Page 69 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

He crossed the room to a painting on the wall, swung it open to reveal a hidden safe. Serenity watched as he entered a code and extracted a handgun, checking it with practiced ease before tucking it into his waistband.

"Planning to shoot someone tonight?" she asked, trying to mask her unease with sarcasm.

"Planning to keep you alive," he corrected, his eyes meeting hers. "That's my only priority right now."

Something warm unfurled in her chest at his words, dangerous and unwelcome. Serenity pushed it away. Sentiment was a luxury she couldn't afford.

"My car's downstairs," Ronan offered, shrugging into his jacket. "Blacked-out windows, bulletproof. Not exactly subtle, but safer than a taxi."

Darius nodded. "I'll drive. You watch our backs."

Serenity grabbed her purse, mentally cataloging what she had at the apartment. "I have a back exit from the building. If someone's watching the front, we can use that."

They moved through the hotel with calculated efficiency. Darius led, Serenity in the middle, Ronan covering their rear. The easy banter from moments ago had evaporated, replaced by tense silence. In the elevator, Serenity caught her reflection in the mirrored wall—flushed cheeks, tousled hair, eyes sharp with adrenaline. She barely recognized herself.

"Address?" Darius asked as they reached the underground parking.

Serenity gave it to him, watching as he programmed it into his phone. "It's in Riverdale. About twenty minutes without traffic."

"There's always traffic," Ronan muttered, guiding them toward a matte black Range Rover.

The night air was cool against Serenity's skin as they crossed the parking garage. Every shadow seemed to hide a threat, every distant sound making her pulse quicken. Was this to be her life now? Always looking over her shoulder, always waiting for the next attack?

Once inside the vehicle, Darius didn't waste time. The engine roared to life, and he pulled out with controlled urgency, scanning the mirrors constantly.

"Anything?" he asked Ronan, who was watching the road behind them.

"Clear for now," Ronan replied, his usual joviality stripped away, replaced by professional focus. It was jarring to see this side of him—the reminder that beneath the flirtation and irreverence was a man just as dangerous as Darius.

Serenity sat in the back, her fingers drumming against her thigh as she stared out the window. The city lights blurredpast, unknowing pedestrians going about their evening with the luxury of ignorance. How quickly her world had tilted on its axis.

"When we get there," she said, breaking the silence, "I'll need ten minutes to gather what we need. Everything's organized for a quick exit."

Darius's eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. "You've thought this through."

"Ever since I learned who my father was," she admitted. "I knew the day might come when I'd have to disappear."

"Smart omega," Ronan said, his eyes still scanning the streets they passed. "Though I'm surprised you didn't run before now."

Serenity's lips thinned. "The Vale empire is mine by right. I don't run from what's mine."

A tight smile curved Darius's mouth. "That's why you're still alive. That instinct."

The journey continued in tense silence, each of them alert to any sign of pursuit. Serenity felt the weight of the situation pressing down on her with each passing block. Three days ago, she'd been a financial consultant with a comfortable life. Now she was in a bulletproof car with two alpha criminals, running from assassins.

As they turned onto her street, unease prickled along her spine. The familiar row of brownstones looked the same as always, yet somehow sinister in the gathering dusk.

"Stop here," she said suddenly, her instincts screaming. "Let's go in the back way."

The car hadn't fully stopped when it happened.

One moment, the evening was quiet except for distant traffic; the next, the world exploded in a deafening roar that shook the street. The blast wave hit their vehicle with enough force to rock it sideways. Glass rained down from above as an enormous fireball bloomed from the fifth floor of Serenity's building, exactly where her apartment was located.

"Fuck!" Serenity screamed, her ears ringing as debris pelted the car's reinforced roof.

Darius's arm shot across her chest, instinctively pinning her to the seat. "Stay down!"

Through the windshield, Serenity watched as her sanctuary—her carefully planned escape route—disintegrated in flames. The windows of her apartment had been blown outward, and thick black smoke billowed into the twilight sky. Secondary explosions followed, smaller but no less violent, as the fire reached something else combustible inside.

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