TABOO (A DEAL WITH THE SHADOW ALPHA) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

ADDISON The flight back felt different. The heavy, suffocating decorum from the car ride to the airport was still there, but the space inside the plane had changed. Last time, I was a ball of panic, clinging to him just to breathe.This time, when I walked up the steps, my stomach did its usual nervous clench, but it was quieter, I was nervous but I wasn't scared not as much as before. Axel followed me in. He didn't go to his usual seat across the cabin. Without a word, he sat down right next to me again, his large body making the plush leather seat feel small.He didn't look at me. He just stared straight ahead, buckling his seatbelt. But his presence was a solid, warm wall beside me. I breathed a sigh of relief, at least I had someone to cling to but I had to mane sure not to hurt him like I did before. When the engines roared to life, my fingers instinctively twisted together in my lap. The familiar fear started to rise, a cold hand squeezing my lungs.Then, his hand came down. No

ADDISON The sound wasn’t loud. That was the worst part.It wasn’t a crash or a bang. It was a soft, sliding scrape from the direction of my living room, like a piece of furniture being gently nudged across the hardwood floor.My eyes flew open in the dark. My heart instantly slammed against my ribs, a frantic, trapped animal. I held my breath, my whole body frozen under the covers.Silence.Maybe it was the building settling. Maybe it was Jules, having forgotten something? But no, she’d texted me if she would be coming. Then I heard it again. A faint, shuffling step. Not outside in the hall. Inside.Pure, cold terror flooded my veins. The note. How long do you think you can hide?My phone was on the nightstand. My hand shot out, fumbling for it in the dark. My fingers were so clumsy with fear I almost dropped it. I didn’t think. There was only one person my mind screamed for.It rang once before he picked up. His voice was alert, clear, not sleepy at all. “Addison?”“Axel,” I whispe

Axel “Time is running out, Axel,” he said, no greeting, just business. “You have one week. You need to come to Greece. To the usual place. You know the preparations that have to be made.”A memory flashed, sharp and humiliating. Not a memory of sight, but of sensation. The cold, unforgiving bite of reinforced silver chains against my wrists and ankles. The sting of the needle as they injected the concoction meant to dampen the fire in my blood. The taste of my own rage, metallic and hot, as I fought against all of it. And the worse memories—the times the chains had strained, the times the drugs had felt like water against a forest fire, and the times where my bloodlust had won. The aftermath I was never allowed to see, only clean up.“I know,” I said, my voice flat. “I’ll be there.”There was a pause on the other end of the line. A suspicious one. “You’ve never been late before, Axel. You usually come months in advance, to… acclimatize. What’s keeping you?”The image of her face, lau

AXEL I was so close. Her breath was warm on my lips, her eyes wide and trusting. The world had narrowed to the space between us, and for a second, I forgot about absolutely everything.Then my phone rang. The shrill sound was like a bucket of ice water. Fuck!I flinched back, a low growl of frustration rumbling in my chest. “Damn it,” I muttered, pulling the phone from my pocket. It was Williams, my assistant. The timing was perfect, and perfectly awful.“I have to take this,” I said, my voice rough. I saw the flicker of something—disappointment?—in Addison’s eyes before she nodded and I turned and walked out of the kitchen, putting the living room between us.“This better be important,” I snapped into the phone.“Sir, I’m sorry,” Williams’s voice was tense. “But there’s a situation at the main headquarters. A significant data breach. We suspect someone is feeding project specs to Haper-corp Industries. They’ve underbid us on three major contracts this week with impossible precision

ADDISON I wore emerald green silk that felt like cool water against my skin. It was simple, sleeveless, and fell in a straight, elegant line to the floor, but the back was completely open, held together by just a single, delicate silk tie at the nape of my neck. It made me feel bold and vulnerable all at once. When I’d stepped out of my bedroom, Axel’s eyes had darkened, and he’d just given a single, slow nod of approval. No words. That look was enough to make my knees feel weak.The art gallery was a glittering, modern space filled with the of wealthy conversation and the clink of champagne glasses. For the first hour, I stuck close to Axel’s side as he moved through the crowd. He introduced me to several people who were probably his client—“This is Addison Amber”—and the respect in people’s eyes was immediate. Initially I had been to scared to leave my house but now it felt good leaving with him. After a while, he leaned down, his lips close to my ear. “I need to step over to that