Page 16 of Fractured Allegiance

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Even now, walking back through the club, I can feel the mark he left on my thoughts. He didn’t touch me. Didn’t smile. Didn’t flirt.

And I haven’t stopped thinking about him since.

By the time I reach the exit, I know two things.

One: He’s not going away. And two: Neither am I.

The sun’s low enough to make the buildings bleed color across their glass fronts. Miramont looks more honest at this hour, that strange strip of time when nothing’s quite day or night.

I hate it.

The city feels like it’s watching me.

I’m two blocks from my apartment when my phone lights up.

Viktor Drazen.

I don’t let it ring twice.

“Lydia,” I answer.

Silence.

Then, “I hear you met our new friend.”

His voice is slick. Soft. That syrupy menace he wears when he's pretending he’s not dangerous, which always means he's more dangerous than usual.

I keep my tone dry. “You’ll need to narrow that down.”

“Silas Ward.” He says the name like a blade.

My hand grips the steering wheel harder than necessary.

“Dom’s already filed the report,” I say.

“I don’t care about the report.”

I wait. He doesn’t fill the space.

He wants me to.

So I do.

“He’s clean,” I say.

A breath across the line.

Then: “That’s not what I asked.”

He knows.

He always knows.

I choose my words like glass I might have to eat later.

“He’s composed. Controlled. Knows how to be invisible without hiding. That kind of presence doesn’t grow overnight.”

“And your instinct?”

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