Page 104 of The Beast's Broken Angel

Adrian's gaze finally shifted from Harrison to me. Pain, betrayal, and underneath it all, something soft and vulnerable that made my chest tight.

“He killed them, Noah,” he said quietly. “Burned them alive while I listened. Made me what I am. He doesn't get to walk away from that.”

“And you don't get to throw your life away for revenge!” I shot back. “You think your parents would want this? You dying in some warehouse pissing contest?”

“Don't.” His voice dropped dangerous low.

“Don't what? Tell you the truth? You're so focused on the past you can't see the future getting shot to shit around you!” Another explosion, closer. “Harrison wins if you die here. Everything you've built, everything you've survived, means nothing if you let revenge kill you!”

“Some things matter more than survival.”

“Bollocks. Nothing matters more than survival. That's the first bloody rule you taught me.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”

I'd already palmed Viktor's injector, the weight of betrayal heavy in my hand. “Saving your life. Whether you like it or not.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes a second before I moved. His hand snapped up to catch my wrist, but I'd learned from watching him. Feinted left, struck right, and buried the needle in his thigh before he could stop me.

“You fucking—” he started, then his eyes rolled back as the sedative hit like a sledgehammer.

I caught him as he collapsed, his dead weight nearly taking us both down. The look in his eyes during that last conscious second would haunt me forever. Betrayal. Hurt. Rage.

But alive.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered against his ear, though he couldn't hear me anymore. “I'm so fucking sorry. But I'm not losing you to a ghost.”

Harrison's extraction team was almost through the last defensive position. I couldn't carry Adrian alone, not fast enough. Then Viktor appeared like a blood-soaked guardian angel, dragging his mangled leg but still moving.

“Exit route clear for thirty seconds,” he reported. “Move now.”

Together we hauled Adrian's unconscious form through the smoke and chaos. Every step felt like betrayal, like cowardice, like the smartest thing I'd ever done and the worst mistake possible.

Behind us, Harrison's rescuers reached him. I heard him laughing as they cut his restraints, the sound following us into the night like a curse.

“You've made an enemy tonight,” Viktor observed as we loaded Adrian into the waiting vehicle. “He does not forgive easily.”

“I know.” I checked Adrian's vitals, relieved to find them steady despite everything. “But he's alive to hate me. That's all that matters.”

Viktor studied me with those knowing eyes. “You love him.”

Not a question. No point denying it. “Yeah. God help me, but yeah.”

“Then you did right thing,” Viktor said simply. “Lovemakes us do terrible things to save those who matter. He will understand. Eventually.”

I looked at Adrian's unconscious face, peaceful in sedation but soon to wake to rage and betrayal. Would he understand? Would he forgive me for taking away his choice, his revenge, his parents' justice?

Time would tell.

23

SHATTERED TRUST

ADRIAN

Iwoke to the taste of betrayal, metallic and bitter on my tongue. The sedative Noah had pumped into my system left me groggy, weak, fucking useless. Everything felt wrong. The ceiling above me wasn't Ravenswood's familiar architecture. The sheets beneath me weren't Egyptian cotton. Even the air tasted different, recycled and sterile like a hospital.

No. Not a hospital. One of my safehouses. The recognition crept in slowly, followed by the full weight of what had happened.