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Wolfe reaches out, his fingers gripping my chin, the touch possessive and triumphant, as if he already owns me. His grip tightens, his nails biting into my skin.
“Say it. Tell me what you are.” His voice is a low, dangerous whisper, inches from my face. His eyes bore into mine, cold and expectant.
I swallow hard, tasting blood, forcing the words out. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
“Because I reward loyalty.” Wolfe extends his hand, his nails gleaming, immaculate despite the blood on his sleeves.
“What do you say, little flame?” His fingers tighten on my chin, his pupils dark and unyielding, a twisted satisfaction in his gaze. “Ready to come home? Ready to save the man you love?”
Love.
The word hits like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. Is that what this is? This desperate, aching need to protect him at any cost?
Another scream echoes from the phone in Wolfe’s pocket, muffled but unmistakable.
Blaze’s pain.
Time’s running out.
“Tick tock.” Wolfe’s voice is ice now, cold and relentless. “His life or your freedom. Choose.”
Some choices aren’t choices at all.
Some sacrifices are worth any price.
“Then I’m yours.” I lean into his grip, letting the ice replace the fire in my veins, the numbness settling deep. “Your perfect achievement.”
His smile spreads slowly, like a predator savoring its kill. “Well then, little flame.” He releases my chin, his fingers trailing away, leaving a cold, empty void. “Let’s begin.”
Behind him, the guards exchange glances, oblivious to the glint of madness in Wolfe’s eyes. His obsession with me will be his undoing.
My mind races, desperately searching for another way out. There has to be another option.
There’s always another option.
“I want something else.”
“Tread carefully, little flame.” His amusement returns, a warning edge beneath it.
“Leave his team alone.” The words burn like acid in my throat, each syllable a betrayal of everything I’ve fought to protect. “They’re nothing but hired guns. Leave them alone.”
“Consider it a signing bonus.” Wolfe’s smile widens, all teeth and menace. “Think of what we will accomplish together, my little flame. No more scraping by on the streets. They made you hard. Dangerous. You were always destined to be mine, a part of something… Something extraordinary.”
The unlit candle mocks me on the table; its wax cold and inert. Once, fire meant hope. Survival. Now, it represents an impossible choice.
Behind him, the guards remain oblivious, ignoring the darkness twisting inside Wolfe.
They don’t see what I see—the glint of madness in his eyes. An obsession that will be his downfall.
THIRTY-FOUR
Ember
My surrender setsthings in motion with dizzying speed. Wolfe snaps orders, and suddenly, I’m whisked away from that grimy cell and led through a maze of corridors that smell of bleach and antiseptic.
The contrast is jarring—sterile white walls replace crumbling concrete, and bright fluorescent lights that burn my eyes after the many hours I spent in dim shadows.
Two guards flank me, their grips professional but firm. No chances are being taken with Wolfe’s new prize. We pass through what looks like a medical wing, the sharp scent of disinfectant making my head spin.