After I returned to Blair Digital, I could barely focus on work. My instincts screamed, and I knew that meeting with Kaiden was a huge risk, but avoiding him would have been a significant gamble as well. The fact that Killian hadn't called me back only helped my anxieties grow, and by the time I returned to the penthouse, I was a bundle of nerves.I took a quick shower, reapplied my makeup, and managed to find a dress that didn't reveal too much skin. I kept my phone close to me in case Killian decided to call, but that didn't happen. He had surely chosen the worst possible moment to go MIA…My restlessness rose by the second. I sent Killian another text, this time informing him about my dinner with his cousin, but even this message remained unanswered. Groaning in frustration, I sat in front of my laptop and tried to find whatever I could about Kaiden Blair. I needed anything that could give me leverage. It was possible that Kaiden already had a full report on me lying on his desk, wh
A hysterical laugh bubbled in my throat, but I somehow managed to stop it before it burst out. I stared at Kaiden, stubbornly reading every line of his face.“Please, don't make jokes like that,” I muttered, shifting my attention to the wine glass.He let out a long sigh. “I made you feel uncomfortable... again.”I took a decent sip of wine before facing him. “It's not about making me feel uncomfortable, but we promised each other honesty, right? And yet, words like that make me wonder about your true intentions.”Surprise surfaced in Kaiden's expression. “And why is that? Is it so hard to believe I'm good at reading others? That it takes a few minutes for me to establish whether they're worth the effort?”My lips curved in an angry smirk. “Reading others? Does it mean you didn't ask someone to prepare a full report on me? Should I believe you didn't know a thing about me before I appeared in your office?”He laughed, loud and hard as if my words had triggered something inside him. He
KILLIANMy hands fisted and opened as I strode around my hotel room. Curses slipped through my throat every few steps I took. The fury raging inside me was almost impossible to contain, not without a punching bag at least…“Well played, Kaiden. Well played,” I strained through my teeth.I underestimated my cousin yet again. I had gotten rid of the spies he'd planted in Blair Digital Entertainment. I made sure he wouldn't sabotage the ongoing projects and the newest marketing campaigns. I had expected him to either do something to mess with Blair Digital's profits or go directly after me. He had chosen the third option: he'd gone after Josie.“Fuck!” I roared, punching the wall with my fist.She said that she was all right, but the truth was I'd left her almost unprotected. Hugo was no longer enough. I needed to install someone to watch over her from a distance and inform me immediately when things were about to go south.There was no coincidence in Kaiden's timing. He had chosen the m
JOSIEKillian's words still swirled in my head. I certainly found Kaiden's behavior disturbing, to call it the least, but hearing he might have done something to the women he had been dating made my stomach churn.I was glad that Killian's cousin hadn't tried to call or text me after our dinner had ended. That way I could fully focus on preparing the Happy App for the official launch, and those preparations were a real pain in the ass.With an army of people working on our project, one would assume everything should go smoothly, right? Wrong! We were told that the group of people sitting in the large open space on the opposite side of our office would consist of well-trained specialists, but this group did not exactly meet those standards…“Amateurs! Fucking amateurs!” Ashley roared as she strode through the corridor on the way to our office.I pinched the bridge of my nose, too tired of dealing with problems on my end. “What now?”She walked over to me, her hands fisting. “They messe
I hadn't spoken to Killian in the last three days, and his last text mentioned some unexpected issues he needed to solve before coming back to New York. I texted him back, asking if it meant he wouldn't be back on Saturday like he'd promised… He didn't reply.Even after Michael Kearn's issue had been handled, we still had tons of other problems to deal with. That made us work non-stop until the late evening on Friday. I let my teammates enjoy their free weekend. I needed them rested and ready to face new challenges on Monday, but I still came to the office on Saturday just to fix a few glitches that appeared during the recent uploads.It was nine o'clock when I finished dealing with the final problem and decided to call it a day. I barely shuffled my feet forward as I reached the penthouse floor. The two bodyguards standing by the door exchanged looks before giving me sympathetic smiles. God, I must have truly looked pitiful.I dragged my tired butt to the bathroom and took a shower.
An hour later, we were sitting in Killian's study with his lawyer, Mr. Kevin Morrison, and the one who called Killian earlier, Mr. Gunner Stiles. Mr. Morrison was the one preparing the case against Dylan. Killian said he was one of the best lawyers he had ever worked with. Officially, as a criminal offense, Dylan's case was handled by the police investigators and prosecution, but recent events had proven this case would be lost without additional help. Fortunately, Mr. Morrison had friends in the NYPD and the prosecutor's office and agreed to this collaboration for the sake of efficiently bringing Dylan behind bars.The other man who joined us in the room was much more peculiar. Killian explained that Mr. Stiles was a military specialist, a person he called whenever needed, as he named it a “special kind of approach.” I was wondering what his words meant until a tall, bulky, and highly intimidating man entered the study. Once he did, I decided it was better not to ask any questions. T
I stood in front of the mirror, sucking in a ragged breath—an inept attempt to calm down. Next, I tried to smile. Stretching my lips caused me to look even more nervous than I did as I simply stood in place and watched my hands shake. I had been accumulating restlessness for the last few days, and now I reached the level of being stress-paralyzed. Now, with only two days away from the official launch, I had become a barely walking and nearly suffocating bundle of nerves.“I can't do this,” I muttered.Ashley's hands landed on my shoulders as she leaned from behind me, locking her eyes with mine in the mirror's reflection. "Sure, you can. Your Monday interview was fantastic. This time, you'll do just as well.”I shook my head, laughing hysterically. “The Monday interview was for the radio station with two people in the room. This one is in a studio with an audience and a live transmission.”Ashley rolled her eyes. “It's just a livestream, for God's sake. It's not like you're going to S
The crowd moved, a few people rising to their feet and cheering for me, covering the man who looked like Dylan. Normally, I would have laughed at the crowd's reaction, but right now, I was more concerned about them obscuring the view. When Mia calmed them down, they returned to their seats…Only then did I notice the man looking like Dylan was gone, his seat empty. A shudder rushed through me. Was it truly him, or was I losing my mind? I refused to think it was just a coincidence. Either it was him, which would prove that the security hired by Killian hadn't done their job right, or it was someone who resembled Dylan all too much. If this was the latter, I wouldn't exclude the possibility that Dylan had actually hired someone to act as his doppelganger just to mess with me.I glanced at the backstage area and the exits. The security guards were everywhere. Even if Dylan had somehow sneaked inside, someone would have surely seen him and called the police. This room wasn't large enough
Four Years LaterYan Hao, Estelle, and Isabelle had become nothing more than a bad memory. Lou Zichen had been quickly convicted and sent to prison. Estelle and Isabelle landed behind bars six months later. The remains of Yan Hao's army and all his collaborators had been caught one by one. Special Agent Brooks made sure they all ended where they belonged. As if sensing there was no more danger around us, Aria, our beautiful daughter, was born a day after the final trial ended.My once filled with dread and nightmares life had become nearly blissful. Certainly, large areas had needed to be rebuilt, but Killian and I had pieced it back together. I had never returned to Blair Digital. After a year, Blair Digital merged with Tony's company, becoming Blair & Melton Interactive. Killian and Kaiden had recreated the Blair Consortium, making it twice as profitable as before. Of course, they both had wanted me to work for the consortium, assuring me I would find a place there. I'd refused. Inst
Killian didn't like my decision. He'd spent hours trying to make me change my mind, but I knew that this was the only way to end this. Since my leading doctor refused to let me out of the hospital, my team moved into my room, computers and other tech gear included. Killian brought me a laptop table so I could work while lying in bed. Well, at least I wasn't breaking the doctor's orders, not entirely.In two days, we managed to add over fifty more locations to the Eye. We focused on private airports, harbors, and train stations. Then we slowly began to plug as many traffic cameras as we could. The area watched by the Eye extended its range with every second, but it still wasn't enough to find Yan Hao.“Ryuu should have helped us search for his former boss,” Ashley grunted, her eyes locked on the computer screen.I let out a long sigh. “Ryuu has done enough. I cannot blame him that he took his mother and left. Now they can be family again.”Ashley shook her head. “Still, he should have—
JOSIEHe had come for me. He had found me. I remembered his lips on mine. I remembered a vague smile curving his lips. I remembered my voice cracking. I remembered the tears mixed with laughter… Then the sounds and images became blurry. Killian's voice softened and faded.I must have fainted afterward.Returning to awareness was followed by the pain. It pulsed through different parts of my body, but it didn't bother me that much. Perhaps I owed it to painkillers, or perhaps I felt that way because I knew I was safe.Despite the ache, my lips curled up slightly as I opened my eyes. I was lying in bed—a hospital bed—covered with soft sheets. A drip was connected to my arm, most likely the reason the pain I felt was almost acceptable. But none of that put a smile on my face or filled my chest with warmth. Killian's touch did it.He was sitting by my bed, his hand holding mine. His head rested next to our joined hands, his eyes closed. I slowly rose to sit, carefully not to move my hand o
After carefully analyzing the route and comparing it with the plans Tony had found before, we continued through the woods according to Ryuu's instructions. We climbed a small hill and finally saw it—a ten-foot-tall barbed wire fence with watch towers.“Son of a bitch,” Kaiden breathed out as his eyes took in the ridiculously well-guarded facility. “I've seen prisons with less security.”My lips formed a thin line. “Well, now we know for sure that the tunnels are the only way in.”I contacted Gunner and the rest of the groups searching other areas, informing them of what we found. I looked at my watch, and my stomach churned. We had less than twenty minutes, and that was only if Yan Hao decided to stick to his own rules. A part of me knew he might choose to kill Josie sooner...My chest tightened at the thought. I needed to get inside. I needed to find her. Now. “How long until you get here?” A low growl rang in my tone.“Three minutes,” Gunner replied, panting. I knew that he was prob
KILLIANThree Hours EarlierThe Happy App, Josie's creation, no longer existed. Yan Hao must have gotten desperate to get money, and he most likely forced some poor bastard to hack the system, using all means necessary. As Ashley and Kei explained to me, the hacker had entered the system thanks to a small device planted in the server room. Of course, that meant someone from Yan Hao's army must have broken into Blair Digital... I made a mental note to fire the head of security upon hearing the news.This attack might have ended in a huge disaster. I didn't even want to imagine the chaos such a monstrous leak of data could have caused. Certainly, Josie had created a drastic solution in case everything went south. She anticipated the worst scenario. She might have sacrificed her dearest creation, but she sure as fuck saved the entire company.I loved her for it... and for many other reasons... and perhaps a few more I still couldn't remember. Now I could only hope the rest of my memories
My body began to rattle as I stared at Ryuu. Again, his expression was unreadable. Was it just a part of an act, an improvised solution, or did he decide not to respect the deal we made?“You bastard,” I breathed out.Ryuu responded with a cold smirk. “We both know Killian will do anything to have you both back... alive. Let's make him hope he'll get to see you again.”Yan Hao looked at me before bursting into cold, disgusting laughter. “Then should we let history repeat itself? Should I let him pay a generous amount of money before slitting your throat? It would be quite poetic, don't you think? Like father like son. Maxwell Blair thought he was saving his brother... I bet that his son will pay just as eagerly.”A shudder rushed through my body, and my eyes filled with tears. I didn't even know if Killian was conscious. They didn't know that either. Then again, this was a way to buy more time. If Yan Hao wanted Killian's money, he would need to wait for his answer, probably send proo
JOSIEI tried not to think about what was happening on the upper floors. I tried not to think about that arrogant hacker or that the Happy App might no longer exist had he decided to break into our system. Instead, I tried to make those hours count. I talked to Mrs. Satoh, slowly establishing her condition and if there was a chance either of us could escape her cell. The good news was that she wasn't cuffed or otherwise restrained; the bad news was that she had already tried everything, scaling the wall to find a single loose rock included. Well… shit.“So you've been talking to my son?” Mrs. Satoh's voice cracked slightly. “I haven't seen him for more than three years…”My chest tightened. “How long has Yan Hao held you captive?”“I lost track of time,” she murmured. “But I wasn't always locked in a cell like this. Sometimes, I was given a nice room. I was fed well too. My conditions changed depending on…” She trailed off, but I knew what she was about to say.“Depending on Ryuu's ob
KILLIANI stared at the large map displayed on the wall-size screen. The red dots marked the places where Yan Hao's men were recently seen—the possible places where they gathered. We had today's war meeting at Gunner's base, in his office. The base, seldom occupied by more than twenty people at a time, was currently filled with more than two hundred. We all could sense that Yan Hao had been preparing for his final strike, and we had to make sure we could respond to whatever he came up with.The door opened, and Samuel Brooks entered the room. The FBI agent gave Gunner, Kaiden, and me a tight smile before walking over to the map and stopping beside me. “Good to see you alive and well,” he muttered by way of greeting.“Good to be alive.” I smiled wryly.Gunner rose from his chair behind the desk and stepped toward us. “I hope you left your badge outside like I told you to, Brooks,” he warned, giving the agent a firm stare. “If you're not certain whether you'd like to be part of this, be
“What do we do now?” I choked out when Ryuu finally opened the bathroom to let me out.“We need to go.” He grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door.Panic surged in an instant. “I can't! I don't even know if the encrypted message passed! I didn't find your mother either!”Ryuu grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “We don't have more time. If I don't bring you to Yan Hao now, we're both as good as dead.”I sucked in an uneven breath, ineptly trying to calm down and failing. “So... what will happen now?” I finally managed.He exhaled slowly and looked me up and down. “You'll have to lie, and you'll have to be very convincing. You'll have to put on your best act, as if your life depends on it because it will.”I swallowed a thick knot in my throat. “Tell me what to do,” I breathed out.“First of all, you'll have to act like you're disoriented,” he said. “A few people saw me when I carried you here. You'll have to pretend as if you were unconscious most of the t