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Next to me, Alex stirs, and just like that, my anxiety dissipates and a sense of calm washes over me. Now that I have him, I can’t imagine letting him stand anywhere else other than my side. I feel a possessiveness, maybe even obsessiveness I’ve never felt for anyone else. I’ve never believed in soulmates, but maybe this is as close as it gets, two people who can’t stay away from each other even if there is an entire clan and police department between them.

He’s different. He has always been.

“Good morning,” I whisper.

He moans, burrowing further into my bare chest. “No,” he cries.

I chuckle quietly. “I have to get up.”

“No, you don’t. Five more minutes.” His arms reach out to clutch me tightly, making sure I can’t move.

I run the back of my hand against his cheek, my heart in my throat. Eventually, Haze will fade away, but I’m determined to make sure he stays right beside me and as more than just my boyfriend.

Boyfriend feels too loose a term for what this is.

This is worship.

I tilt my head, watching his lips twitch. If I asked him to marry, would that make him my Right Eye? Would we have a lavish wedding with hundreds of people?

I let myself dwell on the fantasy of whisking him away to some island and not allowing anyone to look at him ever again. He’d kill me, of course, but that’s a minor detail.

I plant a light kiss on his cheek. “Okay,” I tell him finally, relaxing in his tight hold. “Five minutes.”

He smiles; eyes still shut. My eyes follow and I don’t open them until noon.

***

Trist and Daniel’s killer does not appear in any of the CCTV footage surrounding his apartment building. They were careful, probably canvased the area before but still, killing Daniel and Trist was a rash move. That’s good. Panic leads to sloppy mistakes and eventually, they are going to slip up and I’ll be right there to catch them.

I’m sitting in my office and Xander is here again, giving me a rundown of what his men have found out about Trist’s death and The Scarlet Ravens’ reaction. Right now, Moreau doesn’t suspect The Snake, which means Avni is still missing and hasn’t told him the truth yet. I can’t help but think the universe or whoever is in charge is giving us too much leeway. Shit should have blown up by now.

My phone buzzes on my desk and Hayden’s face appears. “Please tell me you have good news?” I answer.

“Are you with Xan?” His voice is strained, like he can’t breathe.

I meet Alex’s eyes, who is standing next to Xander. “And Alex,” I tell him. “What’s going on?”

He’s quiet for a moment that seems to stretch on for minutes. “It’s Mum,” he finally says. “She’s dead.”

For a moment, I forget to breathe. The words hang around me, weightless and meaningless. My hand tightens around the phone until I’m sure I’ll break it. Xander straightens, his usually cool expression hardening into something unreadable.

I wait for the blow, the inevitable to slice through me, and I wait some more. It seems impossible, too ridiculous to even consider.

The Head of The Snake is dead.

My mother’s dead.

***

I walk through my parents’ house, the house I grew up in and all I feel is—nothing. Xander walks in behind me, and he hasn’t said a word since we left the house. His face is like stone, hard and unmoving, and I fight the urge to ask him what he’s thinking. I want to know if he feels the same way I do.

Completely empty.

Our mother is gone, and I can’t find the emotion I know I should be feeling. There is no grief, anger, or sadness and somehow the lack of it makes me sick.

Memories of our childhood flash before my eyes. I see her instructing men to show us how to shoot. I see her telling us to study, to be the sharpest in our classes, to never back down. I see so many moments, but none of them make mefeelanything.

When I step into the formal parlour, a few guards are standing around, armed and stone-faced, ready to leap at any trouble. When they spot us, some of them bow their heads or avert their eyes, unsure of what to say.