Lina's POV
Damon Reese stood in my bedroom doorway like death incarnate, dressed entirely in black. Tall. Elegant. Absolutely terrifying in his calm.
The security systems hadn't even triggered. No alarms. No warnings.
He'd walked through Adrian's defenses like they were tissue paper.
"She'll be fine," Damon said softly, nodding toward Cipher's unconscious form. His voice carried that same cultured British accent, smooth as aged whiskey and twice as dangerous. "Just a mild sedative. I would never kill someone *you* care about, little Rose."
Every step he took toward me felt like a blade sliding between my ribs.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't *think* past the primal terror flooding my system.
"You're insane," I whispered. "You started a *fire* just to—"
