Page 100 of Monsters Wear Crowns
This was personal. Moreau was making sure of that.
Behind me, Rafe was eerily silent. I could feel the storm coming off him in waves–the barely leashed violence simmering just below the surface.
“They didn’t touch the servers?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.
“No.” Laura’s eyes flicked toward Rafe. “But I’d bet my life they left something behind.”
“We’ll sweep it,” Rafe said coldly. “Top to bottom.”
My hands curled into fists. “He’s coming for me.”
“Yes,” Rafe agreed. “But he won’t reach you.”
I turned to him. “He already has.”
He stared at me, and there was something unreadable in his eyes, something almost like regret.
Before either of us could speak, Laura’s phone buzzed. She glanced at it and went pale.
“What?” I asked, almost too scared to see whatever it was.
She held out the screen, and the image hit me like a punch to the gut. It was the loading dock behind our building. And on the cold concrete, another body lay sprawled in a pool of blood. I squinted, but couldn’t identify who it was. The world tilted. I didn’t realize I was shaking until Rafe’s hand closed around my arm, steadying me.
His voice was quiet. “Laura, send everyone home.”
“Rafe–”
“Now,” he growled.
Laura went without argument. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
“He’s escalating,” I whispered. “He’s not going to stop tormenting me unless I release you as a client, or you’re dead.”
Rafe’s grip tightened. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
But there was something in his face, and it scared me more than the blood on the walls. Because this time, it wasn’t just rage. It was fear.
***
The entire ride home, I shook with barely contained anger and confusion. Every time I snuck a peak at Rafe, I saw the mask sliding off. He brought his fist up to his mouth to avoid losing all control. But I knew better. He was losing his grip. Vincent’s betrayal had cut him deeper than he wanted to admit. And by the time we pulled up to the mansion, I was nauseous.
He stalked inside, and I froze in the entryway. I didn’t think I’d do it until I was already walking back out the door.
But my hand was on the knob, the cool metal biting into mypalm, and my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might crack my ribs. “I’m leaving,” I said, my voice shaking. “I can’t do this.”
Rafe’s head snapped up from where he stood near the staircase, his phone still clutched in one hand. He stared at me like I’d just struck him. “Adela,” he said, his voice lethal.
But I was already pulling the door open. The night air rushed in, cold and sharp, and I took one step over the threshold.
One step.
Then I heard it, the sound of him moving. Fast.
“Don’t you dare–”
But he was already there. Rafe crashed into me like a storm, his hand slamming the door shut before I could take another step. I whirled on him, furious. But before I could get a word out, his hands were on me.
“You’re not going anywhere.” His voice was raw, his eyes frantic.
