Chapter 537
Chapter 537:
“Is that a threat?” Dominic’s voice pitched up an octave.
“It’s a weather forecast,” Lucian said. “Look around you. My men are on edge. They’ve lost their home base. They’re looking for someone to blame. Don’t volunteer p>
Silence stretched, taut as piano wire. Then came a heavy sigh.
“Fine,” Dominic spat. “But you fix this. Fix her. If she dies before you get the encryption key out of her head, you’re useless to me p>
“Get out,” Lucian ordered.
The door opened and closed with a definitive thud.
Skye waited. She counted ten heartbeats. The room was silent, but she knew he was still there. She could feel his eyes on her face, tracing her features like a map he wanted to burn.
“You can stop pretending now,” Lucian said. His voice was right next to her ear.
Skye didn’t flinch. She opened her eyes slowly, letting her lashes flutter as if struggling against a heavy weight. She focused on the ceiling first, white tiles, a water stain in the corner, before letting her gaze slide to him.
Lucian was sitting on the edge of the mattress. He looked like a fallen angel who had crawled out of hell only to realize he missed the fire. His shirt was wrinkled, and the bandages on his neck, from where Alistair had grazed him, were stark white against his tanned skin. But his eyes were dark, empty pits.
“He’s gone?” Skye rasped. Her throat felt like she’d swallowed glass.
“Dominic has a low tolerance for drama,” Lucian said. He reached out, his fingers closing around her chin. His grip was firm, possessive. “Unlike me. I seem to thrive on it p>
He tilted her head back, forcing her to look at him. “You’re a good actress, Skye. The fainting spell? A nice touch. Almost had the doctor fooled p>
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Skye whispered, trying to pull away.
He didn’t let go.
“Don’t insult me.” Lucian’s thumb pressed against her carotid artery, feeling the pulse that betrayed her calm facade. “You were listening. Every word p>
He leaned closer, his breath smelling of scotch and mint. “You ruined a thirty-billion-dollar deal, Skye. Dominic was going to fund the rebuilding of the casino. Now he’s getting cold feet because of your little stunt with the drive p>
𝖮𝖿𝘧iс𝗶а𝗅 𝘀оu𝗋cе o𝖿 𝗍𝘩𝗶ѕ ո𝗼v𝘦𝘭 𝗼𝘯 𝘣e.𝖼𝗼𝗆
“I saved you,” Skye said. The words were a gamble, thrown into the dark.
Lucian froze. His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me p>
“Dominic,” Skye said, her voice gaining strength. She pushed herself up on her elbows, ignoring the dizziness that swirled in her head. “He’s broke, Lucian p>
Lucian stared at her. “He’s the CEO of ThorneCorp. He has assets p>
“He has debt,” Skye corrected, a cold smile touching her lips.
She reached for the tablet lying on the bedside table, Lucian’s tablet. She unlocked it; he hadn’t changed the passcode since she saw him type it in the car. 1013. The date of his mother’s death.
She tapped the screen, pulling up a financial news ticker she had memorized from her operations as Oracle. She knew Dominic’s timeline. She knew exactly when his house of cards was due to fall, because she was the one who had pulled the bottom card.
“Look,” she said, shoving the screen toward him. “ThorneCorp’s quarterly earnings are a fabrication. He’s leveraging his personal assets to cover the corporate losses. His cash flow is non-existent. I should know. My holding company owns his debt p>
Lucian looked at the screen, then back at her. He didn’t understand the nuances of the numbers, not like she did. He was a predator of violence, not finance.