SLOANEFive days.I stopped counting after five, but it’s still there in my head.Five nights. Cold sheets. No weight next to me. No arm. No breath. Just the space where he used to be.And me? Pathetic. Missing it. Missing him. Even the way he tossed in his sleep. Even the smell of his skin. It’s sick. I hate myself for noticing. For waiting. For hoping.He just stopped. No warning. No fight. Just… stopped coming in. Stopped looking at me. Like I turned invisible. Like I was just furniture he never picked out.The house isn’t quiet though. It’s louder than ever. There were new men, new guns and doors opening, closing, voices dropping the second I walked past. Even the security doubled. Tripled maybe. Something’s going on, something bad, and nobody tells me a thing.I asked Natalia once. Big mistake. She snapped “business” and “enemies” at me and left. That’s all this house is built on. Business. Enemies. Blood.So I got restless. Stupid restless. I’d sit on the back steps, watching
CHASEI poured the whiskey slowly, watched it hit the glass and catch the light. The burn woke me up. I needed that burn. The day had been too loud. The warehouse, the men, the phone calls, Mark’s face when I put him on the ground. My hands still had the weight of it in them. The house smelled like old smoke and coffee and the echo of things that would not stay quiet.Natalia came in without knocking. She never knocked. She stood by the door when I looked up, calm like always, but the calm was thin. It sat on top of something else. I set the glass down and did not lean back. I wanted to see her straight.“No more secrets,” I said. I kept my voice even. I wanted it to sit hard in the room. “I don’t want to wake up to surprises.”She crossed to the side of the desk, hands flat on the wood, eyes careful. “Everything is fine with Sloane,” she said quick, smooth. “You do not need to worry about that.”I watched her. The words were too clean. They sounded like someone practicing what t
SLOANEI was still holding the phone when Natalia moved for it. Her hand was quick, sure, like she’d done this before. “Give it,” she said roughly. There were no soft words, no please. Her fingers closed around the edge of my screen and I tightened my grip.“Don’t,” I said. My voice sounded small even to me. I should have dropped it. I should have handed it over. Instead I sat on the edge of the bed and held it like it was the last thing standing between me and something that matteredShe lifted the phone and the brightness flashed on her face. She saw the thread I had just typed and the name at the top. Her mouth hardened and for a second I thought of all the ways this could end.“You’re playing games,” she snapped. “You text your father. You help them. You make deals with men who kill people. You think that is nothing?”I pulled the phone back. “It’s not like that,” I said. My hands shook. I tried to make my words level. “You don’t know what I am doing. I am doing what I have to
CHASEI sat behind my desk and felt the room close in. Kazmir leaned against the window frame.He was wound tight, pressing his hands into his pockets like he wanted to punch something. He kept saying the same thing over and over: go now, hit his father, burn them out. Move fast.I didn’t move. I watched him and kept my voice flat. “We don’t rush this,” I said. “We don’t throw men away on a leash chase.”He hit the desk with the heel of his hand. “You think that keeps you safe? You think this family thing stops at your door? He’s digging at you. At the men. At the trucks. We can’t wait.”“I know that.” I said quietly. “I know what’s at stake. But you didn’t see the mess at the border. You didn’t see the bodies. We need to be smart. We hit the right line, not the first man with a name.” I felt the heat of anger in my chest, but I kept it under control. Control mattered more than rage.Vadim stood by the door quietly. He waited for orders. He wanted to move. He was a good man, and he
SLOANEBoredom is a type of punishment, the type that Chase has mastered. I was at home but it felt like I was alone. I had memorized the paint on the wall and counted every stripe of the rug. I had opened every drawer, sniffed every perfume and shirt. But nothing changed. I was tired, I had walked around over and over again. Walking from corner to corner. He said I should stay here, I am doing that, I am trying to do that. But it didn't change how tired I was. I tried to distract myself. On his table, he had books: self-help books and some that I couldn't get past the titles. Each time I went over to read, I couldn't get past the first page and title. The words got clumped together. I rolled my eyes, I didn't understand why I was trying so hard. I knew my mind wouldn't read a book or try to assimilate whatever else is happening. I hated this, I hated how much I thought of him, how much my mind was around Chase. The way he looked at me, the way his eyes dilated whenever he
CHASEI hated mornings; I hated how the day started without waiting for my permission. The curtains were closed, but light managed to escape still. Sloane didn't leave her side of the bed; she didn't roll over or even try to turn to me. I would know. I felt the small wall that was between us. I don't regret it at all. I decided to turn over to her; she was awake, her eyes wide open. She stared at the ceiling like I didn't exist. “Sloane,” I called out. I was met with silence. I reached out, and my hand brushed the blanket on her arm. “Sloane, please look at me,” I said. She rolled over to the other side. Her back faced me. I clenched my jaw as I looked at her back.“I meant what I said,” I told her carefully. “And I won’t take it back. I’m glad it wasn’t you. You can hate me for that all you want, but I’ll never regret it.”She pretended like she didn't hear me; she didn't move or even breathe louder. She didn't flinch; it was just silence all over. I hated her silence; I w