The knock against the connecting door echoed louder than it should have, carrying through the silence of the suite.
I stood frozen, my phone still clutched in my hand, Andrew’s words burning like fresh wounds: Don’t forget why you’re there. Find his weakness. Or Ivy pays the price.
And then there was Kieth’s voice, low and steady, threading through me like a command I couldn’t ignore.
“Malia?”
He was too close. The door wasn’t a barrier. It was a line of silk that could snap with the slightest tug.
My chest rose and fell too quickly, air scraping the back of my throat. Every part of me screamed to stay still, to pretend I was asleep, to let the silence drown this moment before it became something I couldn’t take back.
But then came his voice again, softer now, more dangerous for the
