CASSIAN’S POVEarlier:The room was quiet. Too quiet.I sat in my chair by the window, overlooking the front lawn of the estate. From here, I could see the entire stretch of asphalt winding through the iron gates. The sky had already darkened, storm clouds pooling like bruises above the treetops. One hand rested on the armrest, the other clutched my phone, knuckles taut and pale.The plan was simple.Vasili’s men were supposed to retrieve her. Quick, clean, no blood. They’d told me they were trailing the right route. Told me they had eyes. They had time. They had a damn window.So where the fuck were they?It was already past the deadline Vasili gave me. The minutes ticked by like a curse.No van.No Reina.No peace.The food I asked them to prepare for her, sat untouched, growing colder with every tick of the clock—just like the fire draining from my restraint.I was about to dial Vasili myself, already imagining all the ways I would torment him if he gave me anything other than a cl
REINA’S POVRoman yanked me from the chair like I weighed nothing, his grip bruising as he pulled me toward the hallway. I stumbled, feet scraping the floor, the cold air biting into my skin. The interrogation room door swung open with a dull thud, and then we were out—me half-dragged, half-shoved into the fluorescent-lit corridor of the precinct.Every officer we passed turned to look.They didn’t say anything.Not one word.Their gazes skimmed over me, over the oversized jacket, my trembling body, my wrists raw from the pressure of his grip. I caught one female officer watching closely. Her lips parted like she might say something. But then Roman barked a laugh.“She’s fine!” he called out, voice chipper, like this was a damn joke. “You know how you women get when y’all don’t want to go home. She’s just a little… disturbed. Emotional wreck lately. But I’m not holding her against her will. She’s my wife.”My wife.Like a curse. Like a collar.My stomach twisted, my eyes desperately
Reina’s POVOfficer Rodney hadn’t moved.His hand was still on the edge of the interrogation table, knuckles white against the wood. His smile was gone. The smirk. The mockery. Everything he wore like a mask.Gone.He just stared at me.“You were supposed to report every 72 hours,” he said slowly. “Where the hell have you been? Why haven’t you been replying to my messages?”And that—that—was the moment the world tipped sideways.My breath hitched. My blood turned to ice.I took a shaky step back from the table, my mind reeling. “Officer Rodney… I—”“Did you forget that you’re a spy? Why did you stop reporting?” he interrupted, voice clipped. “Because of your stupidity, I started getting calls from the higher ups, asking when we are raiding Morelli’s circle. What the fuck have you been doing?”My throat tightened.Spy.God. It sounded so hollow now. Like I wasn’t even a person—just a tool in a case file. A disposable chess piece on his board.He ran a hand through his hair and started
Reina’s POV“Reina, are you okay? Where have you been? You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”Roman took one step forward. I took one back.It felt instinctual—my body recognizing something my mind hadn’t caught up to yet. The way his smile didn’t reach his eyes. The way his voice sounded off, like he was playing a role that no longer fit him.“Um… my uncle. I’ve been at my uncle’s place,” I said, voice light, fake, desperate to keep things casual. “Speaking of which, he’s expecting me anytime soon, so I should really—”“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”His voice dropped. Cold. Ferocious. The sudden switch felt like the floor dropped from under me.What?That wasn’t Roman. Not the one who used to hold my hand like it meant something. Not the Roman who whispered stupid jokes to make me laugh when everything was falling apart.“Did you block me, Reina?” he asked, rubbing his jaw where a shadow of stubble darkened his skin.“What? No. I didn’t—”“Then how come I haven’t be
Reina’s POVThe drive was quiet.Not the awkward kind of quiet, like when two people realize their date was a mistake.No. This was… deliciously empty.Like no one expected me to talk. No one expected anything at all. Just space. Just breathing room.Which was good because I wasn’t sure what I would’ve said to them anyway.Hey, how was your day? Mine involved nearly getting murdered in my underwear by a sociopath with a god complex. Or maybe: Wow, thanks for saving me while I was barely dressed and screaming like a banshee. I swear I usually wear pants.Jesus.And these guys? They weren’t exactly the chatty kind. The guy sitting directly across from me hadn’t blinked since he got in. I was ninety percent sure his stare could cut through bone. And the one beside him—he looked like he collected people’s fingers in a jar for fun.I was tucked into the corner like a kicked puppy, my ribs screaming, my body aching like it had been flattened by a semi, then flung off a mountain for good mea
The air was thick with tension—like a bullet waiting in the chamber.It was the day of the so-called trap. The day Elias was meant to bleed. The compound thrummed with quiet, contained chaos, soldiers in sharp suits whispering orders into earpieces, guns checked and rechecked, vans prepped like coffins on wheels.And at the eye of the storm, Cassian Morelli sat like a god on his throne—his wheelchair.He didn’t speak.He didn’t need to.It's time to go chase an illusion.Lucas and Ethan flanked him, a pair of loyal shadows in tailored black, standing like sentinels at either side of their king. But Cassian’s eyes weren’t on them. His gaze was locked on the two men dragging a figure across the courtyard. The alleged Jonah—though nothing about the man screamed conviction.They tossed him to his knees before Cassian like an offering.Marco.Cassian’s eyes locked with his, and there it was—a flicker. A faint tremor in those steel-blue eyes. Not defiance. Not hatred.Fear.Cassian’s jaw tw