Page 128 of The Devil of Downtown

“Can we help you?”

“I’m here to see Dane—Mr. Black,” I correct, my voice tight. “Please. It’s urgent.”

They exchange a look, doubtful, even apologetic.

“Mr. Black doesn’t see anyone without an appointment.”

“I know,” I whisper. “But... please, could you just call?”

Something in my voice must land, because after a beat, one of them picks up the phone.

He speaks quietly, almost expecting to be told no.

Then he stops, blinking.

“...Yes, sir. I’ll send her up.”

When he hangs up, both guards look at me with surprise.

“He says you can go up,” one mutters. “Elevators are to your left.”

The elevator ride to the top floor seems endless. When the doors open, the reception area is too still, as if someone put the world on pause. Sloane is waiting near the glass wall, arms crossed, worry bright in her eyes.

“Ivy.” She steps toward me, voice low. “I just heard. He hasn’t left his office all day.”

Her hand squeezes my arm gently, but bracing. “Be prepared,” she murmurs. “He’s... not himself.”

I nod, though nothing feels steady beneath me.

I knock once on his door.

There’s no answer.

I push it open anyway.

He’s standing at the window, shoulders drawn tight, every line of him wound with a tension that makes the air seem too thick. New York sprawls in front of him in the cold winter light.

“Dane,” I manage, my voice thinner than I want.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t turn. “You saw it.”

I nod. “Yes.”

There is a long, suffocating silence where he just stares out of the window as if he is summoning his strength to look at me.

He exhales once, sharp and controlled.

“How long have you known?”

The question hits like a blow.

“Last night,” I stammer. “After the gala. I didn’t know before—I swear I didn’t. I had no idea Brody was tied to anything like that.”

“And when you found out,” he says, voice dropping to something low and lethal, “you didn’t think I had the right to know instantly?”

I take a step back, more instinct than choice.

“I was trying to handle it. Trying to determine if it was true, if it was safe to—”