Page 142 of Shadowed Vows: Ghost
Kade moves with lightning speed, pressing the blade against Steele's jugular. "Tell me what you know. Now."
Steele wheezes, but his eyes gleam with victory. "You're in over your head, boy. Your parents thought they could expose the truth, and look where it got them. A robbery gone wrong, wasn't it? So… tragic."
His gaze shifts to the one-way mirror as if he knows exactly where I'm standing. "And your little girlfriend? Such a pretty thing. Did she tell you how she screamed when my men grabbed her?" His voice drops to a rasp.
Something shifts in Kade's eyes. Any remaining warmth vanishes entirely. It's like watching a steel door slam shut, blocking any trace of humanity.
"You can mock my parents all you want," Kade says, his voice eerily calm. He leans in close to Steele's ear. "Call me orphan. Remind me how they died. I don't give a fuck."
His fingers tighten around the blade handle. "But you touched her. You put your hands on Alina."
Kade's jaw clenches. "That was your last mistake."
Without another sound, he pulls the knife across Steele's throat in one clean stroke.
I inhale sharply, staggering backward from the glass. My brain can't process what just happened. Kade... he just... he killed him.
Not in self-defense or in the heat of battle, but deliberately. Execution-style.
Through the window, Kade wipes Steele's blood from his hands, his face an emotionless mask.
Part of me wants to run. This man I've fallen for just killed someone in cold blood. The journalist in me screams that this is wrong, that there had to be another way.
But another part understands with perfect clarity. Steele was a monster who killed people Kade loved, who trafficked innocent people, who would have kept hurtingothers if given the chance. And Kade... Kade carries the burden of making impossible choices so others don't have to.
When he walks out without looking at me, I know I have a choice to make. I can walk away, preserve my moral high ground. Or I can accept him—all of him, even the darkness—and help him bear this weight.
In this moment, I truly understand why they call him Ghost.
He disappears down the hallway, his footsteps silent against the polished floor. My heart pounds as the slightest smile tugs at my cheek, forming that damned dimple that always gives me away.
I follow him.
forty-two
Alina
My heart pounds as I hurry after him, desperate to make sense of what just happened.
"Kade, wait," I call out, my voice shaking slightly. "Are you okay?"
He stops abruptly and turns to face me. For a moment, I see a flicker of something—pain, maybe?—in his eyes before it's quickly buried beneath a cold exterior.
"Am I okay?" Kade repeats, his tone dry and almost mocking. "You just watched me kill someone, Alina. And you're asking if I'm okay?"
I flinch at his words, the reality of what I witnessed hitting me all over again. My stomach twists with a sickening lurch. But beneath the shock and horror, there's a part of me that's more concerned about Kade than anything else.
How messed up is that?What does it say about me that I'm worried about the man who just slit someone's throat?
Kade reaches out toward me, then seems to remember the blood coating his hands. He lets them fall to his sides, shaking his head in disbelief. I take his bloodied hand in mine, squeezing gently. The warm stickiness against my palm makes my skin crawl, but I don't let go.
"I don't understand you sometimes," he mutters.
I inhale deeply, attempting to arrange the chaos in my mind. "What I witnessed was... brutal. But Steele mentioned your parents. I noticed how it got under your skin."
Kade's jaw clenches. He shakes his head. "It wasn't about my parents, not really. When he said your name..." His voice trails off. "That doesn't excuse my actions."
"No, it doesn't," I acknowledge in a hushed tone. "But it gives me insight into your reasons."
