Chapter 5 - THE CRACK IN THE ICERoman Calder stood on the other side of the rusted iron door, his palm pressed flat against the freezing steel.
When he heard Nora’s voice—weak, terrified, and apologizing to a nine-year-old boy for disappearing—something inside his chest shattered. It was a sound more violent than any gunshot, more destructive than any betrayal he had ever faced in the underworld.
For fourteen years, Roman had built an impenetrable fortress around his heart. He believed emotion was a liability, a weakness that invited a knife between the ribs. But hearing the sheer devastation in Nora's voice ripped away every layer of armor he possessed.
He didn't draw his gun. He drew a breath that sounded like a dying man’s gasp.
Inside the room, Evelyn turned toward the door just as the heavy iron slab blew inward with a deafening CRASH.
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The rusted hinges tore away from the concrete wall, sending sparks flying into the dim air.
Evelyn froze, her champagne-colored eyes widening in absolute horror as the silhouette of Roman Calder stepped into the light. His face was a mask of cold, unmitigated wrath, his eyes burning with a demonic fury that made the shadows themselves seem to cower.
