The night stretched long and suffocating, every corner of the penthouse charged with invisible currents. Sierra felt it in her bones then the weight of secrets pressing against her chest, stealing the air from her lungs.
She sat cross-legged on her bed, hair tumbling loose around her shoulders, the city glowing beneath her window like a constellation of sins. The glass reflected a girl she barely recognized anymore. Pale, hollow-eyed, caught between desire and ruin.
A knock came at the door.
Her heart leapt. She knew that knock was measured, deliberate, heavy with authority.
“Open the door, Sierra,” Damien’s voice rumbled.
Her fingers tightened around the sheet. She hesitated, torn between longing and fear. When she didn’t answer, the door opened anyway.
Damien stepped inside, suit j
