Chapter 1

Ivy’s POVThe sound of a silk tie sliding through a collar was usually a sound of intimacy. Tonight, it sounded like a noose tightening.I sat on the edge of the California King bed, my hands folded in my lap. The pristine white sheets were smooth, unwrinkled, just like everything else in our penthouse. Just like my life. Or at least, the life I had pretended to have for the last three years.Grant stood before the floor-to-ceiling mirror, adjusting his cufflinks. He didn't look at me. He rarely looked at me anymore, unless we were at a gala and he needed the perfect senator’s daughter on his arm."It’s better this way, Ivy," he said, his voice casual, as if he were discussing the dinner menu rather than the demolition of our marriage. "Monogamy is... archaic. Especially in my line of work. I have needs. Stress relief."I dug my nails into my palms. "Needs that half the women in your office can satisfy?"Grant finally turned. His handsome face, the one that had won over voters and my

Chapter 2

Ivy’s POVThe bass in The Abyss thumped against my chest, matching the frantic rhythm of my heart. The air smelled of expensive scotch, exotic perfume, and bad decisions. It was dark, lit only by strobe lights that cut through the haze like lightning.I shouldn't be here. This was their territory.I moved through the crowd, ignoring the hands that tried to grab my waist, the eyes that tracked my movement. I made my way to the bar, sliding onto a stool."Whiskey. Neat. The most expensive one you have," I told the bartender.He raised an eyebrow but poured the amber liquid. I downed it in one burn. It felt like fire, scorching away the numbness Grant had left behind.I signaled for another.I was three drinks in when I felt the shift in the room. It wasn't a sound. It was a change in atmospheric pressure. The crowd near the VIP balcony parted like the Red Sea. The laughter died down, replaced by hushed whispers.I turned on my stool, the alcohol giving me a false sense of bravery. And t

Chapter 3

Ivy’s POVMy back hit Julian’s chest. He was solid, unyielding, a wall of muscle behind me. Dante stood in front, closing the distance until the tips of his shoes touched mine."Let me pass, Dante," I said, trying to inject authority into my voice. It came out as a breathless squeak.Dante chuckled, a dark, rumbling sound. He reached out, his rough thumb tracing the line of my jaw. His touch seared my skin. "Let you pass? We just found you. It’s been six years, Ivy. You don't get to just walk away again.""I’m married," I blurted out. It was a desperate shield, a flimsy defense.The temperature in the hallway dropped ten degrees.Silas stepped out of the shadows. He had been watching, silent and lethal. He walked toward us, his movements fluid and terrifying. He stopped inches from me, forcing Dante to step back slightly, but not enough to give me an escape route.Silas looked down at me, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "We know," he said. His voice was calm, which made it scarier. "Gr

Chapter 4

Ivy’s POVThe glass in my hand was the only cold thing in the room. Everything else was scorching."Ruin me," I repeated, the words tasting like forbidden fruit.Silas didn't smile. He wasn't a man who smiled. He simply watched me with that intense, hawk-like gaze. "Yes. Ruin you. So that when you go back to him—and you will go back, because you’re too duty-bound to leave yet—you won’t be able to let him touch you without thinking of us."Julian took the glass from my hand and set it on the table. "You’re trembling, Ivy.""I’m scared," I admitted."Good," Dante said from behind the couch. His hands came down to rest on my shoulders, his fingers digging into the tension there. "Fear makes you feel alive. You’ve been dead for years, haven't you?"He was right. I had been a walking corpse in a designer dress."Show us," Silas commanded softly."Show you what?"" The fire." Silas leaned back, watching me. "Kiss Julian."My heart hammered against my ribs. "What?""You heard him," Julian sa

Chapter 5

Silas’s POVThe door clicked shut, severing the connection between us. The silence she left behind was louder than the music vibrating through the floorboards of The Abyss.I stared at the heavy oak door, my hand still tingling where I had touched her waist. Ivy. My best friend’s little sister. The forbidden fruit we had all sworn never to taste."She’s shaking," Julian murmured, breaking the silence. He was still staring at the spot where she had stood, his expression a mix of hunger and concern. "She was terrified.""She was alive," I corrected, walking back to the bar to pour three fingers of scotch. I didn't offer any to my brothers. They could get their own. "For the first time in six years, she was actually breathing."Dante pushed off the wall, his jaw tight. He paced the room like a caged tiger, the energy radiating off him enough to spark a fire. "We shouldn't have let her go, Silas. You saw her eyes. She wanted to stay. We could have taken her home. Kept her.""And then what

Chapter 6

Dante’s POVThe rain had started to fall, slicking the streets of the city with a sheen that reflected the neon lights like spilled oil. I gripped the steering wheel of the armored Range Rover, my knuckles white.Silas was in the passenger seat, laptop open, monitoring the audio feed from the bug we’d slapped on Ivy’s bumper. Julian was in the back, cleaning a knife, the rhythmic shhk-shhk sound the only noise in the cabin.We were parked three blocks away from the penthouse Ivy shared with that waste of oxygen."She’s inside," Silas said, his voice tight. "She just entered the code for the elevator."I stared at the building. It was a glass needle piercing the sky, a monument to wealth and pretension. I hated it. It was a cage for a bird that was meant to fly."Why are we waiting?" I gritted out. "We should be kicking down the door.""Patience, Dante," Silas murmured, though I could see the vein ticking in his jaw. "We need cause. We need her to realize she’s in danger. If we storm i