Page 28 of The Silent War
Not yet.
She was surrounded by three heirs. All dressed in tailored suiting, subtle dynasty crests on their cufflinks. Each trying too hard to charm her. Each sitting too close.
She tilted her head to one of them, offering a practiced smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Her posture was perfect, elegant, but I saw it.
The tension in her shoulders. The way her hand fidgeted with the napkin under the table. The half-second she looked toward the exit like she was counting time.
So I signaled.
The first man’s phone buzzed.
He excused himself to take it.
The second was subtly tapped by a server—urgent message from his father.
Gone in under a minute.
The last was approached directly by management. A “scheduling conflict” about a previously confirmed meeting that had been bumped.
All three disappeared like they’d never been there.
She exhaled. As if she’d been underwater too long and could finally come up.
My poor fucking girl.
I stood just outside the entrance, watching her for one more second. I wanted to drag her from that table take her home, where she could be mad with us and we’d earn her forgiveness.
She reached for her wine, unaware that the entire moment had been arranged for her.
By me.
So she could have five minutes of silence. And I could have five minutes of her. I stepped inside.
God, she was beautiful. Not polished dynasty-perfect.
Mykind of beautiful.
The kind that made me want to hurt every man who’d dared to touch her wrist tonight.
She didn’t look up until I pulled out the chair beside her, not across from her. Fuck being respectful and dynasty rules right now.
Slowly she looked up, and when our eyes met, she offered me a smile.
A cold, polished, dynasty smile. One that had been trained and sharpened over years of survival.
“Bastion Crow,” she said smoothly. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
She said my last name like it wasn’t already hers.
I sat down beside her. Let my knee brush hers beneath the table.
Didn’t speak at first I just… looked.
And she looked back.
Her gaze raked over me once, slow and deliberate. She took in the bruising along my jaw, the healing cut near my temple, the new tattoos beneath the open collar of my shirt. No tie or dynasty gold.
Maybe she was inspecting the damage.
