Dominic's voice dropped as he answered the call, his tone sharp and commanding, a side of him Adair had learned to fear and crave in equal measure. She couldn't hear the words, only the cadence—controlled, lethal, like a blade being unsheathed.
When he finally ended the call, his expression was unreadable, a mask carved from stone. But she knew better. She had seen the storm behind his eyes.
"Tell me," she demanded softly, her arms folding across her chest.
"Nothing you need to worry about."
Her laugh was bitter, humorless. "That's your favorite lie, isn't it? Keeping me in the dark, as if I don't already know what world you live in."
Dominic stepped closer, his presence filling the room like a shadow swallowing the light. "Adair, the less you know, the safer you are."
"And the lonelier," she shot back. Her voice cracked, but she didn't lower her gaze. "You want me here, but you keep me locked outside the very walls you live behind. How long do you think I'll survive in that half-life?"
His silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Then, at last, he exhaled. "There's a shipment tonight," he admitted, eyes narrowing as if each word cost him blood. "Someone's moving against me. If they succeed…" He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
The realization chilled her. His empire—built brick by ruthless brick—was under siege.
"So what?" she asked quietly. "You go out there and risk everything, and I'm supposed to sit here and wait, pretending I don't already know how this ends?"
Dominic's hand shot out, gripping her wrist—not harsh, but desperate. "Don't say that." His voice broke in ways his enemies would never hear. "Don't you dare say that."
Her breath caught. For a moment, it wasn't the ruthless Wolfe king standing before her, but the man beneath—the one who carried his empire like a curse and her love like a sin he couldn't renounce.
She lifted her free hand, resting it against his chest, feeling the hammer of his heartbeat. "Then don't give me reasons to."
The air between them ignited again, hot and fragile. But before either of them could say more, a sharp buzz from the intercom shattered the moment.
Dominic's head snapped toward it, his body instantly on edge. Trouble was already at his door.