Page 48 of Shadow Waltz

I swallowed hard. “Then why send me in alone?”

He exhaled, the sound heavy. “Because I needed you to prove something—to me, to yourself, to the rest of them. You’re not the kind of man anyone can own. Not anymore.”

I turned away, staring at my own warped reflection in the glass. “So what now? Am I supposed to thank you for making me a monster?”

He was silent for a long moment. Then he came closer, slow and careful, stopping just out of reach. “You’re not a monster, Ash. You’re what this world made you. What I helped make you.”

I faced him, eyes burning. “Does it bother you? That it was easy for me?”

He shook his head—one sharp, honest motion. “No. But it hurts, knowing you had to learn that skill at all. Knowing what it cost.”

I laughed again, quieter this time. “Everything has a cost. That’s what Rajesh used to say.”

Luka’s jaw tightened. “He was wrong about most things.”

He reached out, hesitant, his fingers hovering near my cheek. “Come here.”

I let him touch me, let him wipe a smear of blood from my skin. His hand was warm, careful, and for a moment, I let myself lean into it. The menace in him never quite faded, but beneath it was something else—an ache, a longing, a wordless apology.

“Next time,” Luka said softly, “I’ll be the one to get my hands dirty.”

I searched his face, trying to read the truth in his eyes. “Would you?”

His mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile. “If it meant keeping you alive? In a heartbeat.”

He pulled me in, just enough to let my forehead rest against his shoulder. I breathed him in—leather, cologne, something wild beneath the polish. His arms tightened around me, not quite a hug, but enough to keep me upright when my knees threatened to give out.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, barely more than breath. “I never wanted this for you.”

I shut my eyes, letting the world shrink to the space between us. “Me neither.”

For a long time, we just stood there—two men haunted by the things they’d done, the things they’d become. Outside, the alarms still wailed, but inside, there was only the ragged, shared silence of survival.

He kissed the top of my head, a benediction and a promise. “Let’s go, Ash. Before anyone else comes looking for blood.”

I nodded, letting him guide me out of the wreckage. I didn’t know if I’d ever stop shaking. I didn’t know if I’d ever sleep again.

We moved down a private corridor, Luka’s hand a steady weight between my shoulders, his steps confident—unbothered by the chaos we left behind. The lights overhead flickered, shadows shifting over the elegant wallpaper, and I kept my gaze fixed on the floor, on the blood drying beneath my nails.

After a few paces, I found my voice. “What… what’s going to happen to the bodies?”

Luka didn’t break stride. “They’ll be handled.” His tone was cool, decisive, the old authority sliding back into place. “No onewill find them unless I want them found. And Rajesh’s death—” He glanced at me, something dark in his expression. “—will send a message to his ilk. The kind of message that’s been overdue for a long time.”

My breath hitched. “What kind of message?”

He squeezed my shoulder. “That I’m not to be tested. That you are not a pawn to be bartered. That some debts are paid in blood.” A pause. “And that anyone who thinks they can own what’s mine will end up just as empty as Rajesh.”

I stared at the passing doors, at the plush carpets that couldn’t quite absorb the echoes of violence. “You think they’ll listen?”

His voice went soft, but there was steel beneath it. “They’ll have no choice.”

10

GILDED CHAINS

ASH

Everything felt smaller somehow, as if the walls had crept closer while I wasn't paying attention. Maybe it was the way the evening light slanted through bulletproof glass, casting everything in shades of gold and amber that made even luxury feel like a trap. Or maybe it was the man standing by the door like a monument to violence barely contained—six-foot-four of muscle and scars, with stillness that spoke to professional competence and willingness to use it.