“I want her brought to me,” I command. “Tonight.”
Nik nods, snapping straight.
“Keep the operation quiet and efficient. No witnesses.”
“Yes, sir!” Nik nods again and leaves the room.
I go to the door and lock it. Then I turn back to the screen and press a sequence of commands.
A remote camera feed blooms to life.
Raelyn appears on-screen, now in comfortable house clothes, moving around her apartment as she talks to her best friend, Ellie Carver, a very naive girl studying forensic linguistics. She’s harmless.
My attention never leaves Raelyn.
She laughs.
Something sharp and possessive coils in my chest.
Years of surveillance never revealed this part of her. Screens don’t capture innocence. They don’t show the softness in the eyes, the unguarded way someone exists when they believe the world is still safe.
I was always prepared for this moment—to find her, take back what her father stole, and dispose of her mercifully once she was no longer useful.
That was the plan.
But something has changed. The one thing that makes me restless. The thing that had me shifting in my seat the entire drive back to the compound.
Her innocence.
Fuck.
She’s intelligent. Fiercely so. Defiant. I’ve known that for years. But there’s something else in her eyes—something untouched. Something that suggests she still believes in angels, in fairytales, in miracles.
I almost laugh.
Sweetheart, the world is far darker than you think.
And now, whether she understands it or not, she belongs to it.
I turn away from the screen and head for the minibar. I pour vodka, knock the first glass back immediately, then pouranother. I take a longer sip this time, exhaling as the burn slides down my throat.
I turn back to the feed.
She’s curled up on the couch, watching television. Relaxed. Unaware.
A smile touches my lips.
The realization hits like a slap.
I frown, step forward, and cut the feed.
The screen goes black.
What exactly is wrong with me?
Chapter 3 – Raelyn
“Ugh. What’s wrong with me?” I mutter at my laptop.