I surveyed my surroundings as if something as big as a second mattress might have been hard to notice within this spacious bedroom. Restlessness clenched my chest. I ran out of the bedroom and glanced around. There had to be something I could use instead of a bed. A large chair, perhaps?I spotted a settee upholstered in deep purple velvet. It seemed to be an antique, or it had been made to resemble one. I stepped closer and winced at the hard wooden frame and uncomfortable curve that would force my neck to be craned at an awkward angle throughout the night. A hard pass.Two armchairs could have worked. I scanned the furniture carefully and realized that if I moved them together—“The bed is large. You won't even notice me sleeping next to you,” Kaiden's voice sounded behind me.I turned around, giving him a wry smile. He was leaning one shoulder against the doorframe, arms crossed. “I… I can sleep on the floor,” I stated.“No.” He walked over and grabbed my hand before leading me bac
My neck hurt like hell. I even thought it would stay twisted to one side as I lifted myself from the insanely uncomfortable settee. Still, it was better than risking finding myself in an utterly humiliating situation.Kaiden greeted me with a tossed good morning before locking himself in the bathroom and taking a long shower. I slightly sighed in relief, seeing his casual behavior. Perhaps he didn't know I had splayed myself on top of him at some point. God, I certainly wished he had been dead asleep then.I did a few stretching exercises—mainly to relieve the pain in my neck and back—just as Kaiden finally exited the bathroom. I slipped inside as soon as he walked out of it, quickly showering and putting on light makeup. When I finished, the servants knocked on our doors to deliver breakfast.They suggested having breakfast on the terrace. We agreed, and a moment later, a table set for two was placed just outside our spacious salon.“Today, you are welcome to rest and eat within the
It took me more than fifteen minutes to calm down after Kaiden had left the room. God… he remembered. He knew what had happened. A part of me wished to know who initiated it, hoping it wasn't me—the rest of me would rather never find out.I clasped my cheeks and blew out a breath, summoning my composure. Then I pulled out my phone and laptop. It was time to come up with a plan. I was in the perfect place to get the evidence I needed. I wasn't allowed to waste such an opportunity.Suddenly, my eyes fixed on the door—my locked door. A bitter smile appeared. I was closer to Killian than I had been since I had moved out of the penthouse, yet I still couldn't even talk to him. My chest tightened as I wondered what his night with Estelle was like. The acidic taste of jealousy flooded my insides. I didn't want Estelle anywhere around Killian. It sickened me that she believed he would soon belong to her, as if he were some object she could possess.I exhaled slowly, disarming my coiling anger
I stared at the dark passage through the crack-open door. A shiver coursed through me. Now that I knew that the plans I'd found were correct, I debated whether or not I should push my luck. I probably shouldn't. But what if this was the only way I could get any kind of information?Not even for a second did I doubt that Killian would get a chance to snoop around. All eyes were on him. Yan Hao needed him to cooperate. They wouldn't let him learn about anything that could have shattered their efforts.They must have been wary of Kaiden, too. He was cunning and calculative, and even if he had cooperated with Estelle before, they knew that now he was likely to become their enemy. That was why they needed to observe him as well.The only person they hadn't marked as a potential threat was me. Of course, they might have found me bothersome since I was romantically involved with Killian, but I had no doubt that in their minds, I was rather easily disposable.Another shudder rushed through my
I stumbled back, keeping my eyes on the man before me. In the dimly lit corridor, he resembled a feral beast—a predator, a second from devouring its prey. I closed my eyes and opened them again, forcing myself to shove the fear away. The tall Asian in front of me resembled one of those main leads in Chinese romance dramas. His black suit alluringly complimented his well-built body. His short, black hair was ideally styled, and every angle of his face seemed perfect. And if he hadn't been so insanely intimidating, I would have called him stunning.“Who are you? How did you get here?” His full lips formed a faint, nearly pleasant smile. His tone was soft, coaxing, but I didn't miss the deadly, sharp edge an inch beneath the surface.I sucked in a ragged breath and painted a nervous smile. Play dumb, my instincts told me. I listened. “I-I am Mr. Yan's guest. I didn't know I wasn't allowed here. I still suffer from jetlag. I couldn't sleep, so I walked out of the room and just walked and
KILLIANI stood in front of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows in mine and Estelle's chambers. I kept my jaw clenched so tightly I was half-surprised my teeth hadn't cracked. The light behind me flashed and faded as Estelle walked out of the bathroom. Her silhouette appeared in the window's reflection as she walked toward me. A white silk nightgown. I'd scoffed at seeing her in it yesterday. She didn't get the message or perhaps believed that if I saw her half-naked a few more times, I would want to fuck her.Estelle was an attractive woman. I was certain that, just like the old me in high school, many men desired her. Some men would sell their souls just to see her glide toward them in a seductive dance. She had put on this seductress's act the night before, and now the tactic didn't change much. I wished she realized it wasn't going to work. My brain and my dick both had the same opinion on that matter.She stopped behind me and slid her arms around my waist. “Thank you for being s
Estelle had been right about one thing: Yan Hao had an army of men at his disposal. More than three dozen men guarded this goddamn mansion around the clock, and I could bet this was only a fracture of his potential. The fucking Triad.The only good thing was that not all of those guards were well-trained. It was easy to notice the difference in their stance and the slight delay in their reaction whenever they noticed someone was coming. Those untrained, I assumed, had just passed their Triad initiation. Nonetheless, their raw skills were enough to protect the less important floors, staircases, or gardens. The higher floors were left for the elite, hand-picked by Satoh Ryuu.When Yan Hao introduced him as his right-hand man, I couldn't hide my surprise. I didn't think there were many Japanese in the Chinese Triads, not that Yan Hao nor anyone else mentioned the Triads. Officially, Satoh Ryuu was the COO of Diamond Dragon Entertainment, but he resembled a trained assassin more than a sk
JOSIEA part of me—a significantly large part of me—was glad that Kaiden returned nearly at dawn. That had given Killian and me a moment of needed privacy. I missed being in his arms. I missed his lips on mine. I missed his voice, whispering into my ear. I missed feeling his scent with each breath I took…He had lingered way longer than he should have, not to mention that he shouldn't have come to my room at all. Our parting had been harder than ever before. After my unfortunate encounter with Satoh Ryuu, I knew sleep wouldn't come easily. Killian had mentioned that this man was dangerous, but I had sensed that much already. He had made me promise I would try to stay away from him, but I had a feeling that avoiding him wasn't going to be easy.Finally, Killian kissed me goodnight and left. Thankfully, I had wiped all traces of his visit from the surveillance footage, so no one found out he had spent quite some time in my room. It half-surprised me no one noticed that the mansion's sec
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