THE EDGE OF CONTROL
813 Words
Ava – A Hazardous Idea
Ava recognized that she had to escape.
All her gut feelings told her to stay in Damien's car, to let him look at her as he was doing now—as if he already possessed her—because it would be a mistake.
But instead of reaching for the door handle, she turned to face him.
"Think you can control everything?" she asked, her voice level despite the heat sparking between them.
Damien's smile was sinister and lethal. "I know I can."
Ava snarled. "That's your problem. You think everyone should cater to you because you issue orders."
His hand skimped over her jaw, a light-as-air caress that burned its way through her. "Not everyone." His voice was deep, threatening. "You don't. Not yet."
She didn't like that his words sent a shiver down her spine.
She didn't like that, on a deep-down level, she wanted to see how far he'd go to get her to submit to him.
Ava gasped. "What do you want from me, Damien?"
His hand slipped down, coming to rest at the base of her throat, his thumb following the beat of her pulse. "I want your trust."
She laughed. "You don't deserve it."
His fingers tightened—just a little, just enough to remind her of his strength. "Then I'll earn it."
Ava should have pushed him away.
Instead, she breathed, "And if you can't?"
Damien's sneer went hard. "Then I'll make you wish you'd give it anyway."
The air between them crackled, the space too heavy, too charged with something unsaid.
But before either of them could cross that last, thin line—
Damien's phone rang.
His face darkened as he checked the screen.
Ava recognized the name. Viktor.
And suddenly, whatever bubble they'd been dancing on was burst.
Damien took a breath, stepping back. "We're not finished here, Ava."
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to take back control. "I think we are."
His smirk came back, but beneath it was something harder. Something hungry.
"You'll change your mind," he whispered.
Ava didn't respond.
Because a tiny, treacherous part of her wondered if he was correct.
---
Lena & Xander – The Truth No One Wanted
Lena sat across from the man who worked for her father, her fists clenched under the table.
She had thought she was ready to hear the truth.
She had been wrong.
The man—Nikolai—sighed, rubbing a scarred hand over his face. “Your father wasn’t just a businessman, Lena. He was deep in the Lancaster family’s business. And when things started going south, he tried to get out.”
Lena swallowed. “What happened?”
Nikolai’s expression turned grim. “The same thing that happens to everyone who tries to leave that world.”
Silence.
Then Xander said, his voice calm but cold. "He didn't escape, did he?"
Nikolai shook his head. "No. And neither will you, if you don't play this game carefully."
Lena's breath snagged.
Her father had kept her sequestered for years, hidden away from this world, from the evil that lurked just beneath the sparkling surface of wealth and power.
And here she stood, right in the middle of it.
Xander leaned back, his sharp eyes never leaving Nikolai. "What's really behind your agreeing to see us?"
Nikolai hesitated.
Then finally, he said, "Because someone else is hunting you, too."
Lena's heart skipped a beat. "Who?"
Nikolai's eyes narrowed. "The same ones who killed your father."
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Damien – A Warning and a Threat
Damien parked his car outside Viktor's penthouse, his jaw tight with frustration.
The meal had been Ava's trial, but Viktor hadn't brought him here to talk about her.
This was different. This was more.
Viktor waited inside, sipping from a glass of whiskey as if he had all the time in the world.
Damien didn't bother with niceties. "What do you want?"
Viktor smiled. "You used to be more polite, Lancaster."
Damien didn't have time for games. "Get to the point.".
Viktor's smile disappeared. "Fine. I'll make this simple." He set his glass down with a soft click. "Ava Sinclair is becoming a problem."
Damien's entire body tensed. "She's not your problem."
Viktor leaned forward. "No? Because from where I'm sitting, she's why you're distracted. And distractions get people killed."
Damien's fists tightened. "If you touch a hair on her head—
Viktor laughed. "Relax. I enjoy her. She's smart. But not everyone feels the same."
Damien's stomach coiled. "What are you saying?"
Viktor's smile was too knowing. "I'm saying someone else has an interest in her. And while I enjoy a challenge, the other individual does not respond well to competition."
The air turned cold.
Damien didn't need Viktor to explain.
Ava was not just in danger.
She was being hunted.
And the individual who was hunting her.
Was already too close.
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