Chapter 44 Roran
Roran
Idon’t know why my legs decided to take me to Kayla’s floor instead of waiting on the sofa for Malec to get back.
But that girl—Onyx—bothered me. Too much.
And somehow, I ended up here, hovering outside the entrance to Kayla’s floor, not daring to step into sight, slowly realizing how stupid it is to even try and get involved in something that clearly has nothing to do with me.
I should go back.
I should go back down the stairs and wait for Malecian—
No. Malec.
Where he told me to wait.
I sigh, mocking myself for coming up here in the first place, and spin back toward the stairs.
“You want me to touch her?” Kayla’s voice cuts sharp through the air, stopping me cold before my foot lands on the first step.
Instinctively, my head tilts toward the voice.
Touch her? What are they talking about?
I don’t dare to move.
“You must be kidding me! She’s bonded to that… thing, and you want me to see into her future?” She spits.
My eyebrows pull together.
See into her future? Bonded?
What in the actual hell are they talking about?
Whatever reason I had for leaving vanishes as I silently shift closer, my breath caught in my chest as I listen. Curiosity winning without a fight.
“Shhh, Kayla. You want your parents to hear?” Bay’s voice follows in a harsh whisper. “They’d kill me for coming to you first.”
That's the same thing with Kayla again. When she told me she could help before, but Chris never let her… and then she came asking me for the favor with Malec.
What exactly is Kayla hiding?
“I wouldn’t blame them,” Kayla taunts. “It’s not Myko. It’s a beast we know nothing about—and if it holds powers like Myko’s, she doesn’t need to be here either.”
Myko? Powers?
Are they talking in code?
I gasp as I lean too far toward the doorway and nearly lose my balance, catching myself just in time. My hand flies to my chest to calm the wild beating of my heart.
I can’t be caught eavesdropping.
I hold my breath as silence settles on the other side of the wall, praying they didn’t hear.
“Come on, Kayla,” Bay finally says, and I exhale slowly. “Her brother was taken by the Russians. She’s a hunteress. She has no one but us to guide her now. Please.”
My eyes go wide, stuck on taken by the Russians.
Who is this girl—and why would my father care about her brother?
I’ve never seen her before in my life.
Never heard the name Onyx either.
I dare to peek my head just a little inside the door to get a glimpse—
“Remind me to never let you spy,” Malec’s voice rumbles behind me.
I jerk back so fast I slam right into his chest.
Shit.
“I—I’m sorry,” I blurt out as I turn to meet him. There’s no point lying. No good excuse either.
My heart thuds so hard it rattles my bones. Memories of my father’s punishments slam into me like a storm, and I take a quick step back, avoiding Malec’s touch like it’ll burn me.
Why did I do this?
Why did I have to spy?
I bite my lower lip, slowly lifting my gaze to meet his.
Please. Please. Please—
He leans in, his breath brushing over my lips, and I freeze.
“I told you to stop doing that,” he whispers—raspy, low, tracing every raw nerve down to my core.
My breath hitches.
Again, that glow in his eyes.
What is that?
“Who’s there?” Bay’s voice calls from inside, laced with worry.
Malec’s silver gaze stays locked on mine, a smirk curling at the edge of his lips—an illegally handsome devil.
What is he planning?
“It’s me,” he calls, his voice low and irritated—but that smirk says I’m going to owe him another favor now.
Great. Just great.
He breaks our eye contact, and in the next heartbeat, he grabs my arm and pulls me down the hall, up the stairs to the third floor.
By the time we hit the last step, he opens a white door on the right and drags me into the room. I nearly trip over the thick black carpet.
He steadies me with one arm but doesn’t look back, leading me straight to a massive bed covered in silver silk that gleams in the moonlight pouring through the wide glass walls.
Then he stops.
And in the next second, he shoves me onto the bed, releasing my arm only after I stumble onto the mattress.
He takes two steps forward and looms above me, one leg sliding between mine as I push up on my elbows, trying to sit, and I meet his gaze.
His eyes—
They look like the most beautiful shimmering silver gems under the moonlight.
“Wow.”
The word slips out before I can stop it.
And I immediately regret it. My eyes open wider.
His grin spreads.
My face heats up like a firecracker, cheeks blazing. Shit.
I’ve never been in a man’s bedroom before. Outside of the clubs’ private rooms—and that’s definitely not that dirt.
This… this is different.
This proximity is intimate in a way I’ve never known.
And I just said wow to his eyes?
Kill me.
“Now, about the information you mentioned before…”
My breath catches. I quickly sit up straighter, scooting back just a little on the mattress, desperate for a sliver of space between us.
He brought you here to talk, Roran. Get it together. I’m getting Diana back. I inhale sharply and force myself to meet those silver eyes again.
“I might be able to help you get the location of the Red Dock. The last one, after they moved it.”
His grin disappears. He leans in, gripping my shoulders, urgency pulsing from his gaze.
“How?”
“Your father already approved the plan. He was just waiting for you,” I say. “There’s a VIP on Konfetki—he connects them to the international market. He knows the location. I'm sure of it. He handles all the deals, especially in Europe.”
I’d give him every damn word I’ve overheard for the past twenty-one years if he asked now. If he keeps looking at me like that.
He narrows his eyes, waiting. Few strands of hair fall over the crescent moon scar on his forehead.
God is punishing me too—I’m sure of it now.
“I know his type. I know exactly what he likes, what he orders. And I know that place like the back of my hand. I can get it out of him.”
“No.” His voice is a bark, sharp and immediate. He leans in again, and my heart leaps.
Not from fear.
From something far worse.
Something burning low and hot between my legs.
I bite my lip hard, and when his gaze drops there again, I force myself to stop.
His words earlier. Right.
I let out a shaky, awkward laugh and lean back farther into the bed.
“You won’t—”
“I already explained it to Chris and your father,” I cut in before he can launch into the same speech Luca gave me.
“No one will recognize me. I’ll wear a wig and one of the girls’ masks. I know all the entrances. I know how to sneak in.”
He just stares at me, breathing heavier now. His hands curl around the silk beside my thighs like he’s holding himself back.
Then I see something.
The faintest glow—light blue—pulsing from a few scars on his arm.
Then another mark. And another.
Then I start to feel dizzy.
Oh no. Not now.
Malec jerks away from the bed, spinning to face the far wall. He hides his arm against his chest, but I still catch the lingering glow before it fades.
I scan the room, terrified I’m losing it to my sickness again.
Did I just imagine that?
Moonlight tricks?
No. I saw it.
And no whispers now.
“I won’t let you go back there,” he finally says, his voice low and rough, still facing away.
I shake my head, pulling myself back to my sanity.
“I’m not asking to go back there alone. I’ll need you. You’ll wait outside. I’ll show you every backdoor and secret exit. I’ll let you know exactly where I’ll be so you can get me out if anything goes wrong.”
I shift toward the edge of the bed and place my feet on the floor again.
“My father doesn’t go there anymore. Hasn’t in a while. That won’t be a problem either.”
He finally turns around, eyes sharp.
“Who’s the VIP?”
My heart skips.
Does that mean... he’s in?