At the top of the stairs, we stopped before a sleek black elevator. Nik placed his palm on the scanner. After a quiet beep, the doors slid open.
The ride was fast and silent. His eyes seemed vacant, as if his mind were a million miles away, his whole demeanor was stormy, like a man wound too tight and ready to snap.
God, why was he so serious?
Was he regretting this? Regrettingme?
I had no time to dwell on that thought. The elevator opened to a reception suite. Straight ahead was a heavy onyx desk, and behind it—
“Aria,” I breathed.
She stood up so fast her chair nearly toppled over. “Lacey!”
Her heels clicked across the marble floor before she enveloped me in a hug that smelled of jasmine.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she whispered into my ear. “I knew you’d make the right choice.”
Heat rose in my face. Of course she knew. Of courseeveryoneknew. The idea that my decision would be a secret had clearly been laughable.
Nik’s hand found the small of my back again, and he guided me through another door, past a conference table, and further into a spacious office bathed in low light. He led me to the floor-to-ceiling window and stopped, pulling me back against his chest.
Below us, Club Xyst pulsed with life—music thrumming, bodies swaying, money flowing.
Nik wrapped his arms tightly around my waist as his lips grazed my neck, just under my ear, soft and possessive.
Then he whispered—
“Welcome to my world, little lamb.”
I closed my eyes and let his words sear into my soul.
I’d barely taken a breath before the door behind us clicked open again.
A wall of men stepped into the office—each one commanding, each one lethal in his own flavor of tailored suit. They stood just feet away, their attention fixed on me.
Nik didn’t release me, but when he spoke, his voice had shifted. It was now businesslike, edged with possession. “Lacey, these are the men who built Club Xyst.” One by one, he gestured to the men. “Lucian, Lachlan, Julian, Gabriel.”
Lucian gave me a single, respectful nod. Gabriel offered a lazy smirk. Julian’s intense stare felt as though it was peeling back layers of my skin.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Lachlan said. “It’s nice to meet Nik’s mystery woman.” This one had an air of dark Irish mischief about him.
They closed in slowly, and I instinctively leaned back into Nik’s chest, grateful for his claiming arm wrapped around my waist.
Lucian’s voice was also accented in Irish. “Welcome to the family, Lacey. Joining us doesn’t promise peace. Only loyalty. And vengeance, if needed.”
Lachlan’s smirk widened. “And it’s permanent.”
“Till death do us part,” Gabriel added.
“And if you ever need a body moved,” Julian said with a smirk, “I know a guy.”
I swallowed hard.
Nik chuckled under his breath, but his grip on me didn’t loosen.
The men shifted into casual stances and dispersed throughout the office, dropping into chairs or leaning against the bar. Then the atmosphere darkened more.
“So, who’s next on the list?” Lucian asked Nik. “I heard Morales fled to Montreal.”
