Chapter 6

Dante’s POV

The rain had started to fall, slicking the streets of the city with a sheen that reflected the neon lights like spilled oil. I gripped the steering wheel of the armored Range Rover, my knuckles white.

Silas was in the passenger seat, laptop open, monitoring the audio feed from the bug we’d slapped on Ivy’s bumper. Julian was in the back, cleaning a knife, the rhythmic shhk-shhk sound the only noise in the cabin.

We were parked three blocks away from the penthouse Ivy shared with that waste of oxygen.

"She’s inside," Silas said, his voice tight. "She just entered the code for the elevator."

I stared at the building. It was a glass needle piercing the sky, a monument to wealth and pretension. I hated it. It was a cage for a bird that was meant to fly.

"Why are we waiting?" I gritted out. "We should be kicking down the door."

"Patience, Dante," Silas murmured, though I could see the vein ticking in his jaw. "We need cause. We need her to realize she’s in danger. If we storm in now, she’ll defend him. She’s been brainwashed for three years."

I slammed my hand against the dashboard. "She wasn't defending him tonight. You felt her, Silas. She was wet for us. She wanted it."

"Lust isn't trust," Julian piped up from the back. "Ivy thinks we’re criminals. She thinks we’re the bad guys. We have to let Grant show her who the real monster is."

I hated it when they were logical. I operated on instinct. And my instinct was screaming that Ivy was walking into a trap.

"Audio is live," Silas said, turning up the volume on the laptop.

Static hissed through the car speakers, followed by the sound of a door opening.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Grant’s voice. Slurred. Angry.

I leaned forward, straining to hear.

“I went for a drive,” Ivy’s voice came through, steady but strained. “I told you not to wait up.”

“I didn't wait up,” Grant sneered. “I was waiting for the valet to bring my car around, and he told me you took the Porsche. You took my car, Ivy? To go where? A drive-thru?”

“To a bar,” she replied. “Does it matter? You have your open marriage, Grant. I’m just participating.”

Silence. Then the sound of glass shattering.

I reached for the door handle. Silas’s hand shot out, gripping my forearm like a vice. "Wait."

“You smell like whiskey,” Grant’s voice dropped, becoming dangerous. “And expensive cologne. Sandalwood. Who were you with?”

“No one you know.”

“Don't lie to me!” A thud. Like a hand hitting a wall. Or a body.

"Silas," I warned, my voice a growl.

“I’m not lying,” Ivy cried out. “I was at The Abyss. I ran into the Mercer brothers. Are you happy now?”

A long, chilling silence filled the speakers.

“The Mercers?” Grant’s tone changed. It wasn't angry anymore. It was... calculating. “You were with Silas Mercer?”

“I saw them. We talked. That’s it.”

“They are worth billions,” Grant muttered, sounding like he was talking to himself. “And they have history with your family... they have a soft spot for the grieving sister...”

“Grant, you’re scaring me. What are you talking about?”

“This is perfect,” Grant said, his voice rising with manic energy. “I was worried about the collateral for the loan, but this... this is better. If you get close to Silas Mercer, Ivy... if you can get him to invest in the firm... or maybe just get him to cover my marker...”

“You want me to... sleep with him for money?” Ivy’s voice broke. “You’re pimping me out?”

“Don't use such ugly words, darling. It’s business. You’re already open to new experiences, right? Why not make it profitable? The Mercers are animals, but they pay well.”

"That’s it," I roared. I didn't wait for Silas’s permission. I threw the car into drive and stomped on the gas.

The engine roared like a beast awakening. The tires shrieked as I peeled away from the curb, closing the three-block distance in seconds.

"Dante, slow down!" Julian yelled as I swerved around a taxi.

"He’s selling her!" I shouted back. "He’s trying to sell her to us! I’m going to rip his throat out!"

"Park at the front," Silas ordered, his voice cold and deadly calm. He slammed the laptop shut. "Julian, disable the lobby cameras. Dante, you take the stairs in case he tries to run. I’m taking the elevator."

"We’re doing this?" Julian asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"We’re collecting," Silas said. "Tonight."

I screeched to a halt in front of the building, mounting the curb. The doorman looked terrified as three large men in suits spilled out of the black SUV, radiating murder.

I didn't look back. I hit the fire door and took the stairs two at a time. I was the hunter, and tonight, I was finally going to catch my prey.