real problem.His phone buzzed again.Marcus: Second burner phone also purchased in Philadelphia. Different location. Still working on footage. May take until morning.Damien: Keep me posted.He set down his phone and finished his scotch.Someone was playing games with him.Fine.He was very good at games.And he always won.***Around midnight, Damien's phone lit up with a new message from Lyra to DarkVeil, of course.LyraNight: Are you still awake?He smiled and typed back immediately.DarkVeil: For you? Always. What's wrong?LyraNight: I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I keep thinking about everything that's happened. Everything that's changed.DarkVeil: Tell me what you're thinking about.LyraNight: My parents. The Mercers. I keep wondering what they were like. If I would have liked them. If they would have been proud of me.His chest tightened s
Damien stood outside Lyra's door for the second night in a row, phone in hand, reading the messages she'd just sent to DarkVeil.Stop fighting what you want, Lyra. Life's too short. And you've already lost so much. Don't lose this too.He'd typed those words thirty seconds ago, standing less than six feet away from her.The irony was delicious.She had no idea he was right here. No idea that the man she was pouring her heart out to was the same man she was desperately trying not to want.Through the door, he could hear her moving around. The creak of bedsprings as she sat down. The soft sigh she made.Was she touching herself again? Thinking about him while she read his words?His cock hardened at the thought.He wanted to open that door. Wanted to walk in and show her exactly what he could do to her. Make every fantasy she'd ever typed to him a reality.But patience. He needed patience.She was close to breaking. So close. One more push and she'd shatter completely.And when she did,
Lyra spent the rest of the morning in her room, trying to distract herself with work emails and gallery business.But she couldn't focus.Her mind kept drifting back to Damien. To the way he'd touched her in the library. To the dark promise in his voice. To the tenderness when he'd wiped away her tears.What did he want?And more importantly, what did she want?Around two in the afternoon, there was a knock on her door."Lyra?" Isabelle's voice. "May I come in?""Of course."Isabelle entered, looking tired but determined. She sat on the edge of Lyra's bed and patted the space beside her."We need to talk, sweetheart."Lyra sat, anxiety twisting in her gut. "About what?""About you. About how you're really doing with all of this." Isabelle took her hand. "Yesterday was overwhelming for everyone, but especially for you. You lost so much in one day. Your identity, your biological parents, your sense of belonging. That's a lot to process.""I'm managing," Lyra said."Are you?" Isabelle's
The words were sympathetic, understanding.But underneath them, Lyra heard: You were lucky. You had everything I should have had."I'm sorry you went through that," Lyra said."It's not your fault." Karla smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You couldn't have known. Neither of us could. We were just... babies who got mixed up. It's not like either of us asked for this."True. But the way Karla said it made Lyra feel guilty anyway."What will you do now?" Lyra asked. "Will you stay here? At the estate?""For a while, I think. Dad and Mom have been so welcoming. They want me to get to know the family, understand the business." Karla's expression turned hopeful. "Actually, I was hoping... maybe you could help with that? Show me around? Introduce me to people?"The request was reasonable. Friendly, even.But something about it made Lyra's skin prickle with warning."I'm sure we can arrange something," Lyra said noncommittally."That would be wonderful!" Karla brightened. "And mayb
Lyra woke to sunlight streaming through her curtains and the immediate, crushing realization that yesterday hadn't been a nightmare.She really wasn't a Nightbane.Her biological parents really were dead.Karla really existed.And Damien... God, Damien had touched her face with such tenderness that
Then he remembered her chat messages from last night. The explicit fantasies she'd described. The way she'd begged, even through text, for him to touch her, claim her, ruin her.She wanted this. Maybe not the family drama, but she wanted him. Had wanted him for years.He was just removing the obsta
The annonymous chat had started three years ago, Damien had been in his penthouse in Manhattan, going through quarterly reports, when his phone had pinged with an alert.Lyra's phone activity.He'd been monitoring her digitally for months....ever since he'd decided she was his. He needed to know ev
His cock strained against his pants, had been hard since the moment he'd touched her in the hallway hours ago. Since he'd felt her body's instant reaction...the trembling, the rapid breathing, the way her nipples had hardened into points he could see through her blouse.She'd been so wet. He'd smel







