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Chapter Sixteen
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2025-04-18 17:16:49“You’re staring,” I murmured, stretching across the bed.
Jillian leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes hot and fixed on me like I was his personal obsession. “Can you blame me?”
I smiled, letting the silk sheet slide lower down my chest. “I’m surprised you’re still here. Thought you’d be out chasing shadows by now.”
“I should be.”
“But?”
His voice dropped. “I’d rather be here.”
I tilted my head. “That’s unlike you.”
“I’m becoming unlike me.” He walked forward slowly, each step deliberate. “You did that.”
I sat up. “And what are you going to do about it?”
He knelt on the bed, brushing hair from my face. “Make the most of the time I have before everything explodes.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Then stop wasting it.”
He kissed me, slow and deep, with a desperation that tasted like regret before it even happened. Like he knew something I didn’t. His fingers brushed my spine, and I arched into him instinctively, feeling the heat between us spike like fire on dry wood.
“Don’t ever let me lose you,” he whispered into my skin.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
His breath hitched, but he didn’t answer. He just held me tighter.
Later, with his arms still wrapped around me, I whispered, “Why won’t you let me fight?”
Jillian was silent for a moment. “Because if something happened to you, I’d burn the world down.”
I turned my face to his. “Maybe that’s exactly what Alyssa’s counting on.”
“She thinks she knows me.”
“She does know you. At least the old you.”
“And what—” he lifted my chin gently— “do you know that she doesn’t?”
I let my fingers run down his bare chest. “That you want to protect something soft for once.”
He looked at me like I’d spoken a truth he hadn’t realized until now.
The next morning, I found myself in the library.
Alone.
Until someone cleared their throat behind me.
“I thought I’d find you here,” a familiar female voice said.
I turned slowly.
Alyssa.
But no, not her.
Maya.
She worked with the Colberts. Quiet. Background. Too quiet.
“What do you want?” I asked carefully, my posture still.
“I wanted to talk. Without the men.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’ve never spoken to me before.”
“Because I wasn’t sure you’d last long.”
I stood. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Maya gave a ghost of a smile. “But now you’re still here. And Jillian’s changed.”
“So?”
“So… that makes you dangerous.”
“Or valuable.”
She walked closer. “I’ve been watching. Alyssa isn’t playing fair. She has men inside. Possibly here.”
My stomach twisted. “Do you know who?”
“Not yet. But I’ll find out.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
Maya shrugged. “Because if I disappear, someone needs to know the truth. And Jillian’s not listening to anyone but you.”
That night, I waited for Jillian in his office.
When he walked in, he paused, then shut the door slowly.
“You’re in my chair.”
I spun it with a smirk. “Thought I’d try on the role for size.”
“Fits you.”
I sobered. “We need to talk.”
“About?”
“Maya.”
His eyes immediately darkened. “What about her?”
“She thinks there’s a rat.”
He leaned on the desk, palms flat. “She told you that?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it.”
“She said Alyssa has people on the inside.”
“She’s not wrong.”
My heart beat faster. “You knew?”
“I suspected. But I didn’t know how deep it went.”
“So what now?”
He walked around the desk and pulled me into his lap, arms wrapping around my waist. “Now… we prepare.”
“You’re too calm.”
“I’m used to betrayal.”
I touched his cheek. “That’s not something to be proud of.”
“No. But it keeps me breathing.”
He kissed me then, harder than usual, his hands sliding up my back like he needed to feel I was real, solid, his. I moaned softly into the kiss, my fingers gripping his shirt.
“Promise me something,” he said against my lips.
“Anything.”
“If something happens to me—”
“Don’t.”
“Christy.”
“I said don’t.”
His grip tightened. “You’ll run. You’ll hide. You’ll protect our child.”
I froze. “What?”
His expression flickered.
“You think I don’t know?” he whispered. “You’ve been different lately. Glowing. I hear the way your breathing changes at night.”
My heart thumped wildly. “I haven’t even taken the test.”
“I don’t need a test to know you. I know your body like it’s my own.”
My eyes filled. “I was going to tell you.”
He kissed my forehead. “You just did.”
I couldn’t stop the tears. Not from fear. But from the overwhelming love suddenly surging between us. Fragile. But real.
He kissed me again, slower this time, deeper, like it meant more.
It did.
Hours later, I lay in his arms, unable to sleep.
And just as I was drifting off, a soft click echoed in the hallway.
Jillian sat up instantly, eyes wide.
He reached for the gun under his pillow.
I whispered, “What was that?”
He didn’t answer.
We crept out of bed, feet silent on the floor.
Another sound. Softer this time. Closer.
We weren’t alone in the house.
Jillian looked at me, voice barely a breath. “Stay behind me.”
But I already knew.
This wasn’t just a warning.
This was the beginning.
Alyssa had made her first move.
And she wasn’t playing nice anymore.
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The blood was gone.The carpets scrubbed, the walls wiped clean, the shattered vases replaced—like nothing ever happened.But I remembered.The way the gunshots had echoed off the marble floors. The way Reuben’s body dropped. The way Jillian looked at me—really looked at me—like I wasn’t just the girl sold into his world.Like I was something more.Even now, days later, I could still feel the weight of the gun in my hand.I hadn’t fired. I hadn’t needed to.But I had changed.And I could see that he saw it too.Jillian hadn’t left my side since that night. Wherever he went, he made sure someone was stationed outside my room. He didn’t say much—he never did—but the way he hovered near me said everything.Something between us had shifted.We weren’t strangers anymore.Not really.He knocked once before opening my door. He always did that now, even though it was his house.“You’re up early,” he said.I was sitting by the window in my robe, a cup of untouched tea in my hand.“I couldn’t s
