Silas
Ispot him the second he walks in.
There’s no need for a second glance or any other confirmation. Some rot announces itself the moment it enters a room.
Daniel.
He brings in the same stench of desperation, masking it as smug composure, but he can’t hide his predatory posture. That belief is still there, the one that says the world owes him access to Eris.
He doesn’t see me.
Most people don’t.
I’m anchored at the bar, almost completely swallowed by shadows and blocked by the mass of patrons ordering fancy cocktails on the side of the dance floor. This isn’t the type of vibe I pictured when Roo said she owns a bar, but seeing her and Eris inside is all I need to make it make sense.
They just fit here, seen but left alone.
Until the dipshit gets to them.
My bottle of beer sits untouched because this isn’t about appetite or drink preference.
It’s about timing.
Eris is laughing when Daniel reaches the bar and orders expensive bourbon. It’s that candid laugh she gives Roo when the world isn’t clawing at her throat, the one that draws in a crowd of people too scared to speak to her. Glitter dusts her eyelids, leaving glistening specks on her cheeks.
For one unguarded second, I forget everything except the way the corners of her eyes lift when she smiles.
Then he looks at her with delusional conviction, as if she’ll still be his if he just reaches for her.
And I feel hell light fire to my veins.
Daniel starts moving.
So do we.
Across the room, Jace peels off the wall near the DJ booth, squaring his shoulders in a way that makes him look nearly double his size. He shows no hesitation as he positions himself between Eris and the flow of bodies, as if he’s done this a thousand times.
Kieran moves from above, down the stairs two at a time. He’s already mapping exits and calculating camera angles as he meets Jace in the crowd.
I stay where I am.
Because I don’t rush violence.
I let it come to me.
My hand slides into my jacket, fingers curling around the switchblade I absolutely should not have brought. The weight of it settles something in my chest, familiar and comforting. I pull away from it and white-knuckle my beer bottle instead.
Daniel is maybe twelve steps away from Eris now, close enough to speak and attempt touch.
Close enough to die.
I don’t need to hear what he says to know it’s wrong. Eris straightens as if an electric fence has zapped her. Roo’s eyes narrow into dangerous slits, one hand dipping into her clutch like she’s deciding between blades.
Daniel reaches out.
Eris smacks his hand away.
I move.
The crowd parts without understanding why, bodies shifting instinctively away from the malevolent certainty rolling off me. Self-preservation recognizes violence. Even drunk strangers feel it.
Daniel’s fingers brush her wrist in his second attempt to grab her.
Jace is there instantly, launching himself from behind a group of guys, beating Eris and Roo to the deflection.
Good.
Kieran flanks from the other side, cutting off escape without a word.
Perfect.
Daniel’s head snaps up, eyes darting between them, trying to assess who he can intimidate first. He doesn’t even register me until my hand lands on his shoulder from behind.
Immovable.
Possessive.
His body tenses under my touch. Eris gives him a smug grin, and Roo pulls a blade from her clutch, discarding the bag on the table now that it’s empty.
I lean in, my mouth close to his ear.
“Touch her again,” I warn, loud enough that he can hear the promise in my voice. “And I’ll remove your teeth, one by one, and make you swallow them.”
He laughs and tries to turn, but it’s a brittle sound that belies his current mental state.
I don’t let him move.
“You see them?” I continue, pointing toward Jace and Kieran with my free hand. “They’ll break your fingers. Slowly. Methodically. Probably argue about technique and tools while they do it.”
“And you?” he snaps, voice thready.
I smile at Eris, her gaze looking beyond him to lock onto me.
“I’ll make you wish we stopped at your fingers.”
Eris glances from Kieran to Jace to me, marveling at us like we’re weapons she already knows how to wield. Something heavy shifts inside me, a weight I’d long forgotten.
This used to be my line… the final say in a decision like this.
I was always the one ready to end things. Jace would break bones. Kieran would dismantle systems. I was the one who decided when someone stopped breathing.
But now?
They’re here, ready and willing, waiting for her word. And I’ve never been more thankful not to be the one in charge.
I shove Daniel forward, and Jace blocks him from getting too close to Eris with a well-placed forearm. Kieran slides Roo to the side, corralling both women toward the dance floor and away from our portion of their plan.
Daniel looks between us, calculating his chances, realizing too late that there is no winning move left.
I give him two seconds, maybe three, then I shove him again. This time, I force him toward the exit hard enough to make our message clear.
“Walk,” I command. “Now.”
He stumbles and catches himself, straightening as if he thinks dignity might save him. But he walks, likely thinking he’s obliging me.
I don’t look at the crowd or explain to the bouncers why I’m kicking a man out of the bar.
This isn’t a spectacle.
It’s a sentencing.
And Daniel has just been informed that his execution date exists.
He just doesn’t know it’s tonight.
We do, though…
And this time, Eris won’t be the only one pulling the trigger.