Page 103 of Dance With A Devil
“Athens!”
I call out as I storm back into the hallway. She walks in from the garage like nothing’s wrong.
“Damn, Wyck, where’s the fire?” she jokes. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I drag her against me so fast it knocks the breath from her.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she laughs, confused.
I bury my face in her neck. “Got a call. Just… be careful today, okay? Let me or one of the guys drive you to class.”
She leans back. “You said you weren’t going in.”
“I’ll go. Or someone else will. Doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I know. But I’d sleep better knowing you’re protected.”
She stares at me, then sighs. “Wyck, I can handle myself.”
I don’t push. Not now. But I fire off a silent text to Gage anyway.Follow her. Discreet. No mistakes.
He replies immediately:Done.
She kisses me once and slips out the door like a storm I’ll never catch.
I stand in the doorway for a long time after she’s gone, staring into the dark.
One problem down.
Ninety-nine more to burn.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bash
Pacing has become my religion.
Back and forth. Same path. Same threadbare patch of this goddamn blue and white carpet that mocks me like everything else in this cursed house.
This office used to be my sanctuary. Now it’s just a coffin I haven’t died in yet.
I used to be careful. Controlled. Surgical. No unnecessary noise. No slip-ups. But even Elders bleed eventually. Even monsters fall.
And I fucked up.
No use dancing around it. It’s not the power, or the name, or the wealth, I still have all three. It’s the perception. The control. The fuckingfear. And I’ve lost it.
We were kings once.
Now I’m hiding in the goddamn shadows, like a stray dog chewing scraps from the bones of what we used to be.
And all because of her.
And him.
That bastard son of mine.
