Page 113 of Forbidden Empire

Nothing was stopping her from disappearing. She had resources, connections, escape routes I'd never be able to trace.

Most people, after what Rhea put her through, would vanish into anonymity to heal. I would have understood that impulse.

Instead, she stayed. That's when I recognized our shared affliction: neither of us could stomach an unpaid debt. We both carried ledgers in our souls, and every entry demanded balance.

Now Esme's eyes held that dangerous gleam I knew too well, the look of someone who wouldn't rest until they'd carved their vengeance into flesh.

My allies were all racing toward Rhea, each for their own reasons.

But watching Esme's profile in the dim light, I wondered which of us would reach her first.

Thal and Zeno were with their men in the other cars, but I’d insisted Esme ride with me. She’d protested, of course, but not for too long or too hard. I was still plagued with the immense need to keep her close to my side.

Even though she’d been hurt, I’d managed to keep her alive last time, and I intended to do better tonight.

“You good?” I asked, reaching over and taking her gloved hand. She was dressed like a fucking Ninja, with fingerless Kevlar gloves and a bulletproof vest strapped to her chest. Her hair was wrapped up tight in a bun on the back of her head, and her face was void of makeup, her expression somber, focused, and determined.

She’d never looked hotter.

My cock twitched in my pants, and I felt a smirk play on my lips.

Of course, I’d want to fuck her right now. I had half a mind to do it anyway.

“Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you look right now?” I growled.

She smiled and shook her head. “Down, Boy! We have a job to do.”

“We’re still a few miles out,” I protested.

“It would take that long to get me out of this outfit,” she said, raising a brow at me. “And twice as long to get back into it.”

“Fair enough.” I shrugged. “But afterwards you’re mine.”

“You keep saying that.” She winked.

“I mean it,” I said, growing serious and giving her a pointed look. “Every time.”

The future stretched before us like an uncharted desert. I stared at the road ahead, my mind racing past tonight's mission to whatever might come after.

Would there even be an "after" for us?

Some ridiculous part of me imagined driving away from Vegas with her beside me, leaving the blood and bodies behind.

Pathetic fantasy.

Her silence on the subject spoke volumes. A woman who moved like Esme, who calculated three steps ahead of everyone else, surely had plans that didn't include a man like me.

I'd watched her navigate my world with lethal precision, yet I realized I'd never once asked what she wanted beyond survival.

For months, she'd existed in my mind as categories: Zeno's troublesome half-sister, my obsession, my conquest, my weakness.

My throat tightened. I knew the exact pitch of her moans in the darkness.

The way her eyes fluttered closed at climax, but she couldn't name a single thing she treasured. With death potentially waiting at our destination, this felt unforgivable.

What if I never got the chance to know her beyond the battlefield of our bodies?

"Esme, what's something no one knows about you?"