LOGINThe cold wind bit into my skin, breaking through the warmth in Gunn's embrace."Why did you ask me to come here?" I asked as reality set in again.Gunn's arms slowly loosened around me. "Do I really need a reason to see you?" He asked, staring deep into my eyes. I didn't respond. I just stared at him for a while, trying to figure out why he asked me to meet him. He nodded in understanding. "Fine," he breathed out. "I'm here because of Ghost," he confessed.I pulled back, immediately breaking out of his embrace. "He's not gonna hurt you," he said, attempting to set my mind at ease, but all that did was make me more anxious. "Tonight wasn't as simple as you thought it was. Apollo and Ares were there to trade with Nikolai.""Wait, you were there?" I questioned, eyes widening in shock. "And I know about the trade.""But do you know what they were trading?" Gunn asked, his brows knitting together in frustration. "They weren't just going to hand Ace over if they weren't going to gain som
Ace pulled me into a rib-crushing hug the minute we stepped out into the parking lot. "Oh my God, I'm so glad you came for me, Livia," he sobbed. "Those Graves brothers are handsome, but they're assholes.""I know," I said, gently patting his back. "I beg to differ," Atlas uttered from behind us, a proud smile settling on his face. "I'm handsome, and I have a great personality.""You kidnapped me," Ace deadpanned. "The only person I'm grateful for right now is Livia. At least she hasn't tried to kill me yet.""Come on, I'm taking you somewhere safe." I guided Ace toward the car. We slid into the backseat while Atlas took his place behind the steering wheel. Together we quietly drove out of the city. I rolled down the window, allowing the wind to blow through my hair. Beside me, Ace had drifted off to sleep, his head resting on my shoulder. Tonight felt like everything had come to an end, and I didn't know if I should be happy about that or not. Apollo and Ares lost me tonight. Th
"What use is he to them?" I repeated myself, the words tearing from my throat and dripping with venom.My anger had entirely taken over the moment I saw Apollo and Ares’s men dragging Ace into the building. They moved with an obnoxious confidence, treating him like currency, like they had the right to undo every single ounce of planning Atlas and I had put into this. Ace was my leverage. My prisoner.Apollo didn't even look at me at first. He kept his gaze fixed on the space just past my shoulder, his voice a dismissive baritone. "Get her out of here," he ordered the guard standing near their table.The casual disregard triggered something in my brain. The last thread of my patience snapped. I stormed over to Apollo, the distance between us vanishing in a blur of motion. I slapped him across the face as hard as I could.The crack of my palm against his skin echoed through the empty restaurant like a gunshot. His head snapped to the side from the sheer force of the blow. For a frac
I quietly sat in the darkness of the hospital's underground parking garage, watching the glass double doors. Atlas had slipped inside minutes ago to find a pathologist who owed him one. The vial filled with Ace’s blood was out of my hands now. His blood was nothing but the truth to be revealed in less than an hour.To keep my hands from shaking, I played with the thin bracelet around my wrist. It was a delicate thing. Kian had given it to me for my thirteenth birthday. He probably bought it with money he had stolen. He was a horrible person. He was selfish, volatile, and deeply consumed by the darkness of the world we were born into. But he was still my brother. He was the last connection I had to our dad, the only man who had ever tried to give me a normal life. And now, they were both dead and buried deep in the ground.The passenger door swung open, violently snapping me out of my thoughts. Atlas jumped into the car. The scent of antiseptic clung to his dark jacket as he sla
I clutched the small vial of Ace’s blood in my palm as if it were my lifeline, heavy with the truth of my past and the potential for my future. I leaned across the center console and kissed Atlas, a quick press of lips that tasted of triumph."You did well in there," he nodded in approval, pecking my lips once more before shifting the car into gear."We did well," I corrected him, a breathless laugh escaping me. We slammed the doors in unison, the sound echoing through the empty shipping yard. I was beaming, and my mind was already racing through the logistics of the DNA lab we were heading to. I felt like a player finally making a move on the board instead of being a pawn.But as Atlas pulled out of the warehouse lot, my heart skipped a beat.In the rearview mirror, a black SUV was parked in an alley. I instantly recognized the vehicle. My hand shot out, gripping Atlas’s forearm so hard he hissed out in pain."What?" He questioned in confusion."Look," I said, pointing in the dire
APOLLOMy car suddenly felt too small. I sat in the shadows of a quiet alleyway, switching the engine off with calculating hands. My eyes were fixed on the steel door of Atlas’s private warehouse. Livia and my brother went inside fifteen minutes ago, thinking they were being clever. They thought I wasn't aware of their scheming.They were wrong. Nothing happened in this city without my permission, without my knowledge. This betrayal was unacceptable, especially since it came from two people I trusted most in this world.I tapped an impatient beat against the steering wheel, my jaw so tight it ached. My mind was a storm of calculations. Why here? What was Atlas hiding in a shipping container hub? I had a feeling it wasn't MoonDrop. If it were business, Atlas would have brought us all in. But this wasn't business. This was personal. This was about her.My phone vibrated, the screen illuminating in the dim light of the alley. An unknown number came up, and I swiped to answer."Spe
Two guards entered Kian's bedroom. They held a firm grip on his arms, locking him in place. "Don't let them touch you, Via. I'm gonna find you again." A tear slowly slid down my cheek at the sight of my brother. All this time, I thought of him as my savior. I never knew how pathetic he truly was.
I walked home from the airport. I was supposed to leave the country today. But I'm a quitter. I couldn't go through with it. It wasn't what I wanted anyway. All I needed now was a warm bath and some soft tunes to help me fall asleep.I'd face my brother's disappointment tomorrow. It was strange..
I was sitting on Apollo’s lap, my back pressed against the solid wall that was his chest. His hand rested high on my thigh, his fingers inching dangerously close to my center, claiming me even as we talked business.Ares sat across from us, watching me with a hunger that hadn’t been sated by the d
The silence after Apollo’s call wasn’t silence at all. It was a held breath. The lock on the study door clicked again.My heart slammed against my ribs. I was still pressed against the cold window, held up by Apollo’s hands. The emerald silk dress was a ruined mess around my waist. I tried to push







