Page 46 of Ruin
I cross the room to her and cup her jaw with one hand, tilting her face up so I can see her eyes clearly in the growing light.
There is nothing fragile left in them. Nothing that flinches or retreats or looks for mercy.
A year ago, I watched her tremble in Hell and thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
I was wrong. This is.
This woman, standing in my penthouse at dawn, covered in ash and firelight, telling me to point her at the enemy.
"Okay," I say.
She blinks. "Okay?"
"You want in on the war. You're in. Full access. Strategy, intelligence, operations. No more car seats and closed doors."
"And when it gets violent?"
"It's already violent."
"More violent. When more people die. When it's not a warehouse that burns but a person."
I hold her gaze. "You watched a man's blood dry on asphalt tonight, and your first thought was about communications security. I think you've already answered that question."
She holds my stare for a moment, then she nods.
She walks past me toward the bedroom and stops in the doorway. "Cassius."
"Yeah."
"They wrote that I make you slow." The corner of her mouth lifts. It's not a smile. It's a promise. "I'm going to make them regret putting my name in their mouths."
She disappears into the bedroom.
I stay at the window and watch the sun come up over a city that doesn't know what's coming.
My city. My empire. My war.
And now, hers.
She's exceeded every expectation.
7
Selene
Iwake up in Cassius' arms, and for the first time in my life, everything feels right.
His chest rises and falls beneath my cheek, steady and strong.
Sunlight filters through the edges of the blackout curtains of his bedroom, painting golden stripes across our tangled bodies.
The sheets are silk, expensive, but they're nothing compared to the luxury of waking up next to him every morning.
I trace my fingers over the scars on his knuckles—evidence of violence that should terrify me but only makes me feel safer.
Each mark tells a story of someone who threatened what's his, someone who learned too late that Cassius Wolfe doesn't forgive.
This man has killed for me. Would kill for me again without hesitation.
