Chapter 6
Six
AFRAGILE ALLIANCE
DAPHNE
I stood before the heavy mahogany doors of Thal’s penthouse, my heart a frantic prisoner against my ribs. One more step wasn't just a meeting. It was a defection.
Every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn back, to run for the silver promise of the elevator and to stay within the suffocating safety of Zeno’s world.
But Zeno’s world was a cage. I was too old to be kept on a leash, begging for permission to breathe, to work, to exist outside his shadow.
I tried to tell myself I was here for information, a strategic move for Olympus, but the slick heat between my thighs called me a liar.
I wasn’t here for Zeno. I was here for the man who made me feel as if the sun was finally rising.
“Are you insane, Daphne?” I whispered to the empty hallway.
If Zeno found out, he wouldn't just be disappointed. He’d be lethal.
I’d be trading a lifetime of loyalty for a single night of betrayal.
I actually turned, my heels clicking a frantic beat toward the exit, my mind racing with thoughts of the safety of the status quo.
I almost made it to the elevator, almost tasted the freedom of my cowardice, before the air behind me changed.
“Daphne.” I froze in my tracks when Thal’s voice called out behind me, startling me.
It was too late to back out. I was already caught in his stare. Turning around, I gave him a polite, steady smile.
“Hello, Thal.” He stood at his door's threshold, looking as if he had just stepped out of a dream. His long hair swept back, revealing a face that seemed carved from stone, with a subtle clenched jawline and piercing ice-blue eyes that appeared to see right through me.
“I hope you weren’t having second thoughts about our meeting?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. I took a deliberate step toward him, the question lingering in the air, but I chose to ignore it. We both knew the truth, and I wasn’t about to turn this into a game.
I approached, raising an eyebrow. "I’m here, aren’t I?" My tone was calm and steady.
A slow grin spread across his lips as he stepped aside gracefully. “And so you are. Please, come in.”
I moved past him, heels of my black suede stilettos echoing on the sleek Italian white marble floors in the foyer.
With each deliberate step, a weight settled on my chest, a quiet reminder of my decision to be here.
Zeno’s face flickered in my mind, but I pushed the thought away, focusing instead on the ornate grandeur of Thal’s luxurious furnishings.
Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a stunning view of the clear Vegas sky outside.
If not for the relentless glow of neon lights from the Strip, I might have seen a thousand stars shimmering overhead.
Instead, the full moon reigned in the darkness, its luminous presence like a lone sentinel, as if all her celestial companions had abandoned her.
A sunken living room centered around a massive stone fireplace emitted a warm, inviting glow, its crackling fire flickering despite the late summer evening. French doors swung wide open to the terrace, inviting in a gentle breeze that mixed fresh outdoor air with the cozy heat of the flames.
On the opposite wall, a bold abstract painting in striking red and black commanded attention, its dynamic shapes contrasting beautifully with the room's minimal and masculine decor. In the center, a large red leather sectional sprawled out like a regal serpent, its glossy surface catching the flickering firelight. The space exuded quiet strength and sophistication, perfectly suited to Thal’s taste.
“You look like you’re waiting for an execution, Daphne,” Thal rumbled, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that seemed to travel through the marble floor and straight up my legs.
He didn't stay by the door. He began to circle me, a slow, predatory prowl that forced me to stay rooted to the spot. The scent of him, sandalwood, expensive whiskey, and the kind of trouble that felt like a death sentence, hit me in waves.
As he passed behind me, the tail of his suit jacket brushed against the sequins of my dress. The sound of the metal beads clicking together was deafening in the silence.
“I’m here for the information, Thal. Not the hospitality,” I said, my voice sounding thinner than I wanted. I tried to find my steel, but his shadow was already stretching over me, swallowing mine.
He stopped directly in front of me, so close I could feel the scorching heat radiating from his chest. He didn't smile. He watched me with those ice-blue eyes that stripped me. They took in the tremor in my hands and the frantic pulse at the base of my throat, and I knew he liked what he saw.
“Zeno is a blind king, Daphne. He has you walking the streets like a sacrifice, dressed in armor he polished so the wolves could see its glint from a mile away. He didn't dress you to protect you, more so everyone would know exactly what he was willing to lose.”
He reached out, his hand slow and deliberate.
He didn't touch my skin, not yet. He ran his knuckles down the length of my arm, over the cold sequins, and I felt the involuntary shiver start at my scalp and end between my thighs. “Rhea’s men are trailing you. They’ve seen every door you’ve entered.
And your 'protector' hasn't even noticed.”
He turned to the side, picking up the glass of Bordeaux. But he didn't hand it to me. He held it just out of reach, forcing me to step deeper into his space to accept it.
“Take it,” he commanded softly.
As my fingers curled around the stem, he didn't let go.
He kept his hand over mine, his thumb pressing firmly into the back of my hand, pinning my fingers to the glass. The luxury of the vintage was lost in the raw, primal friction between his skin and mine. He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his gaze dropping to my mouth.
“I’m not suggesting an alliance because I want your help, Daphne.
I’m not even sure you’re capable of helping yet.
” He let the insult hang in the air, a cold splash of reality.
“I’m suggesting it because I’m the only man in this city who actually gives a damn whether you live to see the sun rise.
Zeno sees a tool. I see a target. Which do you prefer to be? ”
I locked eyes with him, a flash of heat, half fury, half desperate want, surging inside me. “Is that why you had your men follow me? To play the hero? To make me feel small? Call them off, Thal. My actions are my own.”
“I didn't have them follow you,” he growled, his hand finally leaving the glass and sliding up my arm, his fingers digging into my bicep with a bruising, possessive grip. “I had them watch you. There’s a difference. One is an insult, the other is a claim.”
He leaned in until his nose brushed mine, his breath a scorching ghost against my lips. I could taste the whiskey on his tongue without even touching him.
“Rhea is planning a breach of my network, Aidon’s, and Zeno’s.
If she succeeds, the Olympus won't just fall. It’ll be picked clean by scavengers.
And you?” He tilted his head, his lips brushing the corner of my mouth as he spoke.
“You’ll be the first thing they tear apart to reach him.
I’m telling you this because we’re going to need more than luck to survive her.
We’re going to need a level of trust you’ve never given any man in your life.
A total surrender, Daphne. To me. Not to him. ”
He pulled back just an inch, his eyes dark and blown wide with a hunger that made my knees buckle. “Now, drink your wine. And tell me if you’re ready to stop being a sacrifice.”
His words hovered between us, heavy like a declaration of war reverberating in a silent hall. Still, uncertainty flickered inside me.
Who was fighting whom anymore? I stood, my footsteps hesitant as I moved to the edge of the terrace. From there, I looked out over the vast horizon, my mind swirling with confusion and unspoken questions.
If all of this were real, then the threat posed by Rhea’s syndicate could reshape the entire power structure of Vegas for years to come. Zeno might never recover from such a blow. Thal’s empire, too, could collapse under the weight of it.
And Thal was right—no one was an island in this savage desert.
But could I trust him?
Not a fucking chance.
Was this all just a calculated trick to lure me into his plans?
With Zeno, Aidon, and Thal, it seemed like an endless fight, a constant struggle for control, for more power, more wealth.
They had risen so high in this town specifically because they’d done whatever it took, stepping over anyone in their way.
And now, I wondered if I was just another steppingstone for Thal.
Was this just some twisted tactic to manipulate me into working with him, to turn me against Zeno and everything he’d done for me? A flicker of doubt coursed through me.
“I don’t see how I can help you, Thal.” I turned back to notice he had risen and was now slowly approaching.
His eyes, as dark as night, were filled with hunger, greed, and fierce determination. But beneath that intensity, there was something deeper, something that took my breath away.
Desire.
With each purposeful step he took closer, the intensity in his gaze sharpened until he was directly in front of me, so near I could smell the subtle scent of his aftershave.
“I want to help you, Daphne.”
“But I don’t need—" I started, but he interrupted, brushing a lock of hair from my cheek. The back of his hand against my skin sent an involuntary shiver through me.
“There’s so much we could do for each other, Daphne.”
I swallowed hard, my initial resistance melting away as he drew nearer.
“I understand you’re torn, Daphne. It’s only natural. Your loyalty to Zeno is admirable. But ... is it justified?”
His words stung.