Chapter 15: Room 709
The ride to The Pearl was... rough.
Silent. Thick with tension. Elias sat like a statue, staring at rain crawling down the window like tears on a face. Damien didn't say a word. Not about the wrecked apartment. Not about the kiss. Not even a damn grunt.
Just drove.
Elias swallowed. "You're still pissed."
Damien's eyes stayed locked on the road. "Pissed? Nah. That's not the word."
Red light. Slammed brakes. Elias jerked forward, heart jumping.
"Don't finish that sentence," Damien snapped, gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles looked dead. "Don't make it worse."
Elias shut up.
They pulled up to The Pearl. Real fancy place. But even the gold sign looked haunted today. Cops stood around like they were bored. Tape flapping in the wind. Like a murder was just... routine now.
Room 709 was a crime scene in high heels.
Blood on the sheets. Mirror cracked. Lipstick message scrawled across it: BEAUTY DIES.
And the smell? Too sweet. Like someone tried to cover death with perfume.
Officer on duty looked like he'd rather be at lunch. "Jamie Luan. Nineteen. Escort. Last seen with Senator Musk's brat."
Damien didn't even look at him. "And I'm guessing he's already halfway out the back door with daddy's lawyers."
The cop flinched. Said nothing.
Damien crouched near the bed, scanning everything like a predator. Elias moved toward the nightstand. Drawer open. Lip gloss. Torn condom wrapper. Pin.
Then he spotted something under the mattress.
He reached in. Pulled out a scrap of paper. Just one sentence, scribbled fast, messy:
"I told you no."
Damien stood slowly. His voice was low. "He tried to say no. Someone didn't care."
Elias felt sick. "I don't wanna get used to this."
Damien didn't even look at him. "Then stop kissing people who help you forget."
That one hit hard.
Elias looked away.
---
Hospital.
Sterile halls. Fluorescent lights. Elias's heart still hadn't settled.
Cassian was propped up in bed, color back in his cheeks, like he hadn't almost died.
"You look like shit," Cassian grinned. "Guess it's been a day."
Elias stepped closer, throat tight. "I thought I lost you."
"You didn't."
Pause.
Elias kissed him.
Soft. Not desperate. Just... real.
Cassian didn't push him away. Just took his hand. Squeezed.
Click.
Outside the door, someone took a photo.
---
Later. Damien's apartment.
It looked like a hurricane hit.
Glass everywhere. Broken shelves. Whiskey spilled. A whole-ass war zone.
In the middle stood Damien.
Covered in his own blood.
In his hand? A photo.
Elias and Cassian. Kissing.
His phone buzzed.
He picked up without checking.
"See the picture?" a voice said. Smooth. Cold. "Now maybe you'll back off and let the boy go."
Damien's voice shook. "This your idea of a game?"
"Don't be dramatic—"
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" he roared, hurling the phone across the room. "You think this'll scare me? I'll burn this whole f***ing city down before I let anyone touch him again."
Voice cracked. "He's mine. Not yours. Not your pawn. Mine."
---
Elias stepped into the wreckage.
Glass crunched under his shoes.
No hello. No warning. Damien just handed him a broom like it was some kind of punishment.
Then:
"You kissed him."
Elias froze.
"You kissed him," Damien said again, laughing without humor. "Cassian. After everything."
Elias looked down. "You don't own me."
"I protect you."
"Yeah? From who? Yourself?"
Damien stepped in. Fast. Close. "You think this is about control?"
He grabbed Elias's wrist—tight, but not rough. Not yet.
Elias pulled away. "What do you want, Damien?"
Damien looked like he wanted to scream and collapse at the same time. "I want you to stop making me feel like this."
"Like what?"
"Like I'd kill anyone who touches you. Like I can't breathe unless I know you're okay. Like I'm losing my goddamn mind."
Elias blinked. "Wait. Are you saying you—"
Damien cut him off with a bitter laugh. "Don't act surprised. But hey, I get it now. You want someone softer. Sweeter. Someone like Cassian."
"Cassian's kind," Elias said, voice shaking. "He doesn't mess with my head."
"Yeah?" Damien's voice cracked. "But he couldn't keep you alive, could he? I did that."
Elias swallowed hard. "You scare me, Damien."
That shut everything up.
Damien went quiet. Real quiet.
He picked up a photo of Elias from the floor. One of the only things not smashed to hell. Just stared at it.
Buzz.
His phone lit up again.
Unknown number.
"He was meant to die. Stay out of this."