Page 110 of The CEO

“Staking your claim?”

“Reminding you what you have to come home to.” Her smile is both innocent and wicked, a contradiction that perfectly captures her essence.

We move to the small seating area nestled among the plants—a hidden alcove where we’ve spent countless hours planning our operations. Tonight, however, feels different—not the beginning of a mission, but the continuation of something greater.

Eve curls against me on the cushioned bench, her head resting on my shoulder as we gaze out through the glass at the stars emerging overhead. “Do you ever think about the future?” she asks, voice soft.

“I never used to,” I admit, stroking her hair. “I lived moment to moment, always planning the next move, the next target.”

“And now?”

“Now I see possibilities.” I press my lips to her forehead. “A legacy beyond The Shadows. Beyond Chicago.”

She smiles against my chest. “Tell me.”

“An empire built on more than fear. One that uses your light as much as my darkness.” I tilt her face up to mine. “The perfect balance of vengeance and justice.”

“Partners in all things,” she murmurs, eyes shining with the same vision.

“Always.”

We sit in peaceful silence, surrounded by beautiful, deadly flowers that mirror our relationship—exquisite, dangerous, thriving in conditions that would kill lesser beings. Tomorrow will bring new targets, new investigations, new justice to deliver. But tonight, we simply exist together in the sanctuary we’ve created.

“I love you,” she whispers, the words still new enough to send a shock through my system.

“And I love you.” I pull her closer, marveling at how three simple words can hold such power.

In the heart of Eden, surrounded by both beauty and danger, we’ve found our perfect ending—and our true beginning. Not as CEO and journalist, predator and prey, but as equal partners in a reign that promises to change the world.

Together, we are unstoppable, because we’ve just begun.

Epilogue

DAMIEN-THREE YEARS LATER . . .

The door to our bedroom slams against the wall with enough force to crack the plaster, but I couldn’t care less about the damage. My vision burns red at the edges, fury coursing through my veins as I scan the room for any sign of her. The bedroom is empty, but the bathroom door stands slightly ajar, light spilling from the crack.

“Eve.” My voice is deadly calm—the tone that makes even the most hardened members of The Shadows flinch. “Come out. Now.”

Silence greets me, stretching taut between us like a wire about to snap. I know she’s in there. I can practically feel her presence, her defiance radiating through the partially-open door.

“Don’t make me come in after you.” Each word drops like ice as I stalk toward the bathroom, my control unraveling with every step. “You’ve pushed me far enough tonight.”

The door swings open before I reach it. Eve stands in the doorway, chin tilted up in that familiar gesture of defiance that simultaneously infuriates and arouses me. Her dark hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail, and she’s still dressed in the all-black tactical gear she wore on tonight’s unauthorized excursion. A thin cut slices across her cheekbone, blood already dried against her pale skin.

“I had everything under control,” she says, voice steady despite the danger she must sense radiating from me. “The Vigilante needed backup, and you were in Tokyo.”

“I wassupposedto be in Tokyo,” I correct, advancing on her like a predator cornering prey. “Instead, I had to cut critical negotiations short because The Raven detected unauthorized deployment of The Shadows’ resources. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find my wife—my seven-months-pregnant wife—in the middle of an extraction operation.”

Eve doesn’t retreat as I close the distance between us, though her hands instinctively move to the swell of her belly, protective even in her defiance. “The target was time-sensitive. The witness wouldn’t have survived another twenty-four hours.”

“So you risked three lives instead of one.” I stop inches from her, towering over her smaller frame. “Yours. Our son’s. And now, potentially, that of the witness—because your reckless intervention forced The Vigilante to accelerate the extraction before proper security protocols were in place.”

A flicker of doubt crosses her features—the first crack in her composure. “What do you mean? They got away clean. I saw them leave.”

“They were followed.” My words land like physical blows. “The Raven traced a surveillance team tracking them from the extraction point. The safe house may already be compromised.”

The color drains from her face as the implications register. “Damien, I didn’t?—”

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