Page 47 of Thane's Demon
Now. Now. Now!’
Not now, I told it, dragging in a slow breath.But soon.
Xue smoothed his jacket with shaking hands, pretending to have a composure he couldn’t possibly feel.
“Our business is concluded then,” he murmured, and I turned for the door without another word. But my thoughts wereno longer in this room. Not in this club. Not even in this city.No, they were back with her.
With her soft laugh and her fragile hope. With her bravery despite the fear she tried to hide. With her smile when she read my messages and her soft, flyaway hair.
I had wanted to see her again tomorrow.
Craved it.
Needed it.
But now… for her sake, I had no choice.
If Xue even suspected there was a girl in my orbit, if word spread, if anyone connected to this life learned she existed at all…she would be used against me.
They would hunt her. They would follow her. They would take her from me before she ever had a chance to belong to herself again. So I told myself the only thing that could possibly keep her alive.
I had to stay away from her.
At least until I could make a plan.
At least until I could remove every threat.
At least until I could take her somewhere far away from this world.
Somewhere no one could ever hurt her again. Somewhere she would be mine. Which was why when I stepped out into the night, the club’s noise fading behind me, I felt the decision settle over my shoulders like a cloak woven from darkness itself.
If I wanted her safe…
If I wanted her at all…
I would have to kidnap her.
19
DANGEROUS DISTANCE
Morning arrived in a slow crawl across the skyline, the grey wash of dawn spreading over Shanghai like a bruise that refused to heal. I had not slept, not truly, because every time I closed my eyes, the memories of the night before rose behind my eyelids with punishing clarity. I saw the brief shimmer of hope in Alora’s eyes when she agreed to meet me today, the way she had smiled at her phone after reading my message.
The quiet warmth in her expression that no one else seemed to give her. But I also saw Xue’s face, the suspicion tightening his mouth when he dared to ask about witnesses, the arrogant flicker of curiosity when he mentioned a girl.
That single word had been enough to ignite something violent inside me, and now it pulsed like a warning through every vein in my body. The demon had been right to roar. Because if Xue even suspected that someone out there mattered to me, that meant she had already become a target whether he admitted it or not. And by reacting the way I had, it meant that I had only confirmed his suspicions.
I had let him know that Alora could be used against me.
So I did the only thing I could.
I followed her from a distance.
I landed on the rooftop opposite her apartment building long before she woke, the air crisp and edged with the promise of rain as it skimmed against my skin. My wings folded into me with a familiar, almost reluctant pull.
From this vantage point, I could watch every street corner, every alleyway, every shift in the shadows. I could see anyone who came too close to her doors. I could smell the scent of strangers. I could detect the faintest trace of Xue’s men if they dared linger near her home. They thought they were predators, but they had no idea what real hunting felt like. I remained there for hours, unmoving, every sense sharpened, every instinct coiled tight. If any one of Xue’s men approached, even with innocent intention, I would tear them apart before they could blink.
The demon prowled beneath my skin with restless energy, frustrated that we were here watching instead of taking her with us immediately. Frustrated that fear for her safety had overridden desire.
