Page 105 of The Phantom's Vice

I look desperately toward the metal wall as if will alone could make it rise. I don’t know how the fuck Orion is going to find the main lobby or how long it will take, but I pray it’s soon.

I’m opening my mouth to respond to Kain when the alarm cuts off mid-wail, causing my words to die in my chest. I stare wide-eyed at the metal wall, waiting for something—anything—to let me know Orion was successful. For a moment, I think the plan failed, but then, a screech fills the small space, and the wall starts sliding up.

I jerk my gaze to Kain, who nods, reaching into his pocket and placing a bloodied silver dagger in my palm. “Go save the bastard, Brett.”

Tears fill my vision as I palmthe dagger, not having the time to wipe them away as I race down the tunnel with Rupert hot at my heels. We come to a halt inches away, and I gaze down at the lower half of a glowing gold door, bouncing on my toes as I wait for the wall to raise enough to expose the handle. The seconds feel like hours, but eventually, the wall rises enough for me to wrap my hand around the golden knob.

Crouching down to Rupert’s level to squeeze under the metal gate, I throw the door open, a powerful wail piercing my ears as soon as the barrier is removed. The noise is so powerful and full of dismay that it reverberates to the marrow of my bones.

From my position, I can only see a woman sitting in the middle of an elaborate circular sitting room, the entire space cast in the most expensive gold-veined marble I’ve ever seen.

The woman herself looks like an installment in the room. Elaborate golden robes hang from her body flow to the floor in a shimmering golden pool, the color clashing brilliantly against her ivory venetian mask. The intricately carved headpiece covers the entirety of her face and hair, the only thing visible being a set of cold green eyes peeking through the diamond-lined eye slits.

“MURDERER!” she screams, pointing a shaking finger at something I can’t see past the doorframe. “MURDERER!”

Without thinking, I charge into the room with Rupert at my heels, taking stock of the situation with a single glance. Twelve men stand in a circle around the Madam, their wide eyes barely visible through the slits in their gold bird-beaked masks. In the commotion, no one’s realized I’ve entered the room—too busy staring at the thing in the corner to notice.

And thatthingis Ghost, crouched over the body of a slain snow-white tiger.Wait—afucking tiger?My mouth falls as I take in the sight, shock replacing all the fear flowing in my veins. And it’s not just me—the older, important-looking men in the bird masks look truly paralyzed at the sight.

Ghost raises his head, his body jerking as his eyes meet mine. A wave of electricity flows through me, tickling my scalp as the rest of the world fades, and it’s just the two of us in this room.

“Brett…”he breathes, seeming to lose focus as he stands on wobbly legs, leaving his dagger lodged in the beast. “Darling Brett…”

From the corner of my eye, I seeanothertiger. Except this one is very much alive and very muchabout to launch itself toward Ghost. I charge forward at the same time the beast lowers to the ground, its powerful muscles tensing in preparation to launch.

And I know—even as I raise my dagger, even as Ghost finally looks away from me, toward the great beast about to end his life—I know there’s no way I can react in time to stop it.

This is the end.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

GHOST

Brett is here.Here, looking at me with those worried blue eyes—eyes that hold so much sorrow. So much pain.

I want to reach out, reach inside her mind and tear out whatever revelation is causing it. I want to hold her soft, tearstained cheeks in my palms and tell her everything is okay. I’mmakingit okay. When this is all over, there won’t be a thing left in this city to harm her. I’m going to burn it all down—taking all the rot, all the disease with me.

For her. It’s always been for her.

I think back to a decade ago, when my control slipped for the very first time. She had no idea of my existence back then—how could she? But I knew her. And I knew the men who kidnapped andtortured her mother, the same ones I spent the last decade tracking down and killing.

Because helping Maverick track down Hudson and the other men who killed her mother wasn’t enough. Killing her foster father ten years ago wasn't enough. Drugging him the night she turned sixteen so he wouldn’t try any shit wasn’t enough, and neither was kidnapping him the day after on his morning hike. Torturing him and shoving his disgusting cock down this throat wasn't enough. Leaving his rotting, maggot-ridden corpse for the cops to findwasn’t enough.

I’ve always wanted to protect her. Even before I knew her, I wanted to take away her pain. Something inside me always drew me to her light, that little brilliance hidden behind enough darkness that no one even knew it was there. But it’s a marvelous light, the most rare kind of beauty. And now that it’s a part of me, I cannot be rid of it. Would never want to be.

And now she’s here. For me.She’s choosing… me.

I’m broken from my thoughts as Brett charges forward, seemingly in slow motion. Her mouth is opening wordlessly, her eyes big and wild with terror. And then I see it.

Madam’s second tiger, its cruel yellow eyesstaring into my soul as it lowers to the ground, every muscle in its body poised to launch. A blink later, and it’s sailing through the air, those terrible clawed paws outstretched toward my chest, canines widening to fit around my throat.

I can’t move, and I can’t look away. Dread replaces that electricity in my veins, and I cast one last glance toward Brett, watching her heart rip in two as that great beast closes in on me. I’m so focused on memorizing her features that I don’t notice the small black cat squeezing out of one of Rupert's saddlebags.

No one notices, not even when the angry fuzz ball flies across the room, his minuscule arms outstretched with murderous intent. The tiger is feet from me when Venom lands with ayowlon the back of the tiger’s neck, sinking his canines into its collar before Nix has a chance to shake him off.

Its baser instincts take over, and the tiger twists midair as it refocuses its attention to the thing latched onto its neck, desperate to dislodge the ferocious black housecat. Due to the awkward twisting, the tiger veers off-course at the last second, landing on its side a few feet away from me. A moment later, the tiger rights itself, but instead of lunging for me again, its nose scrunches with avicious snarl, and it swipes a paw over its shoulder, trying to hit Venom.

“VENOM!”Brett screams, changing course and racing toward the brawling cats. Before she makes it halfway, one of the table members lunges forward, gripping her by the elbow and hauling her back.

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