“Yes.” His quiet confirmation set off a bomb in my soul. “They sent me to watch you, to make sure no humans got hurt under you, and to tell them if they did.” His eyes went to the boy next to him. The loaded gun.
A hollow laugh escaped me, sharp and humorless. “So, the plan was to cozy up to the mafia queen, win her trust, then plunge a blade into her back later? Mating be damned.” I flicked my hand dismissively.
Nick’s jaw tightened. “It started out as a job, a mission,” he said, the words stumbling out. “But it…” He barked a wry laugh, looking off into the distance. “It switched.” He turned to look at me. “I started… I couldn’t stop… fuck… I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
I shook my head.Words. Just fucking words, Nova.Actions were how you learned about someone, how you got to know who they were, and his spoke volumes.
“All the while,” I stepped closer, drilling my eyes into his as I spat out, “you were slithering around, gathering intel like some snake.” His chin went up, mouth pressing into a hard line. The accusation landed between us, cold and edged.
The boy clung to Nick’s shirt, his voice trembling when he spoke. “I-I’m sorry, Miss… d-do you know where m-my dad is?”
Nick’s arms tightened around him, shielding him as if I were the threat. Like I would hurt an innocent fucking child becuase Iwas mad at him! My face betrayed me because I could feel water building behind my eyes.
Something feral unfurled in my chest, and the air seemed to vibrate with it. Claws pressed just beneath my skin, begging to break through. I wanted to tear the walls down, bringing the whole cave down on top of us, but the boy’s wide, terrified eyes anchored me. Whatever monster Nick thought I was, I wasn’tthat.
Sucking everything in, I calmed my face and crouched down to face the boy. “What’s your father’s name?”
“Jeremy, Miss… Jeremy Delton.”
So, this was him, the human boy we’d been trying to find. His wrists were rubbed raw from the cuffs, his face streaked with dirt, but he was breathing. Alive. It was the first real piece of good news in hours.That and getting this weird knife in my hands.
“That doctor man took him,” the boy said, turning to Nick. “This morning. They took both Reece and my dad. We have to find him!” His panic steadied something inside me, transforming the rage into focus. I wasn’t here as a woman scorned. I was the boss, and this boy didn’t belong in my world. He needed to be safe and get out.
“Hey.”
The kid flinched at my voice, eyeing the knife in my hand before he looked up. His small fingers clutched tighter at Nick’s shirt. At least I had his attention. “I’ll find him,” I said. “I promise you that.”
He nodded, and I pushed to my feet. I could feel them before I saw them—Conrad, Deslen, Zeth—closing in behind me, their quiet, solid presence holding me together at the edges.
“Now, listen toOfficer Cordova,” I said, my voice rough when I said the name out loud. Turning to face Nick, I gave him my final order. “Take the boy to the station. Make sure he is taken care of before I send word.”
I turned to leave, but his hand caught my arm, squeezing it hard.
“Nova, wait. We need to talk. Figure this out.”
The desperation in his voice brushed too close. I let it sink beneath the surface where I didn’t have to feel it. “There’s nothing to figure out.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp before getting into his face, smashing my forehead into his painfully. “If you weren’t mymate,” I shot out, “I’d have gutted you, then tore out your heart and smashed it under my foot.”
He glared through the pain in his eyes that shouldn't even be there. What the fuck did he have to be upset about?
“You only do that to people who deserve it—the scum of the earth—doling out punishments that fit the crime.”
His tone mocked me, sharp as glass, and maybe he was right. Maybe he did know a piece of me, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Sure.” I backed up, feeling that rage I was desperately keeping locked up knocking on my door again. “But you’re not fucking innocent. You’re a liar. A con. A man who does his dirty work for a badge. Don’t pretend it’s any less criminal than I am.”
His expression faltered, and those gold eyes, the same ones that used to make my pulse race, drained of light as the truthlaid between our feet. Whatever we’d been before, it had died between us in that silence. A cop and a criminal could never be together.
“Don’t come near me again,” I said firmly, turning away from him. “I’m hanging on by a thread,Cordova. I don’t know what I’ll do if you test me. So, stay the hell away.”
“What about the boy’s father?” His desperate tone called forth something inside of me that I smacked down and growled at.
I pushed myself forward, needing to leave. I needed to get out of this place where all I could smell was his creamy, musky scent that I was now desperate for.
“I’ll send someone to tell you when we find him.”
He called my name as I walked off, the sound echoing in the cave, chasing me. A white button-down slipped over my shoulders, and I looked up to see Conrad’s solemn eyes. “Don’t send me away tonight,” he begged softly.
I nodded, tears in my eyes as I admitted, “I’m not losing anyone else tonight.” I slid the shirt off my shoulders and back into his hands. “But I need air. I need to run.”
