Chapter 9: Shadow of The KingThe air in the underground parking lot was cold—too cold.

  It seeped beneath my skin, creeping into my bones.

  Everything was silent.

  Not normal silence.

  But the kind that made you feel like the world had stopped just to watch what you’d do next.

  Ding.

  The elevator doors slid open.

  Kevin stepped inside without a word.

  I should’ve followed him.

  I should’ve let this night end.

  Should’ve let it all go.

  But my feet wouldn’t move.

  I was thinking—

  Or maybe I just wasn’t ready to swallow what had just happened.

  I wasn’t ready to accept that I was here.

  Kevin gnced at me from inside the elevator, one brow arching slightly.

  Like he already knew I’d stop.

  "Not coming?"

  His voice was even. Unbothered.

  I met his gaze, inhaling sharply—but the weight in my chest made it impossible to breathe.

  And before I could think, I asked—

  "What are you to Surn?"

  The moment those words left my mouth, the air shifted.

  It was as if I had just cracked open Pandora’s Box.

  There was no shutting it now.

  Kevin didn’t answer.

  Not right away.

  He just looked at me.

  And then—

  He stepped out of the elevator.

  I instinctively stepped back, but—

  Thud.

  My back hit the freezing concrete wall.

  I had never realized how open a parking lot could feel so… closed off.

  Kevin moved toward me.

  Not fast.

  Not slow.

  But deliberate.

  Every step seemed to erase the background noise.

  No hum of engines.

  No whir of ventition.

  No tires screeching against pavement.

  Just his footsteps—growing louder, heavier, sharper.

  Then, he raised an arm.

  Not to touch me—

  But to press a hand against the wall beside my head.

  Caging me in.

  Right here.

  Right where I had chosen to be.

  "Still curious about me?"

  His voice was low. Unshaken.

  It wasn’t a threat—

  But it made me reconsider everything.

  I thought I was breathing.

  I wasn’t sure anymore.

  Something pulsed in my chest. A tremor. A warning.

  But I held his gaze.

  "Should I be more afraid of you?"

  I didn’t know why I asked that.

  Maybe I spoke before I thought.

  Maybe it was the pull.

  The kind of pull that made no sense.

  Kevin’s lips curled at the edges—just slightly.

  Like he had been waiting for me to ask.

  "You’re only realizing that now?"

  It wasn’t an answer.

  It was a truth.

  Cold. Unapologetic. Unshakable.

  And I had no words to counter it.

  But I didn’t back down.

  I still wanted an answer.

  "Surn…" I inhaled deeply, then pressed forward. "What are you in it?"

  I needed to know what I was up against.

  Kevin went silent for a moment.

  Then— He spoke.

  Slow. Certain. Final.

  "If Jacklen is the lion…"

  My breath hitched.

  "I am the shadow that makes him a king."

  Everything stopped.

  I didn’t move.

  Didn’t blink.

  His words hit harder than any fist could.

  Kevin wasn’t just Jacklen’s right hand.

  He was something more.

  Something that made Jacklen untouchable.

  And I understood—

  Kevin was far more dangerous than I had ever thought.

  Then—

  Headlights fshed through the parking lot, stretching shadows across the wall.

  I turned slightly—just enough to catch our reflections in the car window.

  I saw myself.

  But I wasn’t sure if the girl staring back was still me.

  Kevin’s shadow cut through my own.

  I stared at it.

  Something in me was shifting.

  I knew, then—

  I wasn’t walking out of this game.

  Not anymore.

  I shut my eyes for a single heartbeat.

  Then, I looked at Kevin again.

  And I knew.

  I had already chosen to stay.

  I still remembered the way it felt in front of that elevator.

  The look in Kevin’s eyes that night—cold, commanding, full of shadows.

  "If Jacklen is the lion… I am the shadow that makes him a king."

  It wasn’t just a cim.

  It was the truth.

  I didn’t know when this all began.

  …Was it the night I found him bleeding in an alley?

  …The night he pulled me out of my ordinary life?

  …Or was it the moment I searched the name Surn?

  Either way, I was caught in their game.

  And tonight, I was about to learn—Kevin wasn’t the only pyer.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  The knocks came, steady and deliberate.

  I flinched.

  It was te.

  Who the hell would be knocking at this hour?

  I gnced at Kevin’s office door—still shut.

  He was either working…

  Or choosing not to care.

  The knocking came again. Louder. More insistent.

  I pressed my lips together.

  Then, slowly, I reached for the door.

  Click.

  The second the door swung open— I froze.

  I’d never seen him before.

  The man standing before me leaned against the doorway, hands stuffed casually in his pockets.

  He wore a salmon pink bzer that was so obnoxiously bright it felt out of pce here.

  Too casual.

  Too comfortable.

  Like he belonged in this space more than I did.

  His gaze slid over me.

  Not just looking—assessing.

  I hated the way it made me feel.

  "Knew it."

  The man exhaled a short chuckle, shaking his head.

  "Of course it’s a girl."

  I frowned instantly.

  Excuse me—what?

  Before I could respond, a familiar low voice cut in.

  "Took you long enough, mutt."

  Kevin.

  I turned to see him stepping out from the hallway, his sleeves rolled up just like this guy’s.

  His hair was slightly tousled, probably from leaning against the sofa earlier.

  But his eyes?

  They were locked onto the man at the door.

  Not surprised.

  Just... resigned.

  "Lee Davis."

  Lee Davis?

  My eyes flicked back to him.

  He was in that photo from Kevin’s yearbook—the one from St. Andreas.

  But in the picture, he had been grinning wide, carefree, like someone who could fit anywhere.

  And right now?

  He was here.

  Lee snorted, completely unfazed.

  "Wow. Miss me that much?"

  Kevin leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, exhaling slowly.

  "Not really. I just forgot to lock my door. Five more minutes and I would've had to change the locks."

  I blinked.

  …Were they—

  Were they bickering?

  It felt natural.

  Like they had known each other forever.

  But underneath it—

  There was tension. Calcuted tension.

  "Heard you got shot."

  I stiffened instantly.

  What?

  Lee arched a brow, smirking.

  "Damn. They missed, huh?"

  Heat surged up my spine.

  This was insane.

  I had seen Kevin bleeding out. I had touched his blood. I had watched him barely survive—

  And they were talking about it like it was a goddamn joke.

  "Not everyone’s got your aim."

  Kevin’s smirk was slight. I couldn’t tell if it was sarcasm or a real compliment.

  Should I say something?

  Should I be shocked? Should I ask what the hell was going on?

  But I knew… I wouldn’t get real answers.

  "You though…" Lee tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly. Studying Kevin.

  "You seem different."

  I felt it too.

  He wasn’t just looking at Kevin.

  He was looking for something.

  "You’ve been saying that since I switched colognes, Davis."

  Davis.

  That was the first time I’d heard Kevin call him that.

  "And?" Lee’s lips curled. "Has it been 24 hours yet?"

  My breath hitched.

  24 hours?

  I didn't get it right away.

  But when Lee’s smirk deepened—I did.

  He meant me.

  He thought I was Kevin’s—

  Heat rushed up my skin before I could stop it.

  "I’m not his."

  I said it instantly. Sharper than I meant to.

  Lee just chuckled, shaking his head.

  "Damn. Feisty one."

  He lifted a hand slightly—towards me.

  I was already stepping back when—

  "Davis."

  Kevin’s voice came zy, but cutting.

  "If you need something to touch so bad, I’ve got spare change for you to py with."

  Lee paused. Just for a second.

  Then—he ughed.

  "That’s new."

  I caught the shift in his tone.

  "You never used to care about shit like that."

  Lee wasn’t just messing around.

  He was testing Kevin.

  And I realized—

  I had just become a variable in their game.