I recognized my ex-husband Marcus the second he stepped out of room 1402 at the Grand Monarch Hotel, holding hands with his new fiancé.
The delivery van reeked of stale coffee and cheap air freshener. It was parked two blocks from the Grand Monarch, tucked away behind a laundromat with a perpetually flickering “OPEN” sign.
Devonne sat in the driver’s seat, his profile etched by the streetlights filtering through the rain-streaked windshield.
He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles looked white against his dark skin.
“Tasha Williams,” he said, the name a low growl. “Marcus’s fiancé. She booked the room.”
I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat.
“Room 1402,” I murmured. “How could she know?”
Devonne shook his head, looking out at the empty street.
“She didn’t know it was you, Lisa. Not directly. She used Duke’s corporate account to book it. That’s the kicker.”
My mind raced, the pieces clicking into place with a sickening thud. The Grand Monarch was part of a chain Duke had silent investments in. Every corporate booking, every VIP reservation, went straight to his internal security system.
“His automated network,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my belly. “It flagged me. Not Marcus. Me.”
It wasn’t a coincidence, not fate, not some random twist of the universe. It was a digital tripwire. Tasha, in her ambition, had just handed Duke my location on a silver platter.
“He knows you’re alive, Lisa,” Devonne said, turning to face me. His eyes were shadowed, filled with an urgency that made my stomach clench. “He knows where to look now. We need to go. Leave the state. Tonight.”
He reached for my hand, his touch steady and reassuring.
But I pulled away. My eyes scanned the rain-slicked street, a sudden, cold resolve hardening my gaze.
“No,” I said, the word coming out sharper than I intended. “This changes everything.”
Devonne frowned, a line appearing between his brows. “What are you talking about? He’ll send every enforcer he has.”
“He’s overconfident,” I countered, the plan forming rapidly in my mind. “He thinks he cornered me. But he doesn’t know about Malik’s files. Or the leverage.”
A grim smile touched my lips. “He thought he was hunting me down. But Tasha just dropped me right back into his game. And now I have a playing field.”
Devonne looked at me, a long, assessing stare. He knew that look. It was the same one Malik used to get when he was about to do something reckless, something brave.
“We move now,” I told him, my voice firm. “But not away. We move in.”
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