The grand hall shimmered with gold light. Chandeliers scattered brilliance across marble floors and polished glass. Power gathered in this room filled with politicians, crime lords, tycoons, old money and new monsters dressed in silk and arrogance. And through the heavy doors, Maximilian Cross stepped in.
Sharp suit. Cold eyes. A presence that made the ambient noise shift around him.
He barely made it three steps before a familiar voice drawled behind him.
“Well, if it isn’t the most brooding man in the country! Haha!”
Max turned just in time to see Valerian Vasiliev glide through the entrance like winter incarnate. Silver-gray eyes, tailored black suit, that air of a man who would burn cities for his wife and smile while doing it.
Valerian clasped Max’s shoulder. “I thought you didn’
