Chapter 47: Every Last Piece Of You

Elias’s grip tightened around the file, the weight of the name inside pressing against his chest like a slow-moving knife. The past had never truly let them go. It had only been waiting, circling like a predator, ready to strike the second they thought they were free. He should have known. He should have known there was always something lurking in the shadows. Lila was staring at him, waiting, her breath slow and steady, but her body was taut, her fingers curled into fists at her sides. She knew him too well, knew that whatever was in that file had just shattered whatever illusion of peace they had left. He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to release the file before his fingers crushed the edges. He turned to Harper. “Tell me everything.” Harper crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly. “You really want the long version?”

Elias didn’t blink. “I want the truth.” Harper sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Grayson and Dante weren’t just pulling strings for themselves. They were following orders. Higher up. Someone with more reach, more control, more power than either of them ever had.” She hesitated, flicking her gaze to Lila before settling it back on Elias. “And he’s been waiting for you.” Elias already knew the name before she said it. He felt it in his bones, in the deep, unshakable certainty that some ghosts never stayed buried. Lila’s breath hitched. “Who is it?” Harper exhaled sharply. “Killian Rhodes.” The world stilled. Lila sucked in a sharp breath, her hands trembling before she clenched them tight, shoving the reaction down. But Elias saw it. Felt it. Knew exactly what that name meant to her. To them. Killian Rhodes wasn’t just another enemy. He was the one who had almost destroyed her. Elias’s pulse slowed to something lethal, something dark curling in his stomach, twisting through his chest. If Killian was still alive, if he had been waiting for them, then that meant every second they had spent thinking they were free had been a lie. Lila straightened, her voice tight. Controlled. “Where is he?”

Harper hesitated. “We’re working on it.” Lila’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Then work faster.” Elias was already moving, already reaching for his gun, his mind clicking into place, strategy forming even as his blood burned with the need to destroy every last piece of the man who had once torn Lila apart. This wasn’t just another enemy. This was personal. Harper glanced between them, reading the room, then nodded once. “I’ll make the calls.” She left without another word, the door clicking shut behind her. And then it was just them.

The silence was thick, pressing in around them, filled with everything unsaid. Lila stood stiffly, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes locked on the floor. She was trying to hold it together. Trying to bury the fear, the pain, the history. Elias wasn’t going to let her. He stepped forward, slow, deliberate, until he was close enough to touch her, until he could feel the tension rolling off her in waves. “Lila.” She didn’t look at him.

His fingers brushed against her wrist, a light, grounding touch. “Talk to me.” She swallowed, her jaw tightening. “There’s nothing to say.” Elias exhaled slowly, his grip shifting, fingers threading through hers, squeezing just once. “Don’t do that.” She inhaled sharply, finally lifting her gaze to his, and the storm in her eyes hit him like a punch to the ribs. Raw. Unchecked. Bare. “He took everything from me,” she whispered, voice barely above a breath. “And now he’s back.”

Elias’s grip on her hand tightened. “He doesn’t get to take anything else.” Lila let out a shaky breath, her fingers curling into his. “What if he tries?” Elias lifted his other hand, brushing his thumb against her cheek, tracing the curve of her jaw, memorizing every inch of her skin. Soft. Warm. Alive. “Then I’ll kill him.” Her breath hitched, her body leaning into his instinctively, like she couldn’t help it, like he was the only thing keeping her tethered to reality. “You promise?” His lips brushed against her forehead, a whisper of a touch, a vow. “Always.”

Lila closed her eyes for a second, exhaling against him, and when she opened them again, something inside of her had shifted. The fear was still there, buried deep, but now there was something else. Something fierce. Something unbreakable. She lifted a hand, sliding it up his chest, her fingers pressing against his heartbeat. “Elias.” He tilted his head slightly, watching her, reading her, feeling the shift in the air between them. Then she kissed him. It wasn’t desperate, wasn’t rushed. It was deep. Slow. Consuming. A steady burn that ignited every nerve in his body, unraveling him piece by piece. Elias groaned against her mouth, his hands tightening at her waist, pulling her closer, always closer. She pressed up against him, her body molding to his, her arms wrapping around his neck, anchoring herself to him. She was fire and fury and everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever needed. His lips moved against hers, slow and devastating, like he had all the time in the world to memorize the way she tasted.

Lila sighed against his mouth, and it sent something dark and hungry curling through his chest. His hands slid lower, gripping the back of her thighs, lifting her against him. She let out a soft gasp as her legs wrapped around his waist, her fingers tangling in his hair, tugging, pulling, wrecking him in the way only she could. He carried her to the bed, lowering her down, his body pressing against hers, the heat between them unbearable. She looked up at him, her lips parted, her breath unsteady, her eyes filled with something raw and real and his. Elias pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, then lower, trailing his lips down her throat, across her collarbone, his hands mapping every inch of her skin, relearning her, worshipping her. “Elias,” she whispered, her voice wrecked. He lifted his head, his gaze locking onto hers, his breath heavy. “I’m right here.” Her fingers brushed against his jaw, tracing, memorizing. “You always are.” And then she pulled him back down, into her, into the fire, into everything that had always been inevitable between them. Because no matter what happened, no matter what war they had to fight, this was theirs. And no one would ever take it from them again.