Clair adjusted the slim silk dress Austin had picked for her. She stood in front of the mirror, hands shaking slightly as she ran her fingers through her curls. The neckline was bold, the back nearly non-existent, and the slit exposed enough leg to draw every eye in the room. But this was not just a night out.
This was bait.
Austin's enemies had eyes everywhere, and Elias had proven he was watching. Tonight was their trap.
The gala was held at the prestigious Nightfall Hotel in Manhattan, a charity event hosted by the elite for the elite. Security was tight, but not tight enough to keep out a ghost like Elias Montgomery.
Clair's heels clicked across the marble as she entered the ballroom. Chandeliers shimmered overhead. Dozens of New York's most powerful whispered and danced, wine glasses in hand, secrets in their eyes.
Austin had disappeared into the crowd, watching from a distance.
Marco was posted on the balcony.
Clair was alone.
Exactly how Elias wanted her.
She drifted toward the open bar. Ordered a sparkling water.
"Not drinking?" a voice said beside her.
It was velvet and dangerous.
She turned.
And froze.
He was taller than Austin. Leaner. Piercing ice-blue eyes that mirrored Austin's but without the warmth. His suit was custom, black on black, and he wore a blood-red rose pinned to his chest.
"Who are you?" she asked, though she already knew.
Elias smiled slowly. "The better question is who could I be to you?"
Clair's heart pounded. She glanced around the room, but no one paid them any attention.
"Don't bother," Elias said smoothly. "Your guard on the balcony has already been neutralized. Austin is being detained. This moment, right here, is just for us."
"You won't hurt him," she said.
Elias chuckled. "Of course not. That would be far too simple. You see, Clair, I don't want to kill my brother. I want to take everything he has. And that includes you."
He leaned closer.
"I know about your son."
Clair's face tightened.
"There is no son," she said.
"Not yet. But your future is already written, Clair. And I'm going to rewrite it."
"You're insane."
"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "But I'm winning."
He slid a card onto the bar top.
An invitation.
A symbol embossed in gold.
"Come to me willingly and I'll spare him. Choose him and I'll burn everything to the ground. Including that precious child of yours."
Clair's nails dug into her palm.
Before she could respond, he was gone.
Like smoke.
Austin appeared moments later, fury in every step.
"Are you okay?"
"He was here," she said. "Elias. He wants me."
Austin's face darkened.
"He threatened the baby, Austin. The one we haven't even had yet."
He grabbed her hand.
"Then we end this. Now."
The plan was set within hours.
Clair would pretend to accept Elias's invitation. Marco would lead a team to track her.
But something was off.
Clair felt it the moment they left the safety of the safehouse.
In the shadows, someone was watching.
It wasn't Elias.
It was someone closer.
Someone trusted.
The car she rode in pulled up to an abandoned cathedral.
She stepped out, gown fluttering in the wind.
Inside, candles lined the aisles. Music played from unseen speakers.
And Elias waited at the altar.
"You came," he said, smiling like the devil himself.
Clair stepped forward. "Only to hear you out."
"I don't want to kill you, Clair. I want to save you. From him. From his world."
"I don't need saving," she snapped.
He held up a tablet.
On the screen was security footage.
Austin. Torturing a man in a bloodstained room.
"Is this the father of your child?" Elias asked softly. "Is this the man you want raising your future?"
Clair swallowed.
It was real. But it was old.
And that man had hurt Austin's mother.
"You don't know him," she said.
Elias stepped closer. "I know enough. And I know you. You're not like them. You bake. You heal. You care. Come with me and I'll build you a life. No blood. No fear. Just freedom."
It almost sounded believable.
Almost.
But Clair had learned something.
Freedom meant nothing if it came from a lie.
Behind them, a gun cocked.
And Marco stepped from the shadows.
Only he wasn't pointing the weapon at Elias.
He was pointing it at her.
"Sorry, Clair," he said. "He made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
Double agent.
Clair's heart broke.
"Put the gun down, Marco," Austin's voice roared from behind the doors.
He stepped into the church with a dozen armed men.
Elias laughed.
"Well," he said, "I guess the party's over."
Gunfire exploded.
The pews shattered.
Marco fired first, hitting one of Austin's men.
Clair dove behind the altar.
Austin tackled Elias.
They fought hand-to-hand, brutal and fast.
Blood sprayed.
Glass shattered.
Clair picked up Marco's dropped weapon.
He lunged at her.
She fired.
He fell.
Elias grabbed a knife. Slashed at Austin's side.
But Austin didn't flinch.
He slammed his fist into Elias's jaw. Again. Again.
Until Elias stopped moving.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
The church burned.
Clair stood beside Austin, covered in smoke and ash.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Wasn't sure I'd make it," she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her.
"You're not going anywhere."
The world knew now.
The Montgomery brothers.
The woman who stood between them.
And the war that ended in fire.