Chapter 44

With a posture that screamed effortless elegance, Damien stood before the floor-to-ceiling window like a king surveying his domain, the glittering city lights sprawled beneath him like a canvas of temptation. “So…” Gavin casually perched on the edge of the desk, downed his glass of red in one go, then glanced at the man by the window. Grabbing the ornate box, he picked up the pendant inside and inspected it. “Why hasn’t the girl shown up to get this back? She nearly risked her life for it.” That girl wasn’t as delicate as she looked—when she went savage, even he felt a chill. Seriously, what a firecracker. “It’s not that she doesn’t want it,” Damien replied, eyes briefly flicking toward the pendant in Gavin’s hand, a smirk playing on his lips. “She’s just too smart. With everything going on, leaving it with me is the safest bet.” Gavin squinted at the green stone again and muttered, “Honestly? Doesn’t look that special to me. At best, it’s a top-grade emerald—maybe worth seventy mil, i