I answer with one clipped word. “Report.”
“There’s movement,” he says. “Rafael’s men are close to the docks. They’re testing the perimeter.”
My jaw tightens. “How many?”
“Three cars. No guns out. Looks like surveillance.”
More pressure. More arrogance. Rafael’s crew pushing at the edges of my city like they don’t remember who buried their last attempt.
Rage simmers low in my chest—not loud, but precise. Controlled. I shift my attention back to Eden, who watches me with that trembling intensity that shouldn’t affect me at all.
“I’m on my way,” I tell Viktor. “No contact unless necessary.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call ends. The irritation stays.
Ardaleon steps closer from the shadows of the hallway. “Problem?”
“Rafael’s men,” I answer. “Close to our shipments.”
His gaze slides to Eden. “What do you want to do with her?”
The warehouse goes quiet. Eden stiffens. Her breathing falters.
I should give the order. Keep her here. Lock her up. End her life. Cut loose the thread tying her to me.
Instead, I say, “She stays alive.”
Ardaleon’s eyebrows lift, but he doesn’t question it. He never does in front of others.
I motion to Lukyan, who lingers beside the van with two guards. “No one touches her. No one goes near her. Double security around this area.”
Lukyan looks puzzled. “Aroundher?”
“Yes.” My voice sharpens like a blade. “Around her.”
He nods slowly. He doesn’t ask why.
My men exchange glances—curious, uneasy—but no one comments. They don’t have permission to.
I walk toward Eden again, compelled despite myself. Her eyes widen as I stop in front of her, close enough that I feel her breath on my collarbone. She tries to mask the tremor in her hands by clenching them into fists.
I lift one finger and tilt her chin up.
She gasps—a small, sharp sound that hits me harder than it should.
“You’re not going to disappear,” I tell her quietly. “You’re not going to be harmed.”
Her voice shakes. “Because you won’t allow it?”
“Yes.”
Her breath shudders.
I release her chin slowly, letting my fingers graze her jaw. Electricity. That’s the only way to describe the jolt that sparks through me at the contact. She feels it too—I see it in the widening of her eyes, the faint hitch in her breath.
I should step away. Instead I linger one second too long.
