Page 31

CHAPTER 31

Malakai

The moment I open the door, I know something’s wrong.

Raven storms inside like she’s on a mission, her eyes sharp and burning with something dangerous. Her whole body is tense, like she’s barely keeping herself together.

She looks like she wants to murder someone. And considering where she’s coming from, I already know who that someone is.

“You look like you’re about to do something reckless,” I say, shutting the door behind her.

She turns, jabbing a finger in my direction. “Alex. Again. ”

I smirk, leaning against the wall, crossing my arms. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Because he’s a rat , Malakai. A desperate, scheming, pathetic little rat who thinks he still has a chance at winning.” She’s pacing now, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

I watch her for a moment, amused despite the obvious rage rolling off her.

“What did he say?”

She stops, spins, and faces me dead-on. “He’s planning something big.”

I arch a brow. “No shit.”

She shakes her head. “No. Listen to me. He has evidence .”

That makes me pause.

I push off the wall, my smirk fading. “What kind of evidence?”

She exhales sharply, like saying it out loud pisses her off even more. “Fake evidence.”

My grin returns, slow and sharp. “Oh, this should be good.”

She runs a hand through her hair, shaking her head. “Bank transfers, messages, photos—enough to make it look like the Pantheon is guilty of bribery, illegal activities, drug distribution. He’s using his father’s money to make it all look real.”

I let out a low chuckle, rolling my shoulders back. “Let him try. We’ll bury him before he gets the chance.”

But Raven doesn’t laugh.

Her face is tight, her jaw locked. And when she speaks again, her voice is lower. "He tried to bribe me.”

My blood goes cold. “What?”

She swallows, tilting her chin up. “He told me he’d take care of my mom if I helped him. Said he’d make sure she was set for life if I played along.”

I don’t say anything.

Because if I do , I’m going to break something.

Or someone .

The air shifts, heavy with silence. I stare at her, my mind already spinning with a dozen ways I could make Alex disappear .

Slow. Painful. Permanent.

Raven watches me, reading every flicker of emotion in my face. “I told him I’d think about it.”

A sharp, ugly feeling lodges itself in my chest.

I step forward, closing the distance between us. “You could have taken the deal.”

She doesn’t move, doesn’t flinch. “You think I’d do that?”

I don’t answer. Because the truth is—I don’t know.

I’ve spent weeks convincing myself this is just a game. That she’s here because of circumstances , not because she wants to be.

That the second she gets an out, she’ll take it.

But then she steps closer, her voice steady and sharp. “I’m not taking the easy way out, Malakai.”

I exhale, dragging a hand down my face. “Why not?”

She glares at me. “Because I’m not on his side .”

Her voice is fire, a sharp contrast to the doubt I’ve had clawing at my chest for weeks.

I study her, looking for any hesitation, any sign that she’s bluffing.

I find nothing.

She tilts her head, watching me. “I’m in this with you.”

My throat works as I swallow hard.

“Raven—”

“No,” she interrupts. “This isn’t pretend anymore. This isn’t about me being stuck with you, or some fake arrangement, or whatever the hell we were pretending it was. I made my choice.”

Something in my chest snaps .

Because this? This isn’t a game anymore.

I know that now.

I move before I can think.

My hands grab her face, my lips crashing into hers, and she melts into me like she was waiting for it.

And fuck, maybe she was .

This kiss is different. It’s not just heat or hunger. It’s something more.

Something dangerous.

Her fingers tangle in my hoodie, her breath sharp and uneven, and I press her back against the wall, one hand slipping down to grip her waist.

She gasps, her body arching into mine, and I drink it down, deepening the kiss, making sure she feels exactly what she does to me.

When I finally pull away, my forehead presses against hers, my breathing rough.

She doesn’t move, her lips still parted, her hands still clutching me like she’s afraid I’ll pull away.

My voice is raw. “You really chose me?”

She nods, her fingers tightening on my shirt. “Yeah.”

A slow, wicked smirk curves my lips.

“Good,” I murmur, my voice dark. “Because I’m never letting you go.”

I’m still gripping her waist, still feeling the warmth of her breath against my lips, when reality slams back into me.

We don’t have time for this.

For kissing. For touching. For the realization clawing its way into my brain that this thing between us isn’t just strategy anymore.

I step back, dragging a hand through my hair, my mind already shifting gears. “We need a plan.”

Raven exhales sharply, steadying herself. “No shit.”

I smirk, despite the storm in my head.

She’s still breathless. Her cheeks are still flushed. I did that.

But I shove the thought aside and focus.

“If Alex is dumb enough to think he can take us down, then we need to be two steps ahead,” I say, pacing. “He’s using his father’s money, which means Callahan Sr. is at least partially aware of what’s happening. And if we’ve learned anything , it’s that that man protects himself first.”

Raven nods, biting her lip as she thinks. “If we go after Alex, we weaken his father. But if we go after his father first…”

I grin, dark and slow. “We end them both .”

She crosses her arms. “So how do we do it?”

I crack my knuckles. “We control the narrative. Alex’s evidence is fake, but if we expose it before he leaks it, we make him look like a desperate little rat trying to lie his way out of trouble.”

Raven tilts her head. “And Callahan Sr.?”

My jaw tightens. “He’s got too many people in his pocket, but people like him? They don’t fall from the outside .” I step closer, lowering my voice. “We make sure he rots from within.”

Raven studies me for a moment. Then, slowly, a smile curves her lips.

Not a sweet smile.

A dangerous one.

“Good,” she murmurs.

I narrow my eyes. “What?”

She shrugs, casual as hell. “You’re finally catching up.”

I cross my arms, raising a brow. “You got something to say, princess?”

She takes a step back, perching herself on the edge of my desk, her hands braced behind her. “I already took care of it.”

Silence.

I stare at her.

She stares back, her expression unreadable.

My pulse kicks up.

“… What the hell does that mean?”

She tilts her head, her smile widening.

“You’ll find out soon.”

The Pantheon wasn’t given to me.

I took it.

Earned it.

Fought for it with blood, sweat, and strategy.

I stand alone in the meeting hall where The Pantheon usually meets with sponsors and other members. There's a chandelier hanging over us, something I never quite liked, and the wooden table—the same table where deals were made, alliances were formed, and weak men were eliminated—sat in the center of the room.

My fingers drag across the carved crest of The Pantheon, the symbol embedded deep into the oak. It’s been here for decades, long before I came along. Before I became its leader.

But none of the men before me built it like this .

None of them controlled it like I do.

I remember the first time I set foot in this room. I was nothing back then—just another recruit with something to prove. Another kid with sharp eyes and sharper instincts, watching, learning, waiting for my chance.

The older members had laughed, seeing me as a street rat with no name, no real connections.

They thought I was just another ambitious nobody.

And maybe I was.

But I was smarter .

More ruthless.

I took my hits, bided my time, and when the old guard got comfortable —when they got too soft, too arrogant to see the shift coming?—

I made my move.

And now?

Now I run this place .

I built this version of The Pantheon. I weeded out the weak, brought in the strongest, the most loyal. I shaped it into something indestructible.

And I’ll be damned if I let Alex Callahan Jr. ruin it.

I scoff, gripping the edge of the table.

That spineless, privileged little shit actually thinks he can take me down?

Thinks he can expose The Pantheon, destroy everything I’ve created, just because he can’t handle the fact that I beat him at his own game?

Pathetic.

But I know exactly where he gets it.

Alex Callahan Sr .

A snake in a suit. A man who preaches power and righteousness but rots everything he touches.

A man who tried to erase me from existence.

Well, fuck that .

He thinks his empire is untouchable, built on money, influence, and God?

I know better .

Because I built my empire on something stronger.

Loyalty. Fear. Control.

And now, I’m going to burn theirs to the ground .

I exhale slowly, cracking my knuckles, the decision settling like iron in my bones.

I won’t let The Pantheon fall.

I won’t let her fall.

Raven and I are taking them down, and when this is over—when Alex Sr. and Jr. are nothing but wreckage ?—

The Pantheon will stand.

And I’ll still be king .