My heart slams against my ribs, loud enough I’m sure he can hear it.
“You think you’re in control,” he says quietly.
“No,” I shake my head. “I think I’m almost out of time.”
60
SEBASTIAN
I don’t slow down until the gravel crunches under my tires.
I kill the engine short of the building and sit there for half a second, listening. Observing. Letting instinct overtake logic.
There are no lights outside. No movement or screaming, either.
I get out of the car and grab the knife, keeping it low as I move along the side of the structure. It’s a temporary rental with old siding. A place that blends in. Exactly the kind of place a man like Silas would choose. Ordinary enough to disappear.
My jaw tightens.
I test the door and find it unlocked.
I push it open and step inside, my heart hammering.
The smell hits me first—dust, oil, and something metallic underneath it. My mouth is dry as I scan the room?—
And there she is.
Ivy is tied to a chair, a gag in her mouth. She squirms, eyes terrified andpleading.
My blood goes cold, then violent in the space of a breath.
“Ivy,” I say quietly, every muscle coiled tight.
I take two steps inside—and the door slams shut behind me.
The sound is explosive in the enclosed space.
I spin, but I’m too slow.
Pain detonates across my shoulder as something heavy connects. My bone rattles, nerves screaming. The knife slips out of my hand and skitters across the floor, just out of reach. I grunt and stagger, barely staying on my feet.
Silas stands near the door, breathing hard, eyes wild and shining.
“I knew you were coming,” he says, almost reverent. “I could tell from her eyes.” He smirks at me. “Hope is a fragile thing.”
I straighten slowly, ignoring the way my arm burns. “You’re done,” I tell him. “You know that, right?”
He laughs. A sharp, fractured sound. “Men like you think showing up means winning.”
Before I can say a word or move, he lunges.
I barely manage to block him. The impact rattles my bones, knocks the air from my lungs. We crash onto the floor.
He’s stronger than I expect. Desperate always is.
We struggle, breath to breath now, forearms locked together. He snarls, shoving my head against the floor. My vision dims, and I see stars.
His eyes flick toward Ivy. “You’re too late,” he says. “She chose me.”
