Asher pov
The city smelled like blood. Even after two days, I could still taste the iron tang in the air, the lingering mark of chaos that had bled into its streets. My subordinates wanted a report, but how could I put into words what had happened? That a woman with venom in her smile and fire in her veins had set the city ablaze—and that somehow, against every oath I'd sworn, I wasn't trying to put out the fire.
I was following it.
Following her.
Rose Varela.
I shouldn't have been anywhere near her territory, but I was. Standing outside the Vipers' stronghold, I felt every set of eyes tracking me from the rooftops, from alleys, from shadows. Her people didn't bother to hide their guns. I had the distinct sense that if I so much as twitched wrong, my body would be left as decoration on the pavement.
And still, I walked forward.
Inside, the air was thick with smoke and low voices. I saw her right-hand Mica the "shadow" and Nyla the "Blade". They froze just for a few seconds and then pulled out their weapons when they saw me.
"why are you here?"
"who let you in?" they mica asked me with cold eyes ready to strike.
"I'm not here for a fight" I raised my hands "I Just want to talk" they looked at each other comminuting with their eyes.
"wait here and if he moves shoot him" mica told Nyla and left.
I stood there waiting "follow me" mica called. We walked into a room that looked like a office and then I saw her
Rose.
She moved like the queen she was, black silk and steel in every line of her body. When her eyes met mine, I felt that same pull, sharp and unrelenting. It was dangerous, the kind of attraction that could gut a man. And yet I couldn't look away.
"you can leave" mica left the room. It was just me and her and I swear I have never seen a woman as chaotic and beautiful as her.
"You've got nerve," she said coolly, circling me like a predator measuring her prey. "Walking into my den after what happened."
"I've never been accused of lacking nerve," I answered evenly, though my pulse betrayed me.
Her lips curved, not a smile—something sharper. She came closer, close enough that I caught the faintest trace of her perfume, smoke and roses. It was maddening.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Detective King." Her voice was low, velvet laced with poison.
"Maybe I didn't want to," I said before I could stop myself.
Her brows arched, amusement flickering in her eyes. "Careful. That sounded almost like a confession."
I swallowed, steadying myself. "I didn't come here to confess. I came because I know who's protecting Adrian. And so do you."
Her gaze sharpened instantly, the predator's focus snapping back into place. "Shadowhand."
I nodded. "If you go after them, the city burns. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."
For a moment, silence stretched between us. Then she leaned in, so close her lips nearly brushed my ear. "And what if I want it to burn?"
My breath caught despite myself. Her voice was fire and temptation, and for a second, I forgot every reason I was supposed to be here.
"Then I'll have no choice but to stand in your way," I murmured back, my words steadier than I felt.
She drew back slowly, eyes searching mine, and something passed between us—something unspoken, dangerous. Heat. War. Desire.
Finally, she smiled, but it was a dangerous thing, full of sharp edges. "Or," she said, her fingers trailing lightly, deliberately across my chest as she moved past me, "you could stand with me. An alliance, Asher. You want Adrian gone as much as I do. Why pretend otherwise?"
I caught her wrist before she could fully pass, holding her there just long enough to feel the racing of her pulse under my thumb. "And if I say yes?"
Her eyes darkened, lips curving like sin. "Detective make a choice."
For the first time in a long time, I didn't know whether I was walking into a war—or a seduction.
Maybe both.