Fatally Yours

Chapter 28

•INDIANA•

The first hour of watch duty crawled by like molasses. I shifted in my seat, trying to find a more comfortable position, but it didn't help.

My eyes flicked to the iPad, where the live feeds cycled through the same scenes over and over: guests in designer suits and glittering gowns, laughing and sipping champagne as though they didn't have a care in the world.

They moved in elegant waves, their smiles effortless, their conversations a symphony of low murmurs and soft laughter.

Meanwhile, I was stuck in the car, watching from afar, detached from the energy of the party. My mind began to wander, boredom creeping in like an unwelcome guest.

Lee sighed suddenly, breaking the heavy silence.

"What were you doing in that alley the other night?"

The question hit me like a jolt of cold water, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned to him, my expression carefully blank.

"I told you everything already," I said evenly, my voice as calm as I could make it.

His eyes flicked to mine, unreadable, but there was something in his look—something that told me he wasn't entirely convinced.

"Yeah," he said slowly, dragging the word out. "You did."

He looked back at the iPad, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel.

"But listen—whatever you do in your free time? Not my business. I don't giving a flying fuck if you're seeing someone or going to the supermarket to buy groceries."

I raised an eyebrow at that, unsure where he was going.

"But," he continued, his tone low, serious, yet oddly soft, "if you're going around hunting for information that might benefit the Syndicate, you tell me first. I brought you in, Nova. You're part of this because of me. If you pull something reckless, and Dominik gets pissed? He's not just gonna take it out on you. It'll land on both of us."

His words hung in the air between us, heavy and unyielding. His gaze shifted back to me, sharp yet calm, as if he wanted to make sure I understood the weight of what he was saying.

"I don't need that kind of heat, especially from Dom," he added, his voice dropping just enough to make the warning in his words unmistakable. "Got it?"

I held his gaze for a moment, letting the tension settle before I nodded slowly. "Got it."

For a second, neither of us spoke, the air in the car thick with something unspoken. I could feel his eyes on me, waiting for something—confirmation, assurance, maybe even trust—but I didn't give him anything else.

Instead, I turned my head and fixed my attention back on the iPad, my chest tightening as the tension simmered between us.

He did the same, leaning back in his seat and focusing on the screen, but the silence that followed wasn't the same as before. It was heavier now, charged with something neither of us wanted to acknowledge.

And so, we sat there, watching the party we weren't a part of, both of us pretending not to feel the weight of what had just passed between us.

One of the live feeds suddenly shifted, and my eyes were drawn to a new scene—a grand, expansive room where a crowd had gathered.

Rows of elegantly dressed guests sat facing a small stage, their chatter subdued as a man stood behind a polished wooden podium. He spoke into the microphone with a calm authority, his voice barely audible until Lee adjusted the iPad.