Triad: Sector 4 secured.Yardies: North Bronx is clear.Latin Kings: The fires are out. We hold the docks.
It’s done. The city has flipped. In one night, the power vacuum left by Nikolai has been filled by the man who paid for the bullets.
I put the phone down. That world can wait until morning.
I walk into the bathroom.
Ivy is standing in the middle of the massive marble shower. The water is running, steam filling the room, but she hasn't taken her clothes off. She is standing under the spray in her leather dress and boots, letting the hot water sluice over her.
Water runs black with soot and dried blood, swirling down the drain.
I walk in. My boots splash in the water.
"Ivy," I say softly.
She turns to me. Her mascara is running, black tears tracking down her pale cheeks.
"I can't get clean," she whispers. "I can feel him. I can feel the recoil of the gun."
"It’s not dirt," I say, stepping closer. "It’s power. It sticks."
I reach out and unzip her dress. The leather is heavy, waterlogged. I peel it off her skin. It lands with a wet slap on the tiles. I unlace her boots. I strip off her socks.
She stands naked, shivering despite the heat of the water. The platinum anklet glints on her leg, untouched by the grime.
I strip off my own clothes. The tactical pants, the shirt, the holster. I leave the gun on the dry counter, but the knife stays within reach.
I take the soap. I lather my hands.
I wash her.
I start at her shoulders, working the tension out of her muscles. I wash her arms, scrubbing away the memory of the struggle. I wash her breasts, her stomach, her thighs.
When I reach her hands, I stop.
I take her right hand. The trigger hand.
I kiss her fingers, one by one.
"This hand saved us," I murmur against her skin. "This hand built our future."
She looks at her hand, then at me. "I liked it," she confesses, her voice broken. "When he fell... when the light went out of his eyes... I felt good. Is that wrong? Am I broken?"
"You’re not broken," I say fiercely, gripping her chin. "You’re evolved. The world told you that you were prey, Ivy. Tonight, you decided to be the predator. There is no shame in survival."
I pull her against me. The water beats down on us, a baptism of heat.
"You are exactly what I needed," I tell her. "You are the other half of the monster."
She wraps her arms around my neck. She presses her body against mine. I can feel her heart beating against my chest—slow, heavy, steady.
"Make me forget him," she whispers. "Make me see only you."
I lift her up. She wraps her legs around my waist.
I press her against the marble wall of the shower.
I don't kiss her gently. I claim her. I kiss her with the force of a man who just cheated death.
