Kieran did not give her a single moment to process his earth shattering revelation. He grabbed her wrist, his grip entirely inescapable, and pulled her out of the luxurious dining chair.
"Let go of me!" Aria demanded, digging her heels into the thick carpet.
"You want the absolute truth about your father and the monsters hunting you," Kieran stated coldly, not slowing his incredibly long strides. "I am going to show you exactly what those monsters look like. And then you are going to understand exactly why you belong to me."
He dragged her out of the banquet hall and down a series of winding, dimly lit corridors. They reached a heavy steel elevator hidden behind a false bookshelf. Kieran pressed his thumb to the biometric scanner. The metal doors slid open instantly. He pulled her inside, and the elevator began a rapid, stomach churning descent deep into the bedrock beneath the estate.
The enclosed space was suffocating. Kieran stood entirely too close to her, his massive frame trapping her against the mirrored back wall. The dangerous scent of his bergamot cologne mixed with a dark, metallic tension. He did not look at her. His jaw was clenched tight, a muscle ticking beneath his pale skin.
"You are hurting my wrist," Aria said, keeping her voice incredibly level despite the rising panic in her chest.
Kieran looked down at his hand wrapped securely around her fragile bones. He loosened his grip slightly, just enough to ease the physical pain, but he did not let her go.
"If I wanted to hurt you, Aria, you would already be broken," Kieran whispered softly, his blue eyes locking onto hers with terrifying intensity. "I am keeping you alive. You need to learn the critical difference."
The elevator halted with a heavy mechanical clunk. The doors opened to reveal a stark, blindingly bright hallway lined with solid concrete. The air down here was freezing. It smelled heavily of bleach and raw copper.
Kieran led her to the final door at the end of the hall. Two enormous guards stood at absolute attention. They pushed the heavy iron door open without saying a single word.
Aria stepped inside and immediately stopped breathing.
The room was entirely constructed of white ceramic tiles, complete with a central floor drain. In the middle of the room, a man was strapped tightly to a heavy steel chair. His face was a bruised, bloody mess. He wore the tactical gear of a private mercenary, but a distinct black scorpion tattoo was completely visible on his thick neck.
Hector Vargas's personal cartel insignia.
"This filthy rat breached my outer perimeter exactly twenty minutes ago," Kieran announced, his voice echoing loudly off the sterile tiles. He casually took off his expensive charcoal suit jacket and handed it to one of the guards. He rolled up his crisp white sleeves, exposing his incredibly thick, muscular forearms.
The tied man coughed up a splatter of dark blood onto the white floor. He looked up, his swollen eyes locking directly onto Aria. A disgusting, broken smile stretched across his ruined face.
"There she is," the spy wheezed, his voice bubbling with fluid. "The little gray eyed prize. Vargas is going to carve you into tiny little pieces, sweetheart."
Aria felt her stomach twist violently, but she refused to look away or cower behind Kieran.
Kieran moved with blinding, terrifying speed. He stepped forward and grabbed the man by his throat, squeezing with such immense pressure that the spy's eyes rolled backward immediately.
"You do not speak to her," Kieran commanded, his voice dropping into a demonic, guttural register. "You do not look at her. She is my exclusive property. If you breathe in her general direction again, I will tear your tongue out with my bare hands."
Kieran released his crushing grip, letting the man gasp desperately for air.
"You cannot hide her forever, Cross," the spy choked out, spitting another mouthful of blood onto Kieran's polished leather shoes. "Vargas knows you have the Architect's daughter. He bought the other girl from the auction. The screaming little blonde. He is holding a massive masquerade gala tomorrow night. He is going to skin the blonde girl alive on the main stage just to humiliate you. He wants the entire Syndicate to know you are weak."
Aria felt the blood drain entirely from her face. Chloe. The terrified girl from the holding cell. Vargas was going to murder an innocent civilian just to draw Aria out of hiding.
"Please," Aria whispered, taking a desperate step forward. "We have to do something. She is completely innocent. She does not know anything about my father or the vault."
Kieran slowly turned his head to look at Aria. The absolute violence practically radiated off his skin. He was an apex predator, completely consumed by possessive rage.
"I told you the old cartels were coming for you," Kieran said softly, his blue eyes burning with a dark, lethal fire. He turned back to the bleeding spy. "Tell Vargas I received his pathetic invitation."
Kieran casually reached to his waist, drew a suppressed sleek black pistol, and shot the spy directly in the chest.
The loud, dull thud of the silenced weapon echoed sharply. The man slumped forward against the heavy restraints, entirely dead.
Aria gasped, jumping backward as fresh blood pooled rapidly over the pristine white tiles. She had known Kieran was a killer, but seeing the casual, effortless execution sent a shockwave of pure terror straight through her nervous system.
Kieran holstered the weapon smoothly. He walked over to Aria, his large boots stepping completely over the growing pool of blood. He backed her firmly against the cold tiled wall, placing a heavy hand flat against the ceramic right beside her head, trapping her entirely in his dark shadow.
"You wanted to see the monster," Kieran whispered fiercely, leaning down until his lips were barely an inch from hers. "Look at me, Aria. Look at exactly what I am."
Aria forced her eyes up to meet his. Her chest heaved against him, the proximity intoxicating and absolutely terrifying.
"You are a murderer," she breathed out, her voice trembling slightly.
"I am the king of the underworld," Kieran corrected her, his gaze dropping to her soft lips before snapping back up to her eyes. "And you are mine. Vargas thinks he can intimidate me by threatening a civilian. He thinks I will cower behind these walls."
Kieran reached up with his free hand, his rough thumb lightly tracing the delicate line of her jaw. The contrast between his recent brutal violence and this incredibly gentle touch made her mind spin.
"What are you going to do?" Aria asked, entirely captivated by his dominating presence.
"We are going to accept his invitation," Kieran declared, a wicked, extremely dangerous smile curving his lips. "I am going to buy you the most beautiful gown in the entire city. I am going to walk you directly into Hector Vargas's ballroom tomorrow night. And I am going to make every single boss in this corrupt city watch as I burn his cartel to ashes for daring to threaten what belongs to me."