The doors opened, and my breath caught in my throat as Kaiden walked into the room. He stopped as he saw me. My chest tightened as I slowly took him in. His handsome face was paler, and the right side of his jaw was bruised as if he collided with rocks during the fall. He was wearing a black tee and combat pants, the clothes most likely given to him by Gunner. Our eyes locked, and I felt that mine began to coat with tears. Then I moved—or ran—toward him and threw my arms around him. He chuckled and closed his arms around me too. None of us spoke for several heartbeats.“Don't cry,” he finally murmured.A soft laugh escaped me as I wiped the tears off my cheeks. “Pregnant women tend to get emotional quite often,” I told him.He loosened his embrace and inched back. “Did you say... pregnant?”I nodded. “It's my seventh week.”“Damn,” he breathed out, his eyes drifting to my belly before quickly returning to my face. “You haven't told Killian…”I lowered my head. “I didn't know. I had no
Three hours passed from the moment I had stormed into Tony's office, smiling despite the stream of tears, telling him I had found Killian. Now as we sat together with Gunner and Kaiden, my emotions were even stronger. I stopped crying, but my body trembled as if it were unable to contain all the inner storm, threatening to erupt.“We need to contact anyone from that building and ask about Killian's condition,” Tony said.Gunner gave him a look. “And tell then what exactly? Do you seriously believe we're the only ones looking for Killian? Those fuckers are probably looking for him too, and as soon as the news about his whereabouts comes out, they will track him and kill him.”I drew an uneven breath. “Even if he's in a coma, we need to go there and take him somewhere safe,” I said. “I want to go there. Now.”Kaiden frowned. “Are you insane? You're not going anywhere.”My hands fisted. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't!”He leaned closer, his jaw clenching. “I'll give more than o
The next few hours were beyond nerve-racking. I couldn't sit still—none of us could. My team and I kept our eyes glued to the computer screens, continuously adding and monitoring everyone connected to Yan Hao.Gunner sent us messages every several minutes, either asking us about the recent movements or informing us whether his men encountered any of those bastards. It was stressful, but we kept our focus. Within three hours, Gunner's men managed to safely transport two major shareholders and eliminate seven armed assassins.Relief filled the room, and faint smiles appeared—a first small victory. We were all exhausted, but none of us complained. We knew that others were still in danger…It was after midnight when Gunner called, saying that all the potential targets had been handled. “Thank God, it's over,” Mancy muttered, slumping in her chair. “I can barely see the screen.”“You should all go home and get some rest,” I told them.Ashley narrowed her eyes on me. “How about you? Will yo
KILLIANI had a dream. In that dream, I was flying, or rather falling... falling fast. I looked down, and all I saw was a vast field of darkness. I pulled a handle, and the opening parachute jerked my body up and to the side. I was slowing down but didn't know where the land was. I couldn't see it. I couldn't see anything. Then the impact—I sucked in a breath, yanking my eyes open. I was lying on a small bed in a clinic with an IV drip connected to my arm. A woman with short, dark hair entered the room and gave me a wry smile. “Another bad dream?” she asked, walking over to the drip stand and changing the empty bag.Naomie Belanger—that was her name. She introduced herself two days ago, right after I had woken up. She was a doctor here. I was in her private clinic. I—a stranger the fishermen found on a shore unconscious. She generously decided to take care of me, although I could have been a fugitive or a serial killer. I didn't know whether I was or not. I didn't remember. But when
JOSIECold. It was the first thing I felt. I could feel it piercing through every inch of me. The pain followed. It flooded me whole like a scorching wave. I sucked in a shallow breath only to realize there had to be something wrong with my ribs. My chest couldn't stretch further than half an inch, and even that small movement triggered agony.When I finally mustered the strength to open my eyes, I was greeted by darkness. It filled the space around me, hiding all shades and contours. Panic surged. I didn't know where I was. I couldn't tell if I was here alone. I couldn't see what had been done to me…A whimper broke free as I tried to shift. God… I was tied up. I was sitting, and I was tied up to a chair. The thick ropes tore my skin with every movement, and my clothes were reduced to something thin... Some cloth maybe? My stomach churned at the thought that someone had undressed me and put this… thing on me.My bare toes touched the cold stone. I tried to curl them up, but I could ba
KILLIANI was sitting on board Tony's plane, staring at Josie's picture. Tony sent it to me, to my new phone, and I couldn't take my eyes off my woman's smiling face. My memory still had a lot of blank spots I needed to fill. For now, Tony was doing whatever he could to help me fill it up, but it was not enough. I couldn't care less about my childhood memories, but I needed to remember everything about her and our enemies. I needed that to save her…I put the phone on the table before me and rubbed my temples. This was frustrating. Tony told me that Josie had spent countless hours looking for me. I was on that damn plane heading home because she had found me, and now someone had taken her. Those fuckers might have locked her somewhere. They might have hurt her…My chest tightened at the thought. The fear and restlessness I felt blended with rage. I would find her. I would tear the world apart if I had to, but I would find her. And if any of those fuckers laid their hands on her, I wou
JOSIEI didn't know how much time had passed since Ryuu had left the room, closing the steel door behind him. Despite my plea, he'd left me tied to the chair. He'd said that others might have figured out we'd made a deal otherwise. A part of me understood that, but my body had already screamed in pain and exhaustion, not to mention my desperate need to examine my condition. I had to check if there were no bruises around my stomach. No broken bones would matter if I could confirm that nothing happened to my baby. Of course, I would need an ultrasound to know for certain, but for now, I needed anything to dull the dread I felt.I dozed off at some point but then woke up even more exhausted than before. Since my cell had no windows, I couldn't tell whether it was day or night. Surely, that also was a part of the torture, meant to disorient me, to make me break.My whole body shuddered as the door opened again. Ryuu had warned me that he could stop everyone from entering my cell... except
I tried not to think about all the horrifying possibilities. Instead, I decided to focus on what I had managed to achieve. I had Ryuu on my side—a big plus, no matter how fragile our alliance was. Now I needed to find out more about this place, and once I knew where I was, I would have to find a way to contact either Gunner or my team...Drawing a deep breath, I stepped closer to the window and cautiously looked out, scanning the surroundings. Unfortunately, all I could see was a tall fence and a forest behind it. Nothing that could indicate where this place was.Muttering a curse, I turned around and surveyed the room. It turned out Ryuu's office had an adjoined bathroom. I stepped inside it and hesitantly glanced in the mirror. Air escaped me as I saw my reflection.I had a bruise on my cheek and jaw. There were a few on my neck, resembling fingers. God… Had someone tried to choke me? A shiver traveled down my spine, but I ground my teeth and continued examining my condition. A few