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"That wasn't a question,” he said.

She stiffened. "I'm not staying."

"You are tonight,” he said.

"You can't keep me here against my will,” she spat.

"No." His voice remained calm. "I can offer you protection."

"And if I refuse?" she asked.

Soren held her gaze. "I'll drive you back into the city."

Hope flickered across her face. "Really?"

"Yes,” he said.

The hope disappeared from her eyes as quickly as it had come. "What's the catch?” she asked.

“Just that within twenty-four hours, you'll be dead."

Silence settled between them. He wasn't threatening her. He was stating a fact, and she seemed to know it—he could see it in her eyes.

"I don't even know who you are,” she said.

"My name is Soren Kane." Recognition never came, and that worked for him because it meant that his reputation hadn't reached every corner of the city. "I'm not asking you to trust me."

She looked at him as though he'd grown another head. "That's surprising."

"I don't require trust,” he insisted.

"What do you require?" she asked.

Soren answered without hesitation. "Honesty."

She swallowed. "I don't lie."

"Everyone lies,” he said.

"I don't." For the first time that night, the corner of his mouth almost twitched because she believed that about herself.

"Come inside, Miss Brooks,” he ordered. She hesitated only a moment before following him toward the private elevator—not because she trusted him, but because every instinct she possessed had finally accepted the truth. Whatever darkness she'd stumbled into tonight, Soren Kane wasn't the only monster hunting her anymore.

Soren had spent most of his life making people afraid. Fear kept enemies predictable. It kept traitors honest, and it kept men alive. Lily Brooks, however, wasn't predictable. She sat at the opposite end of his twelve-seat dining table, staring at the bowl of homemade chicken soup Maria had placed in front of her as though it might bite her. She hadn't touched it, and Maria hovered nearby with her hands folded over her apron, giving Soren a pointed look that silently accused him of terrifying the poor girl.

He ignored her accusations, though. "Eat!” he shouted.

Lily's shoulders tensed. "I'm not hungry."

Maria sighed dramatically. "Sir, if I may⁠—"

Soren looked toward the older woman. "You may,” he said.

"She's in shock,” Maria insisted.

"I know,” he grumbled.

"Then barking orders probably isn't helping,” Maria said.