Page 49 of The CEO

I sink into the cushions, the reality of what just happened finally crashing down on me. My breath comes out in short gasps.

“I killed someone,” I whisper, the words feeling foreign on my tongue.

Damien hands me one of the glasses. “You defended yourself against a murderer who was going to kill you. And technically, you only shot him.”

I take the glass with both hands to stop it from spilling, but don’t drink. “And then you killed him.”

“I eliminated a threat to your safety.” He sits opposite me, perfectly composed while I’m falling apart. “A man who murdered an innocent woman and escaped justice.”

“That’s not how justice works.”

“Isn’t it?” His dark eyes hold mine. “How many victims of Kurt Ivy do you think found justice through traditional channels?”

“None,” I admit, the answer burning my throat.

“And how did that make you feel? When you realized the system you believed in failed Tia Fellows?”

The question hits me like a physical blow. I remember my rage, my helplessness, when I realized Kurt would never face consequences through legal means.

“I was . . . angry.”

“Just angry?”

I look down at my hands. “I wanted him to pay.”

“And now he has.” Damien leans forward. “Tell me the truth, Eve. When you saw him fall, when you knew he would never hurt another woman, did you feel satisfaction?”

I want to deny it and claim moral superiority. But the truth is undeniable.

“Yes,” I whisper, shame and relief battling within me. “What does that make me?”

“Human.” His voice softens. “It makes you human.”

I finally take a sip of the whiskey, the burn matching the fire in my chest. Everything I thought I knew about myself, about justice, about right and wrong, is shifting beneath my feet like quicksand.

“This changes everything, doesn’t it?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

Damien’s smile is small but genuine. “Only if you let it.”

I look at him across the space between us—this dangerous man who kills without hesitation yet speaks of justice with conviction. The man I should be running from but instead am turning toward.

“I don’t even know who I am anymore,” I admit.

“I do.” His eyes bore into mine. “You’re someone who recognizes that sometimes justice requires stepping outside the lines. Someone who understands that the world isn’t black and white.”

The truth of his words resonates within me, terrifying and liberating all at once. What remained of my innocence died in that alley tonight, alongside Kurt Ivy.

“What happens now?” I ask, my voice steadier than before.

Damien leans back, studying me. “That depends on you.”

I take another sip of whiskey, feeling it warm me from the inside out. I’ve crossed a line tonight. Damien’s protection suddenly feels less like a threat and more like a necessity.

“I need your help,” I finally say, the words changing everything between us.

His smile spreads slowly across his face. “I know.”

Chapter10

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