Mag-log inThe city’s lights blinked against the glass like distant fires when Noah stepped into the penthouse. The air smelled faintly of whiskey and tension. Dominic was pacing the length of his study, shoulders rigid, jaw set. The glow from the desk lamp carved shadows along his cheekbones, making his expression unreadable.“You sent someone after Mason,” Noah said quietly, his coat still half on.Dominic didn’t stop pacing. “He’s a threat. I remove threats.”“You don’t remove them, you destroy them.”Dominic looked up then, eyes sharp as cut glass. “Is there a difference when they come for what’s mine?”Noah flinched at the possessiveness, the way Dominic’s voice carried both fury and fear. “This isn’t how you fix things. You think violence keeps us safe? It only feeds the same monster you’re fighting.”Dominic’s mouth twitched, a bitter hint of a smile. “You think I enjoy this?”“I think you’ve forgotten there’s any other way to live.”The words hit harder than either expected. The silence
The city sprawled beneath the penthouse, restless and glimmering. Dominic stood by the window, his reflection split between light and shadow. His shirt sleeves were rolled to the elbows, veins visible against the tension in his arms. Papers cluttered his desk Caleb’s files, background checks, financial trails that led nowhere. The silence pressed in, oppressive, a living thing wrapping around him.He poured bourbon into a crystal glass, but it stayed untouched. His thoughts refused to quiet. Avery’s betrayal burned behind his eyes. Harper’s deceit had left a bitter aftertaste. And Noah in his absence carved holes Dominic couldn’t fill.The phone on the desk vibrated once, then again. No caller ID. His pulse shifted. He waited for it to stop, but it didn’t. The sound cut through the silence like a blade. He reached for it slowly, the weight of inevitability sinking into his gut.“Voss,” he answered, voice low.Nothing. Then a chuckle. Smooth, deep, familiar. The one voice he’d hoped
The hotel suite glowed with a soft amber hue, gold light spilling from the chandelier onto the marble floor. Jaxon leaned against the window, his reflection staring back impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit, eyes shadowed with fatigue and purpose. The skyline shimmered below, a city too alive to notice two predators circling each other above it. His jaw flexed as he checked his watch. She was late intentionally, he knew.The door clicked. Avery entered like sin personified, silver heels, dark curls framing her face, crimson lipstick sharp as a blade. Confidence poured off her in waves, her gaze locked on him with playful defiance.“You look tense, Jaxon,” she teased, closing the door slowly. “Did Dominic send you to scold me, or is this personal?”He straightened. “You know exactly why I’m here.”“Do I?” She slipped her coat off her shoulders, revealing a black silk dress that caught the light. “You tracked me. That’s devotion, not duty.”“Don’t flatter yourself.”“Then stop lookin
The daycare smelled of crayons and soap, sunlight spilling over tiny tables and paper crafts. Eli clung to his dinosaur backpack, curls bouncing as he ran toward the play mats. “Daddy, look! They got new blocks!”Noah forced a smile, exhaustion hidden beneath it. The shadows under his eyes told their own story, days of sleepless nights since that photo had shattered his sense of safety. Riley walked in beside him, balancing coffee and concern.“You sure about this?” she asked softly. “You look like you’re running on fumes.”“I’ll survive,” Noah muttered. “He needs his routine. If I keep him home, I’ll just—” He stopped himself, breathing through the ache.Riley nodded. “Then breathe. Dominic’s men are outside, right?”“They’re watching,” he said, glancing out the window. “He made sure of that.”Riley squeezed his shoulder. “Then he’s safe.”The lie hung in the air like dust. Noah crouched to hug Eli, brushing a kiss to his forehead. “Be good, okay? I’ll pick you up soon.”“Promise?”
Morning light barely touched the gray edges of Noah’s small apartment. A cup of coffee sat forgotten on the counter, its steam long gone cold. Noah paced, fingers raking through his hair, his mind still spinning from the night before. Every sound felt too loud, the hum of the refrigerator, the ticking of the clock, the faint traffic murmuring outside.Then came the pounding outside the door. Heavy, impatient, shaking the frame of the door.Noah's breath seized. For a heartbeat, he thought whoever left the note had come back. But when he opened it, the man standing there wasn’t a stranger.Dominic filled the doorway – tall, broad, his dark coat unbuttoned, his shirt creased, his eyes rimmed red from lack of sleep. He looked furious. And terrified.“You get a threat and you don’t call me?” His voice cracked the air.Noah’s spine stiffened. “You lost the right to protect me, remember?”Dominic stepped forward, forcing Noah back with the sheer weight of his presence. “I never lost tha
The night was calm enough to trick anyone into believing peace still existed.Noah stood by Eli’s bed, brushing his son’s dark curls off his forehead. “You warm enough?” he whispered.Eli nodded, snuggling deeper into his blanket. “It’s not as soft as the big house,” he mumbled, eyelids fluttering.Noah’s chest tightened. “No, it’s not,” he said softly. “But it’s ours.”“Will we see him again?” Eli’s voice was drowsy but certain. “Mr. Dominic?”Noah froze. The name hung in the air like a ghost. “I don’t know, bud,” he said finally. “Sleep now.”Eli sighed and drifted off. The room was dim, shadows sliding over the walls from the streetlight outside. The apartment smelled faintly of soap and leftover noodles. On the couch lay a small pile of crayons, one broken, one missing its wrapper—tiny reminders of normal life.Noah sat by the window with a mug of cold tea. His reflection in the glass looked older, worn out. He ran a hand through his hair, longer now than before, the curls unrul
The silence of the penthouse, once a peaceful reprieve, felt like a warning. Dominic sat on the couch, the weight of a heavy book in his hands, but his focus was not on the pages. His mind was a coiled spring, a weapon waiting for a signal. The memory of Noah's face, his sudden fear, his hurried
The office, a sanctuary of glass and polished steel, had never felt so alien. The message on Harper's phone, a stark command from an unknown number, vibrated with an authority she had only encountered in legal thrillers. "The boss wants to see you." Harper felt a prickle of unease, but it was qu
The luxury suite's immaculate shine stood in sharp contrast to the raging chaos inside Jaxon. As he saw the city lights, he realized that every glimmer represented a possible danger, an unidentified foe in the complex network of Dominic's kingdom. He kept thinking about his chat with Dominic:
The gunshot was a brutal punch to the humid night air. Eli’s cry, a tiny, terrified sound, cut through the haze of Dominic’s amnesia and went straight to his core. His heart, a thing he hadn’t felt in years, hammered against his ribs as he shoved Noah and the child down. The rusted dumpster was t







