Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
BASTION
I should’ve been locked on this sit-down—guns, docks, drugs. This was my territory. My business.
Emilia had been cold this morning. Polite in a way that meant distance. She’d slipped into the car like she was already somewhere else, seatbelt clipped, mask in place, and I had waited on the curb until the driver pulled her away. Until I couldn’t see her anymore.
I’d stood there longer than I should’ve. Because her silence cut deeper than anything these men across from me could throw.
Last night had been worse. Migraine. Her breath shallow against the pillow, one hand pressed to her temple.
Luca and I knew what it meant. She didn’t get headaches unless something was eating her alive.
We’d tried to ease it. My fingers massaging her scalp, Luca rubbing her shoulders.
She’d sighed, whispered she was fine, but we both heard the lie under it.
She never let us in when it was dynasty weight.
And not knowing what it was— that killed me more than any bullet ever could.
A cough pulled me back .
Across the table sat three men. The Rourke Syndicate. Rivals that had crawled out of the gutters the second Vince stepped back.
Callum Price was the mouthpiece. Always in tailored suits too clean for the docks. He tapped his pen against a notepad like he thought this was a business meeting and not a test of blood.
Beside him sat Dante Rourke. He handled their guns, drugs and liked to undercut prices just to make a point. The kind of rat who thought survival meant cutting corners until the weapon backfired in someone else’s hand.
And then there was Marek Volkov. Scarred knuckles, thick accent, muscle built for breaking bones. He didn’t bother pretending he was here for numbers. He was here to make sure threats didn’t bounce.
Callum leaned forward. “Price is too high, Crow. Your cut’s bleeding us. We’ve got options now. Another supplier in Villain offering better rates.”
I didn’t move. Because I knew the game. The “supplier” was real, sure. But I’d let them live these last weeks. Let them build. Because when the time came, we’d take every ounce of their product and bury them with it. Fear reestablished. Power locked. That was how the Crows worked.
Dante added, “We’re not here to insult you. Just business sense. Why pay top cut for purity when the streets don’t care? Cheaper sells faster.”
Rome shifted beside me. He hated men that cut drugs dirty for profit.
Marek finally spoke. “Without Vince, you’re stretched thin. Everyone sees it. Price should reflect that.”
He was referring to protection.The air went tight after that. I felt Rome’s pulse change, the way he was already wanting to put Marek through the table .
“You’re not paying for purity you can’t sell. You’re paying for loyalty you can’t buy anywhere else.” Luca said, “No misfires. No overdoses. No trails.” His voice didn’t rise. He didn’t look up. Just flipped the page of the ledger in front of him, pen steady.
But I wasn’t listening to numbers.
My mind drifted back to the penthouse.
Luca had been pushing the final finishes. We wanted her in it next week. No more waiting for contracts or dynasty games.
We’d built the Crown Floors for her.
Blackout blinds triggered at the first spike of light.
Silent insulated walls so no noise could bleed through when her head pounded.
Lavender-scented filtered air vents, calibrated to soothe.
A spa wing, custom-built, not for strangers to touch her, but for us. No masseuse would lay hands on our girl. No one knew her body better than we did, or how to worship it.
A hidden medic station, biometric sensors laced into the walls, ready to alert us the second her vitals dipped.
Every piece of it was for her. A palace under our hands and eyes.
We built the penthouse to touch her in ways our hands couldn’t.
But none of it mattered if she didn’t let us in. The house could protect her body. It couldn’t protect her silence. And I still didn’t know what the fuck was eating her alive.
Callum’s voice sliced back in. “We’re not asking you to bend. Just renegotiate terms. Be reasonable.”
Reasonable .
I leaned forward, chair legs screeching against the concrete. The table shook when I set my hands down.
“The Crows’ drugs are pure. No one else can match it. Our guns run clean. No faulty crates. No street misfires. You don’t bargain with that. You don’t bargain with us.”
Dante shifted, pen caught between his fingers. Marek stopped breathing for half a second.
“You take the price we set, or I put your bodies in the same dirt I bury their supply.”
No raise in tone. No need. The truth did the work.
The warehouse went still.
Marek’s eyes dropped first. Callum swallowed. Dante’s pen slipped, clattering against the table.
Rome smirked like he’d been waiting for it. Luca didn’t even bother looking up from his ledger.
If they wanted drugs, they would pay the price we set.
It should be as simple as that, but it never was. Everyone loved to argue to make themselves taller. And this was just another hour of my day wasted.
The screen glowed in my lap. Emilia’s location pulsed steady on the app. She hadn’t moved for an hour. Still in the same building. Still at the dinner. And the longer I stared at the screen, the heavier it felt.
“She’s still there,” I muttered.
“Her headache isn’t gone.” Luca didn’t look over, just watched the road. “She was rubbing her temple when she got in the car this morning. Tried to hide it. She only does that when she doesn’t want us to know.”
“She thinks we can’t tell.”
“We always tell.” He flicked his eyes to the screen in my hand, then back to the windshield. “If it carried through to today, whatever’s eating her hasn’t shifted. ”
I exhaled through my teeth. “We’re not waiting. Dinner’s done by now.”
“Good.” His mouth curved faintly. “Because if I have to watch that dot on a screen for another hour, I’ll put my fist through the glass.”
I typed the message short, final.
We’ll be taking her from here.
Sent to her security detail.
Luca leaned back, wiping the camera angles and checking who was out the front. He didn’t need to tell me what he was doing, and I didn’t need to tell him. We just knew.
The same rhythm —one thought, two bodies.
Even from a block out, I saw the flags. Two crests hung heavy. Two dynasties announcing a merger.
The Dynasties like to make everything a statement. The truth was similar the merger that was announced tonight, would have been between two people who were merging for the bloodlines, not for love.
We pulled to the curb. I spotted her instantly. Standing at the base of the steps, dress catching the light, hair pinned back. She was talking to Vivienne Kingsley. Dynasty daughters together, polished, smiling as though the weight didn’t hurt them.
“She’s beautiful.” Luca’s voice dropped, softer than I’d heard it all day.
“Always.”
He paused, “Can’t wait to see her in Crow colors.”
My gaze didn’t leave her. “Our girl’s gorgeous. But I’m sick of seeing her in Adams blue.”
Luca pushed his door open.
Vivienne’s smile faltered when she saw him coming. She knew what that look meant. He didn’t ask permission. He took Emilia’s hand, and guided her toward the car .
Her eyes widened when she saw me waiting. Surprised. Not unhappy. That eased the tension in my chest.
She slid in between us. My arm was already open. I pulled her to my side.
Her fingers brushed across my knuckles. “What happened?”
I shook my head. “Nothing you need to worry about. How’s the headache?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
Liar.
She sat straighter, turned toward Luca. Slipped her hand into his. He started massaging her palm, thumb circling the soft center like he could press the tension out.
Her voice softened. “How was your day?”
The question was habit, not curiosity. She was looking at us, but she wasn’t here. Not in her head.
Then her phone buzzed. The vibration rattled against her clutch. Her eyes flicked down. Alexander.
Every muscle in my body tightened. It took everything I had not to demand what he wanted. Tear the phone out of her hands and crush it.
But she didn’t check it.
“What are we having for dinner?” she asked instead.
Something in me eased, just enough to breathe.
“Something at home,” I said. “We’ll order in.”
Her exhale was quick, almost a laugh. “Thank god. I thought I’d have to stay in this dress longer.”
Luca’s lips twitched up. “We’ll take you out of it.”
She dropped against his side, “Good.”
“Miss our shirts, baby?” I moved my hand to her thigh, tracing her leg.
Her head turned. She nodded once. The smallest smile ghosted across her lips .
I leaned forward. Careful as I pulled the pins from her hair. One by one, I set them aside. Her blonde fell soft, loose, framing her face the way it should always be. I stroked my thumb across her cheek.
She gently took my hand and kissed my knuckles.
We just had to earn her trust back for her to tell us what was going on in her head.
And when I found out what it was that was stealing our girls attention from us, I’d do what I’m good at.
Kill it.