For one stretched-out second, nobody did anything. The safe house had been silent moments before, but now the tension between them was thick enough to cut through.
Julian Calloway. On their doorstep. Alone.
Dante's hold on the door became more secure, his face unexpressive. "You've got five seconds to tell me why you're here before I drive a bullet through your head."
Julian let out a hard breath, holding up his hands in a gesture of capitulation. "I'm not here to fight.
"Bullshit." Valerie had leapt up, a knife clutched in her palm, ready to throw. For once, Lucas was dead serious, his smirking gone, replaced with a wary glint in his eye.
Raven, meanwhile, was still processing. Julian Calloway—the golden boy of one of the deadliest families in the city—looked like hell. His usually perfect suit was damp from the rain, his dark curls disheveled, and there was a fresh bruise forming along his jaw.
He looked… desperate.
And that scared her more than anything.
Dante didn't lower his gun. "You've got three seconds now."
Julian's jaw tightened. "I need your help."
A cold, acidic laugh escaped Dante. "That's rich. Really. Because last I knew, your whole family wishes us dead."
Julian winced. It was slight, but Raven caught it.
"I'm not here for them," Julian replied, his voice strained. "I'm here because—" He paused, his eyes darting to Raven for a split second before he returned them to Dante. "Because if I stay, I'm dead."
That got everyone's attention.
Lucas whistled low. "Wow. You're really selling yourself here, man."
Julian glared at him before returning to Dante. "I can assist you. I know things—things about my family no one else knows. But if they discover I'm even speaking with you—" He inhaled sharply, his head shaking. "I have no place else to be."
The room fell quiet for an extended moment.
Then, at last, Dante dropped his gun. Just a little bit. "And why the hell should we trust you?"
Julian's face turned stern. "Because my father just commanded my execution."
Raven's breath caught.
Lucas's eyebrows flew up. "Damn. What'd you do? Spill wine on his favorite suit?"
Julian did not even look at him. His eyes were fixed on Dante's. "I know that you don't trust me. I wouldn't trust me, either. But if you don't open up to me, I'm dead by dawn. And so's anyone else that gets in the way of my father."
Dante kept quiet, eyes furrowed in intense concentration.
Raven stepped forward. "And what do you want from us, exactly?"
Julian faced her then, something unreadable dancing in his eyes. "A chance."
Raven felt a cold feeling nestle in her stomach.
A Calloway seeking assistance? That was unheard of. And if Julian was being honest—if his family actually had betrayed him—then this was bigger than they'd known.
Dante let out a harsh breath before taking a step back, swinging the door fully open. "Make one misstep, and you'll regret it in a very bad way."
Julian nodded tightly before entering.
The door closed behind him softly click.
And then, in an instant, everything was different.
Got it! Here's the next chapter with that dynamic in mind.
---
The tension inside the safe house was palpable as Julian Calloway stood dripping on the doorstep, his sharp features etched with weariness and something darker—desperation.
Lucas, arms folded, leaned against the wall, observing his cousin as if he were a fascinating science experiment. "Haven't seen you in ages, Jules. Figured you were too busy being Daddy's golden boy to slum it with us traitors."
Julian let out a harsh breath. "Not in the mood for your crap, Lucas."
Dante, still holding his gun, let out a humorless laugh. "You don't get to have a mood. You show up without warning, tell us your own father wants to kill you, and expect us to believe it? You might be here to spy for him."
Julian's jaw locked. "You think I'd come here just for that?"
"I think you'd do whatever it takes to survive," Dante retorted.
There was a silence that fell between them, a heavy and oppressive one.
Raven, who had been sitting on the couch observing, finally exhaled deeply and got up. "Okay, since nobody else is going to say it—can someone tell me why nobody ever brought up the fact that Julian freaking Calloway is a cousin of you two?" She pointed between Dante and Lucas as if the whole thing was absurd.
Lucas grinned. "Technically, he's our cousin. But unfortunately." Rira
Julian's glare could have sliced steel. "Believe me, the feeling's mutual."
Both of them ignored him, still glaring Julian as if a wolf weighing whether or not to bite. "If your father genuinely wants you dead, what did you do?"
Julian's expression didn't change. "I began to ask the wrong questions."
Lucas whistled softly. "And here I thought you were Daddy's favorite.
"Turns out that title has an expiration date," Julian grumbled.
Dante's fingers tightened around the gun. "So why are you here? Why are you coming to *us*?"
"Because I know you're going to take down my father," Julian said bluntly. "And I want in."
Dead silence.
Then, Lucas began laughing.
"Oh, this is *rich*," he said through laughs. "Julian Calloway, the heir to the family fortune, wants to betray his country with *us*?"
Julian's eyes grew black. "It's not treason if he's planning to kill me first."
Dante rubbed his temple as though he was about to get a headache. "And what, you think we'll just trust you? That we'll ever forget all those times you hung with your dad when he tried to murder *us*?"
Julian looked back at him, some kind of remorse flickering through his turbulent eyes. "I didn't have a choice back then."
Dante's face was frosty. "You always have a choice.
For the first time, Julian glanced away.
Raven examined him closely. She had been around enough liars and murderers to recognize when a person was pretending desperation. But Julian? He wasn't pretending. His shoulders were too rigid, his fists too clenched, as if he was keeping himself together by will alone.
Lucas's eyebrow went up. "So, what's the plan, cousin? Crash here, drink some whiskey, bond with us over our daddy problems?"
Julian shot him a dry look. "I don't require bonding. I require allies."
Dante laughed. "You're at the wrong door then.
Julian edged closer. "I know where he keeps his off-the-books accounts. I know who his real enforcers are, not the ones he parades around for show. I know things you *need*."
Dante didn't say anything, but Raven didn't miss the way his fingers curled at his side.
He was thinking about it.
Lucas let out a dramatic sigh. "Welp, I vote we let him stay. If he tries to kill us in our sleep, at least it'll be entertaining."
Dante shot him a warning look, but Lucas just grinned.
Raven crossed her arms. "One condition."
Julian turned to her. "What?"
"You answer all the questions we have. No half-truths. No bullshit. If we so much as *think* you're playing both sides, Dante gets to shoot you."
Dante nodded. "Gladly."
Julian took a slow breath, then nodded. "Fine."
Dante still glared as if he'd love to put a bullet between Julian's eyes. But after a long moment, he finally backed off, gesturing toward the vacant chair.
"Sit."
Julian did.
And just like that, the Calloway family civil war officially had a new player.