Beneath HIS EMPIRE

chapter 9

blood spread beneath him fast. It looked black on the gray floor. The smell hit first. Copper. Hot.

I stared at Lucien. No shake. No sorry. Nothing. He dropped beside the wounded man. Gun oil and sweat came off his suit. “Who paid you?” The guard shook hard. Teeth chattered. Lucien grabbed the bullet hole with his bare hand. Skin on skin. Wet. The scream didn’t sound human. It scraped the walls. “I asked once.” Lucien pushed harder. Blood ran between his fingers. Hot. Thick. It dripped. Hit the floor. Tap. Tap. “You had hospital routes. You knew where Mason slept.” The guard broke. Tears cut through blood on his face. “I only sent transport times!” Every guard in the garage went still. Boots stopped. Quiet. Truth. Ice slid down my spine.

Lucien let go. The man hit the floor, gasping. Air whistled through his teeth. “Who bought it?” The guard paused. Lucien lifted the gun again. Metal clicked. Loud. “Mercer!” the man yelled. Spit flew. “Senator Mercer’s men called me two weeks ago.” Marco cursed low. The sound bounced. Lucien stood. Calm looked worse on him now. Like stone before it cracks. “How much?” “Fifty thousand.” Lucien tipped his head. The garage lights hit his cheekbones. Sharp. “You sold a kid for fifty thousand dollars?” Lucien shot him in the head.

The crack split the air. My ears rang. I jerked hard, shoulders up. Blood hit the wall behind him. Red spray. Wet slap. Nobody moved. Nobody blinked. Like rain. Lucien gave the gun to Marco. “Clean it.” Marco caught it. Gunmetal cold. The dead guard twitched by Lucien’s shoes. One leg. Then nothing. Vomit burned my throat. Acid. I swallowed it down. Tasted salt from my own teeth.

Lucien saw. His eyes cut to me. Sharp. Gray like winter. Counting every breath I took. “You want to say something?” “Yes.” My voice scraped my throat raw. “You just killed him.” “He sold your brother.” “He already did it.” I froze. My lungs locked up. No air. “That’s your answer?” Lucien stepped close. Sole of his shoe touched blood. Didn’t care. Every guard moved back. Leather on concrete. Fear. Not respect. “He gave info to men who took Mason,” Lucien said. His breath smelled like smoke. “What did you think would happen?” Not this. Never this. I knew it. My hands went cold. Colder than the garage floor. Worse than the blood.

Lucien saw the look on my face. Nothing got past him. His face went hard again. Cut from rock. “Go upstairs.” “No.” Wrong choice. The garage got cold fast. Air bit my skin. “You’re tired,” he said. A muscle jumped in his cheek. Once. Then his phone buzzed. Vibrate against his thigh. Marco answered his own phone. Listened. Face changed. Looked at Lucien. “We found one of Mercer’s safe houses.” Lucien held my eyes one more second. Gray went dark. Then turned. “Where.” Marco gave an address downtown. Old factory area. Brick. Broken windows. My heart kicked my ribs. Mason.

Lucien walked to the elevators. Steel doors. Guards moved with him. Boots in sync. I followed. Concrete cold through my shoes. He stopped. Didn’t look back. “No.” “You think I’ll stay here?” “Yes.” “My brother got taken.” “Which makes you sloppy.” Rage hit. Hot. Fast. My hands shook. I couldn’t stop them. “You don’t own me.” Lucien turned then. Bad move. His eyes pinned me. Air left the room. The garage smelled like blood and gun smoke now. Claim. Real. Wild. True. “I’m trying to keep you alive.” “That stopped mattering when you married me.” The words landed harder than I meant. Hit the walls. Came back. Quiet stretched between us. Heavy.

Then the elevator doors slid open behind Lucien. Ding. Steel on steel. Another man stepped out. Thirty-five maybe. Black suit. Dark hair wet and pushed back. Water dripped to his collar. Knuckles busted. Red. Swollen. His eyes hit me first. He knew me. Not shock. Knew. Wrong. My skin went hot. Lucien’s face went dark when he saw him. “You weren’t due until tomorrow.” The man ignored him. Still watching me. He smiled. Teeth white. Bad smile. “So this is Selene.” Lucien moved between us. Blocking. Wall of suit and muscle. “Dante.” One word. Threat packed in two syllables. Dante laughed. Sound echoed. “Relax.” He held out his hand to me. Palm up. Rings on his fingers. I didn’t take it. Good call. His eyes got sharper. Interested. “She’s smart,” he said. Lucien’s voice went dead. Flat. “Why are you here.” Dante leaned on the elevator wall like he owned the building. Shoulder against steel. “Mercer cleared the safe house before my men got there.”

The floor dropped out from under me. Stomach fell. No. “But.” Dante looked at me again. “They left something.” Lucien stopped moving. Statue. Dante pulled a small silver chain from his pocket. It caught the light. Flash. Air left my chest. Empty. Mason’s necklace. The one I gave him as a kid. After Mom died. Small bird on it. Hope. Blood on the chain. Dark. Wet. My fingers went numb. Cold. Blood smeared my hand. Sticky. “Where is he?” I said. My voice was thin. Paper. Dante’s smile died. Gone. “They left a message.” Lucien held out his hand. Palm open. Dante gave him a black phone. Screen cracked. Spiderweb. Blood on the side. Brown now. Dried.

Lucien hit play. Thumb left a smear. Static filled the garage first. Shhhh. Loud. Then Mason’s voice came through. Weak. Scared. Small. “Selene—” A loud crack cut him off. Wood or bone. Mason made a sound. Not his voice. Not my brother. Something broke. I didn’t know that sound. I went for the phone. Grabbed air. Lucien caught me before I got it. Arm like iron around my waist.

Then another voice came on. Smooth. Calm. Expensive. Senator Mercer. “If Lucien Armand wants the boy breathing,” the senator said, “he brings me the ledger himself.” Quiet. Then the senator talked again. “One more thing.” A pause. Long. It sucked air from the garage. My ears popped. “Tell Lucien his brother says hello.” Lucien’s hand on me turned to stone. Fingers dug in. Hard enough to bruise. Pain shot up my side. For the first time since I met him, his face broke. Mask cracked. Fear. Real fear. In his eyes. Gray went wide.