The alarm rang a second time, and the pale morning light was already cutting through the slim window of her room.

The silence that followed was thick with unspoken shifts in power.

Damon slowly pulled back, his chest heaving as he looked down at her. Alina stood flushed, her hair loose, her maid's apron slightly rumpled, her hand still warm and trembling.

Without a word, Damon took a crisp linen handkerchief from his pocket and gently, meticulously cleaned her hands, his touch surprisingly soft for a man who ordered executions with a nod.

"Go back to your wing," he whispered, his voice dark and possessive. "Before someone notices you're gone."

Alina nodded softly, turning toward the door. But as her hand touched the brass handle, Damon spoke again.

"Alina."

She turned back to look at him. He was standing by the window, his shirt rebuttoned, his dark eyes watching her from the shadows.

"This stays between us," he said coldly, the Pakhan returning to his features. "If anyone in this house finds out, it won't just be your job you lose. It will be your life."

"I understand, sir," she whispered, slipping out the door and into the dark hallway.

For the next three days, the mansion was on high alert.

A rival syndicate family—the Voronin clan—was pushing into Vulkoff territory down at the docks. Gunmen in blacked-out SUVs were spotted near the estate gates, and heavy armored vehicles lined the driveway.

Alina tried to keep her head down, sweeping floors and washing dishes alongside Sloan. But everything had changed. Every time Damon passed her in the hallways surrounded by his armed lieutenants, his dark eyes would cut through the crowd and lock onto hers for a fleeting, searing second.

On Thursday evening, the storm finally broke.

Alina was in the library, dusting the high mahogany shelves near the rear balcony, when the heavy glass doors shattered inward.

Three armed men in black tactical gear burst into the room, their weapons raised.

Alina screamed, dropping her feather duster as she backed against the wall.