And now Savage looked like he had bad news.
Savage rubbed a hand over his forehead, shoulders tight—a man holding himself still by force.
Something was definitely off.
Titus felt it like static crawling under his skin.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Savage didn’t answer. Not right away. Not like Savage.
His boss sat too still. Too quiet. It put Titus on edge.
Pulling open his desk drawer, Savage retrieved and slid his cell phone and ID across the desk.
Titus had already destroyed the burner phone—it was protocol. He tucked his phone and license away just as the doorknob to the rear door of Savage’s office turned.
The door opened, and a man stepped through. Thirty-something, a newcomer—gorgeous, sharp, polished in that lethal Erebus way.
Savage jerked his chin toward the guy.
“This is Vale. He’s your new partner. You know the rules. No one runs solo.”
Vale crossed his arms, gaze alert, smirk definitely cocky.
A perfect assassin.
Beautiful in a way that read dangerous, not decorative.
Savage exhaled hard through his nose, shoved a stack of papers aside, and finally looked at Titus.
“Evan Barstow’s been talking.”
Titus didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “The accountant.”
“Yeah.” Savage tapped a finger against a printout—columns of numbers, routing data, transfer codes. “He’s scared out of his damn mind. Says he never should’ve seen certain transactions.”
Vale drifted closer, expression sharpening, eyes flicking over the paperwork like he was cataloging targets.
“The patterns don’t match cartel books,” Savage said, voice clipped. “Not even close.”
Titus frowned. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning,” Savage said, pushing another file forward, “several of the accounts he accessed weren’t cartel-controlled at all. The laundering signatures are too clean.”
Titus’s jaw worked once. “So, who owns it?”
Savage leaned back in his chair—slow, deliberate, like he hated the answer before he even said it.
“That’s the problem.”
A beat.
“It appears to be… corporate.”
The word hung there like a loaded weapon.
Titus felt something cold slide through his spine. Corporate meant power. Structure. Untouchable money.
