Ravenwood residence was quiet in the way only old money and private security could make silence feel expensive.
Liam stood in the entrance hall with his coat already removed, his collar still high enough to hide most of Arik's mark, and the expression of a man who had walked into his own execution because every alternative was somehow worse.
Douglas Stanford stood half a step behind him.
Outwardly, Stanford looked perfectly composed.
Inwardly, he had already informed Mezos, reviewed three possible extraction routes, identified five Ravenwood security layers hidden in the walls, and prayed to any god old enough to understand bonded alphas that Arik Oberon Lyon remained trapped in the secure meeting with his parents.
Because His Highness had not permitted Lord Liam to go anywhere outside Lab V.
That had been the understanding.
Lab V was work. Lab V was necessary. Lab V was within the agreed route.
Ravenwood Residence was none of those things.
