Me. He means me.
“And there are far more effective ways to knock a man off his pedestal.” His hand lifts to spin a curl around his finger, and heat crawls across my skin. Not from desire, but from warning.
I step away to put more space between us. “Don’t.”
Something flickers in his eyes. Surprise. Then quickly smoothed overwith amusement.
“Right,” he says. “Too soon.”
Too telling.
He clears his throat. “Look, Elliot. You don’t have to be anything here unless you want to be. You could have a real position at Sanguine. Real influence. Pick your poison. Media. Broadcast. Investigative journalism. You have instincts, sharp ones. You could build something meaningful here. With me.”
For a second, a future opens in my mind. Me behind a desk, behind a camera, chasing truth instead of being buried under it. A life that’s mine, one I used to dream of while I was human.
“That’s…tempting,” I admit.
Santiago’s smile widens.
“Oh, it gets better,” he says. “See, Lucian’s empire looks untouchable from the outside. But inside?” He taps his temple. “It’s porous. Always has been.”
Facing him fully, I tilt my head, curious. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, like you, people get tired of being owned,” he says. “Especially our kind. So I give them options.”
I stay silent so that he will go on. He does.
“Over the years, I’ve quietly offered some of Lucian’s people…incentives. Double pay to feed me information. Access. Schedules. Weak points.” He shrugs. “Some stay. Others realize they’re safer with me and switch permanently to Sanguine’s payroll.”
My stomach turns, but I keep my face neutral. Impressed.
“You’ve been siphoning his operation,” I guess.
“Carefully,” he corrects. “Slowly enough that he wouldn’t notice a pattern. No sudden losses. No obvious betrayal. Just…erosion.”
Justtheft, piece by piece.
He watches my reaction closely, clearly pleased. “Some people need a bit moreconvincingthan others.” He nods to me. “But bythe time Lucian realizes what’s happening, there won’t be enough left on his side to fight back.”
My eyes widen with forced admiration. “That’s…brilliant.”
But whether he meant to or not, Santiago’s just given away his plan.
I don’t know if it’s Lucian being my master that makes me feel such loyalty to him, even after everything, or if it’s because my heart is still struggling to let him go, but the answer I’m feeling is getting harder to keep hidden.
Santiago is still talking, still outlining his quiet war, but I barely hear him now.
Because I understand?—
I just traded one monster for another.
“I don’t want Benicio de Santis’s holdings,” he is saying when I finally tune back in. “I wantallof Tenebris. And I’ll have you with me every step of the way.”
Before I can respond, his hand snaps up, fingers closing around my chin. He forces my face up until I’m looking straight at him, his grip firm, owning.
“Maybe I’ll even indulge your sexual curiosities,” he whispers. “Bind you with ropes and hang you from the ceiling. Show you off like the magnificent piece of art you are.”
His thumb presses just beneath my lip, a mockery of tenderness.
