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
“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
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
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
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