Page 53 of Forbidden Empire

She deserved every second of it.

Let her hurt.

She laughed, low and bitter, a sound that scraped along my nerves. "If I wanted to betray you, then you’d already be dead."

The fury inside me turned molten, burning away reason, burning everything.

She kept needling, pushing, tempting fate like she had no fear at all.

Maybe she just liked the battle.

How could she be this way? Reckless, fearless, taunting me even when all I wanted to do was keep her safe.

My anger was a live current, crackling between us, the words unspoken but sharp enough to draw blood.

My fingers dug into her arms, torn between wanting to shake her until her teeth rattled or crush my mouth to hers so she stopped laughing.

The urge to do both warred inside me, raw and primal.

Maddening.

I growled, the sound rough and guttural, before shoving her away so hard she staggered.

She just laughed again, mean and broken, dragging the back of her hand across her bleeding mouth and smearing red across her cheek.

That bloody smirk of hers was enough to drive a man mad.

"Aidon," she drawled, velvet and venom, "you should be asking yourself why they only came for you."

Nine

ESME

Every step I took across Aidon’s office was a risk.

The creak of the floorboards beneath my feet echoed in the darkness, loud enough to make me wince. I hesitated, my heart hammering, praying he wouldn’t hear me.

Beyond the glass walls, the city pulsed with neon and electricity, Las Vegas Boulevard lit up in a perpetual flash of color, all garish and alive.

Even at this hour, tourists crawled the Strip like ants, a shameless procession of laughter, slurred voices, and cash burning in their pockets.

My gaze snagged on a woman in stilettos that defied logic. She staggered, friends gripping her elbows, keeping her upright as she tottered close to the curb and a dangerous outcome.

A groan slipped out, low and irritated. People here never changed. No matter how blinding the lights, the darkness beneath always found a way to seep through.

I tore my attention away from the window, focusing on Aidon’s massive desk.

Before making any moves, I shot a nervous glance at the doorway, needing to know I was alone.

Most of his drawers were shut tight, locked, as I’d expected.

Of course. I gritted my teeth.

“Dammit,” I whispered, turning to the credenza behind me instead, refusing to give up.

There was something Aidon was hiding.

I felt it to my bones. But what? That was the question.