Adrian's head turned slightly. Noah's hands tightened on the wheel.
“Ravenswood,” Dom said. Not to me. To Noah. “My quarters. Private entrance. And give us space.”
“Understood,” Noah replied.
The rest of the drive was silence. Dom's presence beside me like pressure I couldn't escape. My mind cataloguing everythingthat had happened. Every detail. Every moment burned into perfect recall where it would live forever.
We reached Ravenswood.Noah parked near the private entrance. Adrian got out first.
“I'll have Dmitri pull the audio from the bugs,” Adrian said. “And start working through the phone data. We'll have preliminary findings by morning.”
“Thank you,” Dom said.
Adrian's gaze moved between us. “Try not to destroy anything important while you're working through whatever this is.”
He left. Noah followed. The car door closed. Then it was just us in Dom's quarters. Alone. No audience. No performance.
Dom locked the door. Turned to face me.
I was already moving. Pacing. Putting distance between us because standing still felt impossible.
“Say it,” Dom said. “Whatever's eating you. Just say it.”
“There's nothing to say. The operation was successful. We got what we needed. The rest is irrelevant.”
“The rest is you barely holding yourself together.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're not fine. You haven't been fine since I kissed him.” Dom moved closer. I stepped back. “Cal. Look at me.”
I did. Met his gaze with control that cost me everything to maintain. “What do you want me to say, Dom? That watching you with him made me want to rip his throat out?”
“Yes. Say that. Say something real instead of hiding.”
“Fine. It was horrible. Watching you touch others. Watching them touch you. Knowing Harrow was cataloguing everything for future leverage. Happy?”
“No. Because you're still not being honest.” Dom closed the distance. Grabbed my shoulders. “This isn't about the operation. This is about you being jealous and not knowing how to handle it.”
“I'm not?—”
“You are.” His grip tightened. “And you don't get to be angry about that, Cal. Not when you've done exactly the same thing.”
The words hit like a slap. “That's different.”
“How? How is it different? You've slept with targets before. You've fucked people for information. You told me yourself that you've done whatever was necessary to build your cases.” Dom's voice was hard now. Uncompromising. “So explain to me how you using your body for investigations is acceptable but me doing it tonight somehow crosses a line.”
“Because I—” I stopped. Couldn't finish that sentence. Couldn't admit what made this different.
“Because you what? Because watching me perform with someone else made you realise you're not as controlled as you pretend?” Dom pulled me closer. “Say it, Cal. Stop being a hypocrite and just fucking say it.”
The rage that had been building since Eden finally broke through. I shoved him. Hard. Put distance between us with force.
“Fine. You want honest? I'll give you fucking honest.” My voice went cold. “Yes, I've slept with targets. Yes, I've used my body as a weapon. And I've hated every second of it. Hated the way it made me feel. Hated that it was necessary. Hated that I became someone who could compartmentalise intimacy and turn it into transaction.”
“Cal—”
“I watched you tonight and it tore me apart. Not because you were doing your job. Not because it was necessary. But because part of you enjoyed it. I saw it. The way you kissed that woman. The way you touched Harrow. The control you had over that entire room. You weren't just performing, Dom. You were in your element. And it reminded me that I'm not the only person who gets that version of you.”
