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Fuck Don. Fuck him.
Darien’s heart pounded harder, each beat driven by uncontrollable hatred. For himself, for the imperator, for Don.
“I saw what you’re capable of, and it’s fucking incredible,” Roman went on. “But I’m not going to lie to you.” His pitch-black stare settled on Darien. “Darien, if you try to kill him, you will lose.”
Loren was too late.
She threw open the front door and sprinted outside, lurching to a stop on the front steps just in time to see the glow of the tail lights on Roman’s car disappearing down the street.
Upset didn’t begin to cover how she’d felt to learn that Darien had traded away his life. But she was even more upset that she’d allowed their conversation to end like that.
Every couple was bound to fight. To disagree on things once in a while. She wasn’t so blind as to think she would always see eye to eye with Darien. But if something bad happened tonight…and that was the last time she ever got to speak to him…
She stared out at the dark neighborhood, at the street lights bleaching the pavement.
And wished she could take it back.
105
The Financial District
YVESWICH, STATE OF KER
Roman pressed his phone against his ear as Darien sped through the Financial District, blowing through red lights and stop signs. It was still dark out, but workers were beginning to make their early-morning commutes, clogging up the roads with the most piss-poor timing in the world.
He was about to hang up again when the line finally connected.
“Roman?” Tanya’s voice, brittle with fear, floated through the speaker.
Roman’s fingers tightened around the device. “Tanya. Tanya, what’s going on? We saw you on the security cameras. Are you okay?” In the back seat, Jack and Tanner leaned forward to listen, while Darien’s gaze continuously flickered between Roman and the street flying by under the tires.
“I can’t talk for long.” Her words were muffled, as if she had the device pressed right up against her mouth. “They…they’re going to come back.”
“We’re on our way—”
An oath cut through the speaker, silencing him. Tanya’s shaking inhale rattled the phone.
“Tanya, are you safe?” Roman pressed. “Is there any way you can get out of there?”
“They’re guarding all exits,” she whispered. “Roman, I—I’m afraid. I want to go home.” The confession was a punch to the gut. She may be a grown woman, but in that moment she reminded Roman of Paxton. Stuck in a situation she couldn’t get out of, didn’t deserve, and all she wanted was to get out of it.
“I know, Tanya, we’re coming. We’re on our way as we speak. Just hold on for a little while longer, okay?”
Something like a whimper cut through the phone. “I have to go, they’re coming.”
Roman gripped the phone tighter. “Tanya—”
The line went dead.
His eyes snapped to Darien’s face, his own skin going white. “They’re going to kill her.”
“No, they’re not,” Darien said, pushing the engine faster. “No, they’re fucking not.”
It took a matter of minutes for them to get up to Caliginous on Silverway once they’d parked. Minutes that felt like years when an innocent woman’s life was on the line.
The imperator and his men had been manipulating Tanya for who knew how long. Darien only hoped they still deemed her useful enough to keep alive. That they weren’t too late.
The elevator doors slid open with a hiss.
