Page 96 of Fractured Allegiance
I don’t answer. I don’t need to.
Dom’s the type who’ll keep talking until he feels like he’s ahead again.
“Drazen doesn’t trust him,” he says. “You know that. Hell, I don’t trust him. But you? You’re letting him come into your loft like he’s not a viper with a face that sells knives.”
“I’ve let in worse.”
“Like Elias?”
I don't take the bait.
Dom smirks. “You’re too smart to fall in love with something that bleeds for a living.”
“I’m not in love.”
“No,” he says, “but you’re in something.”
He pulls the car to a stop in front of my building.
People pass by, none of them looking up. This part of the street is where privacy goes to be forgotten. Everyone’s got secrets, so no one asks.
Dom doesn’t unlock the doors right away.
He turns in his seat and looks at me. “Useful turns into owned real fast around here,” he says. “Be careful who you serve. And be even more careful who you let protect you.”
I don’t blink. “I’ve never needed protection.”
He unlocks the door with a crisp click.
“But maybe you want it now.”
I step out.
Close the door behind me.
And only then do I let my lungs expand again.
The moment the car peels away, I pull out my phone.
The screen is blank. There are no new messages.
Of course not.
Silas plays his games like shadows play time: always stretching, never giving you the shape of what you’re standing next to.
I stare at the blank screen for a few seconds.
Then type.
Come over. I’m done pretending.
I don’t wait to see if it delivers.
I slide the phone into my pocket, climb the stairs two at a time, and leave the door unlocked behind me.
Let him decide whether the invitation is worth the risk.
The knock comes twenty minutes later.
