Damien sat stiffly across from Justin, his shoulders drawn tight, his spine rigid as though bracing for an unseen blow. His jaw was clenched so hard that a dull ache radiated along his temples, but he welcomed the pain—it grounded him, kept him present. The weight of Justin’s words—twenty enemies—pressed down on him like a physical force. For a fleeting moment, the room seemed to shrink, the shadows creeping closer, the air thickening until it felt difficult to breathe. It was as if the walls themselves were listening, waiting to see whether Damien would crumble or commit.Twenty people.Not one.Not five.Not even ten.Twenty.The number echoed in his head, relentless and unforgiving. Damien swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. Pride urged him to scoff, to wave it off as if it were nothing, but desperation stripped him bare. He had lost too much already—his dignity, his carefully constructed plans, his sense of control over his own life. Logan had taken all of that from hi

Damien stood at the edge of the narrow road, his breath shallow, and his chest rising and falling in uneven rhythm as he stared at the place Justin had sent him to. The house before him did not look ordinary in any sense. It sat low and wide, heavy and oppressive.Tall iron gates surrounded the compound, reinforced with thick bars that glinted faintly under the moonlight. Cameras blinked red at different angles, scanning, watching, and waiting.This was no ordinary house.This was a den.Damien swallowed hard, his throat dry as sand. The silence around him felt unnatural, too deliberate, as though the place was holding its breath just as he was. For a brief moment, doubt crept into his heart, cold and unwelcome. Justin had said twenty men. Twenty enemies. Men who were feared even among the underworld. Men whose names were spoken in whispers and half-finished sentences. Damien clenched his fists at his sides, feeling the faint, strange energy that had settled in his body since his

As soon as Damien began to bleed, the room seemed to shift. The air itself felt heavier, thicker, as though the concrete walls of the den had drawn closer without actually moving. The warmth at his lip was unmistakable now, sliding slowly down his chin, metallic and bitter as it touched his tongue. The taste made his stomach twist. It was no longer abstract pain or distant threat. The laughter that had once filled the den faded, draining away until it became something far more deliberate and dangerous. What remained was not silence, but a tense awareness that pressed in from every direction. The men were no longer merely amused. Their earlier mockery had given way to calculation. Blood changed things. It demanded decisions, consequences, and escalation.The man who had struck him straightened and turned away from Damien, rolling his shoulder slowly as if loosening a stiff joint after mild exertion. The casualness of the gesture was almost worse than rage would have been. It s

Justin leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled together with his posture relaxed but deliberate. His eyes rested calmly on Damien’s bruised face and the bandaged arm he carried stiffly at his side. The signs of failure were impossible to miss—the faint discoloration beneath Damien’s eyes, the tension in his jaw, and the way he stood as if bracing himself for another blow. Justin had listened without interruption as Damien poured everything out—how he wanted another chance, how he needed backup this time, and how capable men standing beside him would change the outcome completely. Damien spoke with urgency, his voice tight with desperation, reliving the humiliation as though it were happening all over again.When Damien finally finished speaking, the room fell into a heavy silence.Justin exhaled slowly, deliberately, as though weighing the air itself.“No,” he said.The word was quiet, but it landed heavily between them, solid and final.Damien blinked, certain he had misheard.

“That’s the only time he’s free, Selena. He controls a conglomerate, and he hardly has time. Once we see him, we’ll leave. It won’t take long,” Damien explained, keeping his voice calm and reassuring, even as tension coiled tightly in his chest.There was a pause on the line, long enough for Damien to wonder if his carefully constructed story was about to crumble. Then Selena sighed softly.“All right,” she said. “If it’s really that important, I’ll come.”Relief washed over Damien, sharp and unsettling. He thanked her quickly, promised it wouldn’t take long, and ended the call before doubt could creep into her voice again. The moment the line went dead, he stared at his phone, his reflection faintly visible on the dark screen.For a split second, guilt tugged at him. Then he pushed it aside.Within minutes, they were on their way.The city lights slowly thinned as Damien drove, the familiar hum of traffic fading behind them. Tall buildings, glowing signs, and busy streets gradually