Page 41 of Dark Alliance
His fury was palpable, speaking volumes, evident in the clenched jaw and hard, cold eyes.
I sat still, letting him simmer, watching as his anger showed in the reckless way he handled the steering wheel. I wasn’t truly afraid, not after everything we had just endured.
At that moment, his fury didn't scare me. It sang to me. It was raw, honest, and terrifyingly beautiful. I didn't want a gentleman. I wanted the man who was white knuckling the steering wheel, as if he were holding onto the only thing that kept him sane.
I gave him the space he needed, lost in my spiraling thoughts and swirling emotions.
I had no idea what lay ahead or where tonight’s events would take me, but I knew I was in over my head. Soon, Zeno would learn I’d been here tonight, and the questions would come, endless and relentless. And so would the anger.
Was I prepared for that? I glanced at Thal, noting the fierce set of his jaw, the determination etched into his expression, his eyes cold and hard with unyielding rage. A strange, conflicting surge of pride washed over me.
I’d saved him.
I didn't feel like a good person, and that was the most intoxicating part. I felt like a god of the desert, forged ingunpowder and secrets. For ten years, I’d been a piece of collateral, moved across Zeno’s board, waiting for my value to be spent.
Tonight, I realized I wasn't the pawn. I was the hand that flipped the table and set the whole room on fire. It was fucking exhilarating. As I looked at the blood drying on my hands, I realized I never wanted to be clean again.
Deep in my bones, I felt a thrill. I felt alive. Zeno never would have allowed me to be involved in what happened tonight. He would have literally locked me in a cage to keep me from being there.
But Thal had set me free. Thal had given me what I always longed for: a life.
I was grateful, but there was a small nagging voice in the back of my mind that questioned whether I caused the whole thing just by being there.
If I hadn’t been there, would Thal have seen the man approaching behind him? Had Thal been so distracted trying to protect me that he risked his life?
I pushed the voice away, shaking it off. I’d never know the answer to that. All I knew was that we were both alive, and that was everything.
“Are you okay?” I asked, hoping to break through the rage consuming him.
“This isn’t over,” he stated. “They’ll pay for this, every last one of them.”
My heart skipped a beat when I realized Thal and I had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.
Twelve
TENSIONS EXPLODE
THAL
Anger coursed through me like a fierce, unstoppable storm. The violent bang of my front door slamming shut behind me was drowned out by the pounding of my footsteps as I stormed into the house.
I couldn’t face Daphne and avoided looking at her. She was as silent as a mouse, her quietness almost taunting the turmoil within me. However, I realized that this silence wouldn’t endure now that we were back home.
Frustration simmered beneath the surface, a boiling rage that clouded my thinking. All I saw was red, an all-consuming fire that blinded my senses.
One part of me desperately tried to understand what went wrong, trying to make sense of the chaotic events of the evening. Another part searched for a response, seeking ways to fix or interpret the chaos. Meanwhile, a different voice inside blamed me, insisting that I was at fault and that I deserved all this anger.
“I can't believe how stupid I was!” I shouted, my anger spilling over, and I could no longer hold it back.
“But you weren’t —”
“I should have chained you to the bed,” I roared, the words tasting of copper and rage. “I knew it was a trap, yet I let you walk into it anyway. I saw that man level his weapon at you, and my heart stopped. If you had died tonight, I would have burned this city to the ground with me inside it.”
Daphne looked at me with a blend of confusion and worry, tilting her head as she watched me pace the living room like a territorial lion. She remained silent, which I appreciated. I didn’t want her to speak. I was lost in self-reproach and foolishness.
“I should have burned that warehouse to the ground before I let you step foot inside,” I growled, my voice a jagged, low vibration that shook the glasses on the bar.
I was more than angry, it was on a level of unhinged. The image of that man leveling his weapon at her was a brand on the back of my eyelids.
