The warmth of our shared intimacy evaporated in a heartbeat, replaced by a cold, metallic dread that seemed to seep out of the phone in Damian’s hand. He sat bolt upright, his muscles locking into place like armor. The man who had just whispered vulnerable truths into my skin was gone, replaced by the CEO who had earned the name "Ice King." But as he looked at me, I saw the difference—his eyes weren't frozen for me. They were burning for our enemies.
"Who are they, Damian?" I asked, pulling a silk robe around me, my hands trembling. "You said your father’s old partners. Why now?"
Damian stood up, pacing the length of the room with a restless, predatory energy. He didn't even notice he was bare-chested; he was already mentally in a war room.
"The Vancrofts," he spat the name like it was
