Page 132 of His Ruthless Match

My heart ached with the depth of what I felt for her. It was too much, too fast, and yet it felt inevitable.You’re everything, Eva. And you don’t even know it.

I stayed there, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, my voice a whisper. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not now. Not ever.”

She stirred slightly, but her breathing remained deep and even.

With a quiet sigh, I ran a hand through my hair. “You have my heart, Delgado. Even if you never want it.”

36

EVA

The desk Jareth had cleared for me was tucked in a corner of his cottage, positioned perfectly to overlook the ocean. It was simple, sturdy—exactly the kind of thing I expected from him—and I couldn’t deny how practical it was. My laptop was open, but the blinking cursor on my half-finished brief mocked me.

The view outside was mesmerizing. Waves crashed softly against the beach below, the sound soothing. The endless stretch of ocean shimmered under the afternoon sun, golden light bouncing off the water in a way that made it hard to focus. I sighed, leaning back in the chair, my eyes drawn to the horizon. How was I supposed to work when all I wanted was to lose myself in that endless blue?

My phone buzzed on the desk, pulling me from my thoughts. Gabe’s name flashed on the screen, and I grabbed it quickly, relief rushing through me. “Gabe. Please tell me you have something.”

“Would I call if I didn’t?” he replied.

“Fair point. What’ve you got?”

“I’ve been digging into the fake social media accounts,” Gabe said, his voice shifting into something more serious. “There’sa trail—financial, mostly. Payments, server rentals, ad boosts. They all lead back to a company called Cerulean Innovations.”

I scribbled the name down on the notepad next to my laptop. “Cerulean Innovations? Never heard of it.”

“Neither had I,” he admitted. “It’s brand-new. A few months old. No founders listed, no board members, no public records. It’s a complete ghost company.”

“That’s convenient,” I said dryly. “Did you find anything else? A location, a contact, anything?”

“Not yet,” Gabe said, frustration creeping into his tone. “Whoever set this up knows what they’re doing. But I’ll keep at it. I’m emailing you everything I’ve found. Maybe you’ll see something I missed.”

“Thanks, Gabe. Seriously.”

“Anytime, boss,” he said before hanging up.

I opened my email. Gabe’s message was already there, filled with screenshots, spreadsheets, and attachments. Clicking through them, I scanned the details—payments routed to untraceable accounts, invoices for services that didn’t seem to exist. Whoever set this up had gone to great lengths to stay hidden, but the fact that Gabe had found this much felt like progress.

I leaned forward, jotting notes as I worked. Was Cerulean Innovations a shell company? A front for something larger? My mind raced, threading together possibilities. This could be the lead we needed, the thread that unraveled the entire mess.

But as the minutes ticked by, my focus began to waver. I looked out the window, where the ocean continued its steady, hypnotic dance. The sun was sinking lower, casting the water in deep golden hues. It was beautiful, and for the first time in weeks, I felt a sense of calm.

Genevieve was at the safehouse Jareth had set up for her, complete with some of Raffaele’s guards. Raffaele was handlingthe chaos in the Crimson Dominion, which could possibly be linked to the bounty on my head. Gabe was uncovering leads.

Here, in this cottage, I felt... secure. It was an unfamiliar sensation, and I wasn’t sure how to process it.

The soft creak of a floorboard broke through my thoughts, and I turned to see Jareth standing in the doorway. His hair was damp, like he’d just stepped out of the shower, and the sunlight caught his golden-brown eyes, making them seem impossibly warm.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Gabe found something. A company called Cerulean Innovations is attached to the fake Genevieve social media accounts. It might be a lead, but it’s all so vague.”

“Wait. Did you say Cerulean?”

“Yes, why? Have you heard of them?”

Jareth ran a hand through hair. “I saw that name on a billboard when we went to the vampire den a few weeks ago. It was the first time I’d ever heard of Cerulean. They were advertising for magical scholarships or some shit like that. The billboard was super creepy… something about the future of magical excellence, whatever the fuck that means. I think it’s time we have all hands on deck looking into this company.”

I frowned. “I don’t remember seeing it, but then I was too freaked out at being there. I’ll get Gabe on it from the human side. Do you have contacts here you can ask about them?”