Chapter 10 GAME OF FIRE

Perfect. Let's dive into **Chapter Nine** of *Murder, She Desired*-where danger draws closer, seduction becomes a weapon,

Eva could feel the weight of every eye in the club.

The music throbbed like a second heartbeat-low, pulsing, predatory. The air smelled of sweat, whiskey, and lust. And in the center of it all, she stood in a crimson silk dress that clung to her like sin.

This wasn't her world. Not before Dominic. But tonight, it was her stage.

She moved through the haze like smoke-confident, hypnotic. Every step, every glance, a performance. She wasn't the girl who cleaned up after murders anymore.

She was the *trap.*

And Leon Rivera was about to step into it.

From across the room, Dominic watched her like a man possessed.

Hidden in the shadows above the VIP section, dressed in black, earpiece in his ear, gun strapped beneath his jacket. He didn't blink as she walked straight into the lion's den.

"She's in position," Rhys muttered from beside him, eyes flicking to the feed on the tablet.

Dominic didn't respond. He couldn't. Not when Eva looked like that.

Like danger dressed in red. Like temptation weaponized.

She spotted Leon near the back-surrounded by men in tailored suits, a drink in his hand, smile like a serpent. He hadn't seen her yet.

Good.

She made sure he would.

Her hips swayed with every step as she approached the bar, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She ordered something cold and sweet, then turned just enough to catch Leon's eye.

It didn't take long.

He froze mid-laugh. His gaze locked on her like prey on a trigger.

And then he smiled.

"Eva?" he said, sliding beside her like they were just two strangers reunited by fate instead of betrayal.

She blinked, played confused. "Leon?"

"Damn," he said, laughing softly. "Didn't expect to see *you* here."

"I could say the same."

He leaned in, scent of expensive cologne and power curling around her throat. "Still wearing red for me?"

She smirked, sipping her drink. "Maybe I just remembered what you like."

Dominic clenched his fists from above. "Rhys-"

"She's fine," Rhys said, eyes on the screen. "She's playing him like a violin."

"Too well."

Back at the bar, Leon chuckled. "You look... incredible."

"You don't look bad yourself," Eva said, eyes flicking over him. "New suit. New swagger. Guess things are going well."

"Let's just say business is booming." He leaned closer. "But I've missed you."

She laughed softly. "Liar."

"Maybe. But I haven't forgotten how good we were together."

His hand touched her waist. She didn't flinch.

She leaned in. "Prove it."

Leon's breath hitched-he wasn't expecting that.

He nodded to the private booth at the back. "Come with me."

Eva slid off the stool, every movement deliberate. She let her hand graze his chest as they walked past the crowd, letting the rhythm of the music disguise the tension between them.

Dominic's voice crackled in her earpiece.

"Eva. You don't have to go further."

She touched her hair-her signal that she was in control.

Because she *wanted* to go further.

She needed Leon to drop his guard.

The booth was dark, velvet-lined, shadows hiding sins. Leon ordered a bottle of something expensive and poured it with steady hands. But his eyes were on her like a wolf licking its lips.

"You look dangerous tonight," he said, sliding closer.

"Maybe I am," she replied.

He reached for her thigh, fingers brushing the slit in her dress. "I missed this mouth," he whispered.

She grabbed his tie and yanked him closer, her lips brushing his. "Then shut up and use it."

Their mouths collided.

Hot. Desperate. Filthy.

Eva kissed him like a woman starving-like she wanted him to forget every reason to be suspicious. Her hands tangled in his hair, her body sliding into his lap, grinding just enough to make him groan.

From above, Dominic's pulse was a war drum.

"Jesus," Rhys muttered. "She's good."

Dominic didn't speak. Couldn't. He wanted to be the one down there. He wanted to drag Leon out by the throat. But this was *her* plan.

And God help him, she was *perfect* at it.

Back in the booth, Leon's hand slid under her dress. She let him. She moaned into his mouth, then whispered against his jaw.

"You remember how I used to talk when I came?" she breathed. "How I'd whisper all my secrets?"

He smiled, drunk on lust. "I remember everything."

"Good," she purred.

Her hand slid into his jacket, past the holster, and found his phone.

Unlocked with a thumbprint.

She lifted it, angled it, and whispered: "Because I remember *everything* too."

Leon froze.

His eyes widened-but it was too late. She'd already activated the recorder. Already hit *send*.

Dominic's voice filled his ear-clear, sharp, deadly.

"Smile for the camera, Rivera. Because this is your final performance."

Leon went for his gun.

But Eva was faster.

She slammed her knee between his legs and pulled her own blade from her garter. Pressed it to his throat.

"Try it," she whispered, breath hot on his ear. "And I'll cut the lies out of your mouth."

"Bitch-"

"Wrong word," she hissed. "Try *queen.*"

Leon's body went slack.

"Now," she said sweetly. "Tell the mic under this table all about the Castillo shipments you're laundering. Start with the one coming through Pier 13 tomorrow night."

He glared at her. But the knife at his throat didn't flinch.

And neither did her hand.

"I'll kill you for this," he growled.

"No," Dominic said, stepping out of the shadows behind him, gun drawn. "*I* will."

Leon spun, too late. Dominic slammed him into the table and twisted the gun from his hand.

"You really thought you could use her?" he said, voice deadly soft. "That you could *touch* her?"

"She was mine first," Leon spat.

Dominic pistol-whipped him across the face.

"No," he growled. "She was never yours."

Eva stood slowly, dress riding high, blood on her thigh not her own. She looked down at Leon, broken and bleeding.

Then she walked to Dominic-and kissed him.

Hard.

Hot.

Messy.

He grabbed her hips and pulled her into him like it was the last time. Like he didn't care who watched. Like he wanted Leon to see what it *meant* to belong to someone real.

"You okay?" he asked, voice rough against her mouth.

"Better than okay," she whispered. "That was fun."

"You're insane."

She smiled. "You love it."

He dragged her into the back corridor, past flashing lights and stunned onlookers, until they hit the emergency exit.

Outside, the alley was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then came the sound of tires screeching. Headlights flared.

And the sharp echo of a *sniper shot.*

They hit the ground just as the bullet cracked into the wall behind them.

Dominic rolled over her, shielding her body, gun in hand.

"Rhys-*we've got company!*"

"I see them," Rhys growled in the comm. "Two black SUVs. Automatic fire. This is a hit."

Dominic pulled Eva to her feet.

"We're not done."

"I didn't think we were," she said, brushing blood from her lip.

Another bullet missed by inches. They ducked behind a dumpster as gunfire rained down.

"Guess Leon wasn't working alone," she muttered.

"No," Dominic said. "This is *Castillo.* They're cleaning house."

"You think they know I flipped him?"

"I think they know *we're winning.*"

A grenade clinked onto the concrete nearby.

Eva didn't even blink.

She grabbed it and hurled it back before it detonated in the street.

The explosion lit the night in fire and chaos.

And in the middle of it all, Dominic looked at her like she wasn't just a woman.

She was *war.*

And maybe that was what scared him most.

The explosion's shockwave rang in Eva's ears as Dominic pulled her down the alley, weaving through smoke and chaos. Sirens wailed in the distance-too far to help, too late to matter.

Gunfire spat from the rooftops. Eva ducked behind a pile of crates as bullets split the air inches from her head.

"This was supposed to be a clean extraction," she panted.

Dominic reloaded beside her. "Welcome to my world, baby."

She almost laughed-*almost.* Then two black-clad men rounded the corner with assault rifles aimed straight at them.

"Down!" Dominic barked, shoving her flat to the ground.

He fired. Once. Twice.

Two bodies dropped.

Eva stared at them-at the blood, the stillness-and felt nothing. No panic. No fear.

Just a cold, sharp *clarity.*

She grabbed one of their guns and checked the mag like she'd done it a hundred times.

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Remind me to ask where you learned that."

"Long story," she said, rising to her feet.

"We'll swap war stories after we're not being hunted."

They bolted through the maze of alleys, ducking behind dumpsters, scaling fences. Eva's heels snapped off somewhere along the way, but she didn't stop.

"Vehicle's two blocks north," Rhys said in their earpieces. "But you've got four heat signatures closing from the west. Armed. Not amateurs."

"We noticed," Dominic growled.

They reached the street-just as another black SUV barreled around the corner.

"Go!" he shouted, shoving her behind a parked car.

He raised his weapon-fired into the windshield. The driver slumped. The SUV slammed into a pole, metal screeching as sparks exploded.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand.

They ran.

Bullets chased them across asphalt and glass. Eva's lungs burned. Her thighs ached. But Dominic's grip never loosened. He led her through a side entrance into an abandoned metro station-graffiti, shadows, dripping water.

"Wait," she said suddenly, breathless. "Stop."

Dominic turned, eyes scanning.

"I know this place," she said. "I cleaned here... months ago."

That detail hit like a bullet to his chest. Because that meant-

"They've been watching you longer than we thought," he said grimly.

Her face paled, but only for a second.

"Then they'll know we're coming."

They took the back tunnels, emerging near a warehouse Eva didn't recognize. A blacked-out SUV idled outside.

Rhys leaned out the window. "About time."

They jumped in. The second the door slammed shut, tires screeched and the SUV peeled away into the night.

Inside, silence.

Dominic's hand found Eva's thigh. She looked down, covered in blood and dust, and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"You okay?" he asked, voice low.

"Yeah," she said. "But I don't think this ends with just Leon."

"It doesn't," Rhys said from the front. "Castillo won't let this slide."

Eva leaned back, closed her eyes, adrenaline still pulsing through her veins.

She'd kissed Leon. Lied to him. Betrayed him. Then helped bring his empire to its knees.

And through it all, one thing kept her grounded-*Dominic.*

She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"What happens now?" she asked.

Dominic studied her for a long moment, then leaned in.

He kissed her-not like the earlier fire, not like lust.

This was slower. Deeper.

Like a promise.

"What happens now," he said, "is that we burn every last one of them to the ground."

Eva smiled.

Because she believed him.

And because maybe, just maybe...

She wanted to strike the final match herself.

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