CHAPTER 9: RUIN AND RECKONING

"Did you miss me, Elena?"

The voice snaked down the dark corridor, a slow, sarcastic hiss that turned my blood to ice. As I turned, I clutched the strap of my purse as my breath caught the second our gazes collided.

Adrian Knight.

Tall, all in black, just his presence was enough to choke the air in my lungs. His dark eyes sparkled with something sickeningly familiar: control, possession, the same morbid pleasure he so often took in my suffering.

My instinct screamed. But it had never worked with him before.

Instead, I put on a brave face, keeping my voice icy. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He smirked, stepping closer. "Such hostility. Is that the way you greet an old friend?"

I nearly laughed. Friend. That was the dirtiest lie he'd ever told.

I wasn't his friend. I was his prey.

"I have nothing to say to you," I said sharply and turned to leave.

But I didn't get two steps when his fingers closed around my wrist, pulling me back with sufficient strength to remind me he was stronger.

"You think you're safe just because you're playing house with Damien Lancaster?" His voice descended an octave lower, poison snapping off each syllable. "You think he can keep you safe from me?"

My stomach tightened, but I maintained a neutral expression. I wouldn't let him see fear. That's what he fed on.

"You don't belong in my world anymore, Adrian," I said, my voice steady. "You're just a ghost."

His grip tightened. Just enough to hurt. That's the thing about ghosts, sweetheart. They come back again when you have a dark moment."

Then he came closer and whispered what had chilled my blood.

"I know everything, Elena."

My heart thudded against my ribs.

Everything?

No. No, he wouldn't have a damn clue.

But the satisfied, slow smirk on his face told me otherwise.

He knew something.

And that made him more dangerous than ever.

I pulled my wrist away and stepped back. "Stay away from me."

His eyes slipped to my hand for a second, then shot back up. "I would. But where's the fun in that?"

Then he left, without another word, and walked down the hall and away, leaving the air stale with his threat.

I was standing there, heart racing, hands shaking. What did he know? What had he found out?

And worse…

What did he plan to do with it?

I stormed into the Lancaster penthouse, my heels clicking over the marble floors, my pulse pounding from the run-in with Adrian. With that, I closed the door on my way out and drew a sharp breath, planting my palms on the cool timber.

He knows something.

But what?

I needed time to consider, to plan, to find out what Adrian had unmasked. But my body was betraying me — sweaty hands, shallow breaths, a heart banging in my chest that wouldn't calm down.

I knew I had to compose myself. Fast.

"Elena."

Damien's voice sliced through the air, smooth but coated with something sharp. I spun back, my practiced mask snapping right back up as I held his gaze.

His perfectly tailored suit, clean as the cut of his hair, complemented the color of his piercing gray eyes, visible as he stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, unfathomable. The city lights framed him in a near-ethereal glow, but he had nothing soft about him. Not the way he eyed me, not the way he carried himself.

His force of presence — one that rendered the air between us suffocating.

"You're late." His tone was flat, but there was a rasp in it.

I raised my chin, unwilling to show him how rattled I was. "I got caught up."

Damien's eyes swept over me, sharp and studying. He didn't miss details. Ever. And at this moment, I could feel him undressing me with his look, drawing back the layers of my armor.

"You're right," he murmured, coming closer. "Something happened."

I hated that he could read me so easily. Hated that he wasn't wrong.

"I'm fine," I said, pushing past him. "It's been a long day."

I reached for the bar cart and needed something to hold on to. I poured a glass of whiskey with hands of perfect steadiness despite the whirlwind that coursed through me.

Behind me, Damien moved. I sensed him before I saw him — the movement in the air, the slight warmth of his presence. He was near now, too near, his body a breath's distance from mine.

I held the glass tighter as he leaned in, whispering in my ear.

"Lying doesn't become you, Elena."

A chill crept through my bones, but I didn't shrink. "And questioning does not become you."

He gave a little cough of a laugh, with no mirth in it.

Then, in one smooth movement, he snatched the glass from my fingers and placed it down. Before I had time to react, he turned me to face him, his hands bracketing my waist, firm but not aggressive.

"Tell me what happened," he said, pinning me with his gaze.

For a second I almost did. Almost let the words splatter out, almost admitted that Adrian had reappeared in my life, that his threats were still crawling in my brain like poison.

But I couldn't.

Not yet.

Not until I understood exactly what Adrian was doing.

So I did what I do best instead. I deflected.

I allowed my lips to form a smirk and ran my fingertips up Damien's chest, holding on to the way his muscles coiled under my touch.

"You want to know what happened?" I said, leaning my head just enough that my lips grazed his jaw.

His grip tightened. A muscle in his jaw ticked.

For a second, I guessed he'd shove me off.

But then, sharp intake of breath, he pulled me closer.

Our tensions ignited into something much more dangerous.

Something that neither of us could afford.

Damien's hold on my waist was solid, damn near possessive like he was testing me to push him farther. His blazing gray eyes seared into mine, filled with something dark and unreadable. My breath caught, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much his touch had undone me.

This was dangerous.

The connection that held us together was · too much heat.

I needed to regain control.

I stiffened a smile and slid my fingers up, along the taut line of his collar. "Damien, you're always so tense. My voice was smooth — my heart was hammering. "You should learn to relax."

His jaw ticked. "And know when to stop playing games."

His words should have been a red flag. But rather than pull away, I nuzzled my mouth against the scruff on his jaw, feeling the way his muscles tightened beneath me.

It was a mistake.

A dangerous one.

Because the next second, Damien lost all control.

He growled, spun me around and pinned me to the bar. His hands formed a cage around me, his form pressing just enough against mine for my breath to hitch.

"You want to play?" His voice was low, lethal. "Fine. But tell me, Elena…" He leaned closer, his lips a whisper from my own. "Are you ready for what happens when I don't hold back?"

It sent a chill down my spine, but I would not relent.

I held his gaze, ignoring the way my pulse fluttered." "Are you?"

With suffocating and electric tension between us. My body failed me, arching into him despite every logical brain cell shrieking at me to end this before it was too late.

And then, not only closing the distance, not only bracing myself for the inevitable —

He stepped back.

Cold air filled the space between us and I hissed out a breath, despising how much I missed his warmth.

But now his eyes were unreadable, his expression guarded. "Go upstairs."

It wasn't a request.

It was a command.

I raised an eyebrow, hiding my confusion beneath defiance. "Excuse me?"

His gaze darkened. "Now, Elena."

I started to argue, but the look on his face made me hesitate.

This wasn't about our game anymore.

Something had shifted.

I could read it in his eyes, in the set of his jaw, in the way his fingers balled into fists at his sides. He knew something.

Panic rolled in my chest, but I fought to keep my voice calm. "What's going on?"

Silence.

And then—

"Don't make me ask again."

The finality of his tone gave me chills.

I paused just for a second before I spun on my heel and walked to the stairwell, my mind swirling with ideas.

I reached the top with my hands balled into fists.

I had turned my back on it, but this was not done.

Not by a long shot.

And whatever Damien was keeping under wraps… I was going to find out.