Page 28 of Tick Tock, Boom!

The room was so empty, like he’d never let anyone inside it. It was simply shadows and dust and the faint, lingering scent of leather and smoke. I didn’t belong here. Not in this life. Not in his.

But I wanted to.

My thoughts were still in a frenzy when the knock came at the door.

I froze in place, heart catching in my throat, every hair on my body standing on edge. I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. My eyes locked on the dark wood like it might split in two. I didn’t know who. or what, was on the other side.

The silence dragged, thick and suffocating. My pulse thudded in my ears as my bare feet crept backward on instinct. My hand hovered near the dresser, like I might need to throw it between me and whatever came through that door.

Then his voice came through. Low and rough. Laced with the kind of anger that settled deep in your bones.

“Open the door, kitten… or I’ll tear it the fuck down.”

I nearly ran to the door, scrambling for the handle, heart racing, pulse hammering against my ribs before I swung the door open.

He was standing there, broad shoulders shadowing the hallway light. His jaw was clenched tight, eyes dark as if a storm were brewing in them. One hand pressed to the doorframe as if it was the only thing keeping him grounded. And God how heleaned. His presence filled the space like fire, heavy and consuming, and I couldn’t move.

He looked like sin in a cut, and in that moment, I understood why they called him Tick Tock. Because wherever he went, that electric tension clung to him, coiled tight and dangerous, like a bomb just waiting to go off. Every step he took, every breath he drew, ticked down to detonation. He didn’t just carry danger. He was danger, and no one knew when he’d explode and take everything down with him.

Tick Tock.

I whispered his name, so softly. “Jose…”

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stormed past me, eyes hard, jaw tight. A storm of fury wrapped in leather and silence.

“How the hell did you find out my name?”

“Aiyana,” I whispered. “She told me earlier. I knew you were important. I didn’t know you were so high up on the ranking. A founding member, she said.”

His head snapped towards me. “All she knows is my name.”

He started pacing, hands fisting at his sides, every muscle tight. He looked like a caged lion waiting for his chance to pounce. I watched him carefully, lips parting, unsure if I should speak. But the words came anyway.

“I didn’t mean to not tell you.”

“Didn’t mean to?” he snapped. “You knew who I was. You had to have known.”

“I did,” I admitted. “But I didn’t want to tell you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why the fuck not?”

“Because I was afraid you’d leave again.”

He stopped. Stamding so very still as if I'd just landed a hard blow. “Ishould haveleft.”

My chest ached. “But you didn’t.”

He looked at me then. Like really looked at me. “You’re Barrel’s daughter. My best fucking friend’s kid. Nineteen years old. Do you have any idea what kind of hell I’d bring down if I touched you again?”

“I don’t care.”

“Youshouldcare,” he growled, voice low, dangerous. “You don’t belong in this life.”

“I’ve lived it,” I said. “I grew up in this world.”

“Not this part of it,” he barked. “Not the part that breaks you open and leaves you begging for mercy. Not the part where men like me forget their fucking souls and wreck anything soft enough to love.”

“I’m not soft.”

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