Page 183 of Fractured Devotion

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Every last one of them.

Rourke, his circle, and anyone who ever touched her.

They think they’ve been gods in this story.

But they forget what happens when you turn the devil against you.

I tap the screen, my mind already calculating, already drawing the first lines of war.

I’ll burn them down.

For her.

For me.

For everything they took.

And when it’s over?

There’ll be nothing left but ash.

Chapter 52 – Kade - Static Flesh

I don’t even remember falling asleep.

One moment, I was staring at the photos on my tablet, her secrets spread before me like a map of every wrong I was too blind to see. The next, I’m blinking against the harsh light of morning filtering through the slats of my window, my neck stiff, my body heavy.

I sit up slowly, dragging a hand through my hair, the weight of exhaustion settling like a stone on my chest. My mind feels like it’s been scraped raw, and I can’t tell if it’s from the dreams or the waking.

I glance at the tablet still clutched in my lap, the screen dark.

Her box. Her past. Her war.

It all plays behind my eyes like a reel I can’t stop.

I stand, rolling the stiffness from my shoulders. There’s work to be done.

Names. Faces. Coordinates. The ones I gave her last night in surrender, and the ones I still keep hidden, even from myself.

They all deserve to burn.

I dress with precision, every movement calculated. I put on a dark shirt, tailored pants, and a jacket to mask the lingering bruises she left. I tighten my cuffs, slide my watch onto my wrist, and check my reflection in the mirror.

I’m composed, dangerous, and deceptive.

Exactly as I need to be.

I leave the apartment with steady steps, the morning air biting against my skin. My path to the clinic feels longer than usual, every stride weighed down by what I now know.

But I won’t flinch.

Not yet.

As I walk through the glass doors, I catch sight of Alec down the hall, heading toward his wing.

Our eyes meet.

Brief.

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