Page 13 of Scaled Daddy's Secret Heir
“No civilian harm. No conscription. No using my people as bait.”
“Agreed.”
“And I don’t answer to you.”
“No. But you will coordinate with me.”
“Semantics.”
“Precision.”
Gods.
It’s the way he agrees too fast. No negotiation. No manipulation. Just—yes. Done.
Like he already factored in my non-negotiables and came prepared with the right answers.
I don’t trust that.
I don’t trust him.
But I do recognize something I haven’t seen in too long.
Competence.
And that’s dangerous.
“So,” I say, voice light, heart hammering. “Do I get a name, or are we doing the whole ‘mysterious stranger saves my life’ routine?”
He leans forward just a hair.
“Kalev.”
“Just Kalev?”
“For now.”
“Of course.” I sip my drink. “You always this charming?”
He shrugs. “Only when I’m blackmailing new friends.”
I smile despite myself.
The smile feels wrong. Like a muscle I forgot how to use.
This whole thing is wrong. But familiar. I’ve lived in the shadows long enough to know what it looks like when someone invites you deeper, instead of trying to drag you out.
Kalev isn’t saving me.
He’s offering me a seat on the lifeboat he’s already scuttling.
And I?
I’ve never been a great swimmer.
CHAPTER 5
KALEV
