The morning sun streamed through gauzy curtains, casting golden shadows across Selena's bedroom. She stood before the mirror, one hand grazing the curve of her stomach. It was still flat, still unchanged but she knew. Inside her, everything was changing. Her heart was still racing from the night before, from Jace's hands, his mouth, his words. The scent of him lingered in the air: musk, heat, desire, and something unspoken. But now, he was gone.
A buzz from her phone on the nightstand jolted her.
Unknown Number:We need to talk. Rosewood Lounge. 1 PM.
She stared at the message, adrenaline coiling tight in her chest. The Rosewood Lounge wasn't a place for casual meetings. It was where secrets went to die or to be born. She pulled out a black wrap dress, one that whispered danger and allure, and paired it with blood-red heels. She smeared crimson across her lips. If someone was trying to rattle her, she'd show them how steel looked when polished.
Meanwhile Detective Jace Monroe sat in his office, the glow of surveillance footage flickering across his face. His mind wasn't on the screen it was on Selena. The way her skin tasted. The way her moans curled like silk in his ears. But more than that, her mystery gnawed at him. She wasn't just a lover she was the axis around which a dangerous truth spun.
A sharp knock at the door.
"Monroe," barked Captain Hill. "Drop the Kane case."
Jace arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
Hill leaned against the doorframe. "It's above your pay grade. And it's too personal. Word is, you're screwing the mistress."
Jace's expression didn't change, but a storm brewed beneath his calm surface. When Hill left, Jace grabbed his coat and his sidearm. He needed answers and he only trusted one person to give them, even if she was wrapped in lies.
The Rosewood Lounge was quiet at midday, the dim lighting wrapping the room in secrecy. Selena sat in a booth, wine glass untouched. Her body was coiled tight, every instinct on high alert. A man approached, sharp in a navy suit, confidence rolling off him like cologne.
"Selena," he greeted, sliding into the booth opposite her.
Her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
"I know Adrian. I know what he's done. And I know you're in over your head."
"Are you a journalist?" she asked, voice cool.
"I used to be. Now I trade in secrets." He leaned in. "And you're full of them."
Her lip curled. "Is this a warning or blackmail?"
He chuckled. "Neither. It's an opportunity. Give me the proof that Adrian's using offshore accounts to fund illegal operations in West Africa. I'll make sure your name never comes up."
"You're bluffing."
"I already have the transfers. But your story ties it all together."
Selena stood, fury simmering behind her eyes. "You don't know me."
"No," he said calmly, "but Adrian does. And he's already setting the trap."
Back in her apartment, Selena's composure cracked. Her heels clattered to the floor as she poured herself a drink with trembling hands. She knelt beside the bookshelf and pried loose a floorboard. There, hidden in a velvet pouch, was a flash drive. Her insurance policy.
A knock.
She opened the door to find Jace. His eyes swept over her, concern flickering behind his otherwise guarded gaze.
"You okay?" he asked.
"No," she whispered.
Without another word, she closed the door behind him. He stepped closer, and she reached for him, her lips brushing his. The kiss turned deeper, desperate.
"Selena" he murmured.
"I need this. I need you. Just... stay."
He didn't need convincing. He lifted her, carried her to the bedroom. The wrap dress slid off her body with practiced grace. Beneath it, she wore nothing. His breath caught.
Jace's hands were reverent, roaming over her as though rediscovering sacred ground. He kissed her neck, her breasts, her stomach, pausing there his lips lingering where new life was beginning. Then he rose and took her mouth with a hunger that left them both gasping.
Selena responded in kind, nails digging into his back, her thighs wrapping around him as he moved within her. They made love not just with bodies, but with truths unspoken fear, love, survival. He whispered her name like it was a prayer. She moaned his like a sin.
Afterward, tangled in sheets, she lay with her head on his chest. The beat of his heart was steady. Safe.
"I have something to tell you," she said.
"Tell me everything."
She did. The flash drive, the man from the lounge, the offshore accounts. The fact that Adrian might have been planning her downfall before she even loved him.
"And Vivienne?" Jace asked.
"She already knows."
In her secluded villa, Vivienne Kane stood before an ornate mirror, adjusting a diamond necklace. Her assistant read updates behind her.
"Selena met with a former investigative journalist at the Rosewood Lounge. Likely about the Royce Papers."
Vivienne's lips curved into a smile. "She's cracking."
"She's also with the detective. Monroe."
Vivienne paused. "Typical. Adrian never could resist a woman with secrets."
"What should we do?"
Vivienne walked to her study and opened a locked drawer. Inside was a sleek pistol and a red velvet box. She opened the box, revealing a black envelope marked with Adrian's private seal.
"Send this to my husband," she said, eyes gleaming. "Let's see how faithful his little whore is when the past comes back to bleed."
Back at Selena's apartment, Jace sat at her kitchen table, reviewing the flash drive's contents. His brow furrowed.
"This isn't just embezzlement," he muttered. "Adrian's funding paramilitary operations in oil-rich regions. This could start a goddamn war."
Selena leaned against the counter. "And I'm carrying his child."
Jace's head jerked up. "What?"
"I found out a week ago. I haven't told anyone. Not even him."
Jace stood, crossing the room in two strides. He cupped her face, searching her eyes.
"Are you trying to protect yourself with this?"
"No," she whispered. "I don't even know if I can protect the baby."
"You're not alone," he said firmly. "Adrian is dangerous. And now, you're my responsibility too."
There was a long silence. The kind that shifts the earth beneath two people.
Then Jace's phone buzzed.
Vivienne Kane's voice was cool, calculated. "Detective Monroe. Let's talk. Before my husband finds out what you've been doing with his plaything."
Jace's jaw clenched. "What do you want?"
"A deal. Immunity for evidence. But I only talk in person. And you bring Selena."
She hung up.
Jace turned to Selena. "Vivienne's making her move."
Selena nodded slowly. "Then we burn the board before she makes her play."
That night, they drove through the city's underbelly, headlights slicing through shadows. The air between them pulsed with more than tension it was electricity, the promise of reckoning.
They didn't speak. There was nothing left to say. Only to act.
And as they drove into the dark, the game of love, lies, and vengeance deepened with passion as their weapon, and betrayal at their backs.