A few minutes later, Aren and I were back in the car on our way to meet Jack and a group of military specialists gathered by Aren to help. They were operating from the basement of one of the buildings that belonged to Lan Diamond Corporation. The place wasn't too far away from the Federal Plaza, but since the whole building was locked due to renovation, no one even got near it. Despite the inconspicuous façade, the inside of the building was filled with high-tech security equipment, including a thermal imaging scanner at the door and a row of cameras in every corridor. Once we got down to the basement and entered the temporary center of command, everyone stood up and bowed before Aren as if he was their general. There were six men, including Jack, in the room. Two of them were listening to the live signal with their headphones on. Two others sat by their computers, trying to clear the sound of the previously recorded fragments. Jack and the fifth man, who seemed to be the group's leade
I sat in one of the rooms in the operating center and observed the fierce CEO transform into a secret agent on a mission. It was amusing and fascinating and, above all, absolutely freaking hot. He took off his navy suit and white shirt and put on a pair of dark-grey combat pants and a fitted black shirt. I wouldn't expect any businessman to turn into a fighter and get his hands dirty, but Aren was different. He wasn't afraid to settle things personally, even if it was a very risky move."Have you done with the ogling?" he asked, amused.I grinned teasingly. "Are you forbidding me from admiring my sexy husband?"He walked closer, pulling me up from my seat and kissing me passionately. "Aren't you even a bit concerned about tonight?"I knew that his words were meant to sound playful, but they wiped the smile off my face instead. "I am worried." I slid my arms around his waist, pressing myself against his firm body. "I am crazily anxious, and I don't want you to get involved in the fight
Aren's team shot a few sleep darts at those from Packton's and Mr. C.'s side, but they were quickly discovered. Those who weren't knocked down by the drug responded by firing their guns toward the rooftop. The real battle began. I stood in front of the screen, squeezing my hands together and praying. My heart pounded wildly as I tried to figure out what was happening while looking at the surveillance footage. All I could see were gunshots, briefly lightening the air, and people from all sides running around. I glanced at Damian and Eli, but they were completely composed, only glancing at their watches. “Sixty seconds up, time to make the call,” Eli said to Damian, Damian nodding in response. “What's going on?” I asked, muttering. Eli turned my way with a finger on the mouth gesture and motioned his head, pointing at Damian. A second later, his colleague was on the phone with the police making an anonymous call, informing that there was some kind of fight with gunshots at the Red Ho
Max jerked my hand, throwing me out of the back of the van. I fell to the ground, ripping the skirt of my dress and tearing the skin on my knee. I landed right next to Damian's bloodied corpse and instantly felt sick. The fury that boiled the blood in my veins mixed with the helplessness I felt made me want to scream, but I knew that I couldn't provoke that mad bastard threatening me. "Get up!" he yelled, pointing his gun at me. "Get on your feet, bitch, and move to the front!" He walked closer, stepping his feet right in front of my head. I clenched my teeth and pulled myself up. He smirked as I got up, kneeling before him. I lifted my head and glared at him as he put his gun against my forehead. "As much as I like you on your knees, we have no time for that." He chuckled, motioning with his gun to force me to move. Cursing him inwardly, I stood up and started walking to the front seat of the car. I could feel the cold metal touching the back of my head, making me feel as if every
I stared desperately at the surface of the water, swallowing my tears. I kept glancing at Chris; he was composed at first but became more restless by the second. He held his hand on my shoulder as if he was saying that Aren would be all right, but he couldn't know that. It was unimaginably dark under the surface of the water, and the currents were unpredictable. Down there, Max wasn't Aren's only opponent; he needed to fight the forces of nature as well."Aren…" I wept quietly, my hot and salty tears falling down to the bay waters.Chris cleared his throat. "He'll be all right. He is an excellent swimmer." He didn't sound convinced at all. I guess he wanted to reassure himself just as much as he wished to bring me comfort.A few minutes passed, Jack joined us, and finally, Chris admitted that it was time to call for a rescue mission. I sat in the same place, numbly watching the divers go under the water while the lifeguards swam in boats, flashing lights at every corner."This cannot
A week had passed since Aren had become unconscious. Throughout this time, I basically lived in the clinic, only migrating between my Grandma's room and my husband's room. I quickly found out that frustration and restlessness weren't the only things that I had to struggle with in the meantime. Being Aren's wife came with responsibilities that I hadn't been aware of until the moment my husband fell into a coma, and I was given the authority over... basically everything he owned. Aren's suite within the clinic had strangely become my office; the place where I met Neil, the lawyers, and even Lan Diamond Corporation's executives. I was terrified of every decision I had to make on my own in Aren's name. Neil helped me as much as he could, but at the end of the day, I was the one calling all the shots. I spent endless hours in front of my computer, learning about business terms and definitions that would help me understand what those people were talking to me about. Thank God that I was a
I was still extremely pissed at Jack and Chris for treating me this way, but apparently, my glaring daggers at them only brought them more amusement. Luckily, the tape Chris used wasn't too strong, and I finally managed to glue off the piece that was gagging me."Seriously guys?!" I yelled. "You could have told me what you were planning, not kidnap me!"Chris, who was driving the car, snorted. "Really? Do you want us to believe that you would willingly leave your husband even if you haven't left the clinic for the last eight days?"I wanted to protest, but when I opened my mouth I realized that there was no way I would have left Aren. I already felt anxious, as I had left his room nearly ten minutes ago, wondering if he had started to wake up while I was away from him."I don't want him to see that I'm not there when he wakes up..." I mumbled.Jack, who was sitting in the passenger's front seat, turned around and looked at me with a frown. "Cora, you must be aware that this is insane.
After I had drank three more glasses of wine, I knew a little more about Jack's and Chris's personal lives, not that I was asking about it though... Nonetheless, I found out that Jack got married to his high school sweetheart, and they happily became husband and wife as soon as they graduated. He told me how he decorated a bower that stood at the back of their school with over three hundred red roses just to propose to his girlfriend. It was amazing to discover his romantic soul. He was the guy who had never forgotten his wife's birthday or their anniversaries. I could see the love in his eyes when he talked about his wife... "But we weren't meant to be together…" He shrugged, ending his fairy-tale love story in a sad tone. "What do you mean? What happened?" I asked, feeling emotionally engaged in his story. Jack smiled faintly. "She wanted to have a child, but she didn't want the child's father to have a dangerous job. She tried to force me to change my occupation, but I've always