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“Do you think she knows about what happened?” Rowan asks.

I nod. “Why else would she run?”

“If Moreau finds out The Snake is behind this, he’ll declare war. We need to make sure she doesn’t talk,” Xander says, but I’m already shaking my head before he can finish.

“No,” I say thickly. “No one touches her.”

He rolls his eyes. “Rowan, please inform your boyfriend that this is way above him.”

The way he spits the word boyfriend makes my face flush, but I don’t back down. If I want to be in Rowan’s life, I can’t let Xander or Hayden, for that matter, scare me. They’ll have to get over it.

“Watch it,” Rowan bites back. “Alex right. We go near Avni, we escalate whatever this is with The Scarlet Ravens. That’s the last thing we need when we have problems in our own backyard. Let’s focus on finding out who the hell is behind this and ending it. Moreau can come later.”

Xander raises his eyebrow at me, and I force myself to look unaffected, but his blue eyes are filled with a malice that sends a chill up my spine. “You do realise that if this bites us, it’s on you, right?”

I glare back at him, but the feeling of Rowan’s possessive grip on my waist makes me relax. I know Xander is only worried about protecting Rowan and his family.

“Look, I get your interests lie with The Snake, but getting rid of Avni won’t solve anything. Trist clearly trusted her, which means she’s not just some throwaway Raven. Harming her further escalates this. If Moreau comes to you, tell him you’re looking into it and give him the assurances he wants,” I say.

And we better hope Avni hasn’t gone to Moreau already and spun another story.

Rowan and Xander look at each other and I visibly see Xander back down at Rowan’s look.

“Let’s do it your way then,” Xander says finally. “We leave the girl alone for now.”

“Thank you,” I say, exhaling a quiet breath. I still have no idea where Avni is. For all I know, she took her chance and ran. I wouldn’t blame her.

They continue to throw out scenarios, calculating what would happen if the Ravens declared war. Every scenario is terrifying and by the time Xander leaves, my head is spinning with all the potential ways this could get worse for Rowan—forus.

All I can see is Daniel’s dead body lying on the floor in a dingy apartment. He was just a kid, one who made bad decisions, sure, but he didn’t deserve this. In another life, that could have been me. How many more Daniels are out there, caught in Senna’s web of power and greed and unable to get out? And how many Trists are there, caught in something far bigger than them?

It’s late, almost midnight when I finish brushing my teeth in Rowan’s bathroom. It’s got a classical feel to it with modern brass taps and a green-tiled shower. It’s clean and new, the kind of space I could have only dreamed about as a kid. And now I’m brushing my teeth in it, like it’s the world’s most normal thing.

Rowan appears in the mirror behind me, freshly showered and shirtless, sweatpants hanging low on his hips, a perfectly defined V-line pointing to places I want to go. We stare at each other for a moment as I look over the lines of his muscled, tan arms and the way his hair flops lazily around his head. He smiles. It’s so stunning it makes me take in a sharp breath.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I swallow, still looking at him through the mirror. “Yeah, fine. I think seeing Daniel and Trist like that still has me shaken.”

I can still feel Trist’s slick cold blood on my palm and smell the sweet stench of rotting flesh in the air despite how hard I scrubbed my body.

Rowan’s eyes are sympathetic, but he’s not half as wary as I am. He’s used to this. Murder in the search for power is an everyday occurrence for him, it seems. Sure, I come across dead bodies all the time with the OCU but never like this.

“You don’t have to keep doing this. You can walk away. I can handle it.”

I turn to look at him, leaning against the counter. “No,” I say quickly, shaking my head. “No way you’re making me to sit this out. I’m seeing this through. I promised.”

He watches me for a second longer, then nods, relenting. “You did well today. Especially with Xander. He can be a bit…”

“Of an asshole?” I finish. “Yeah. I noticed.”

His chuckle is low. He walks further into the bathroom, his arms circling my hips. Heat immediately dissolves whatever apprehension I’ve felt all day. It’s not that surprising that he gets me feeling this way so quickly. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this blinding desire for someone. A pull so strong it makes me forget everything else around me.

“What can I do to make you feel better?” he asks quietly, slotting his thigh between my legs.

My lips part, sparks of pleasure already starting to fire. He doesn’t have to do anything. He can just stand there, and I’ll feel okay. “You’re already doing it,” I tell him.

He watches me, eyes sparkling and never leaving me. Midnight blue, heavy with lust.