Chapter 38"Just for a little while," she mumbled, already drifting despite her best efforts to stay awake and alert. Wrapped in James's embrace, with his powerful presence standing sentry, she knew she could afford to let her guard down, if only briefly. Her eyes slipped closed of their own accord as she felt her husband press a lingering kiss on her forehead. "That's it, gorgeous. Just rest now. I've got you..." The rest of his words trailed off into soothing white noise as oblivion tugged Lily under. She surrendered to the lulling pull, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that James would allow no further harm to come to her or their unborn child tonight. Not while he still drew breath. Some indeterminable time later, Lily slowly surfaced from the depths of an uneasy slumber. She blinked muzzily, momentarily disoriented by her stark concrete environment till the memory got her crashing back. The intruders. The fight. She and James take refuge in this heavily fortified panic r
She could only nod breathlessly in response to his vow, utterly spellbound by the blazing determination burning in those navy depths. Whatever existed beyond this meager sanctuary, whatever bloody gauntlet awaited them next - Lily knew she was ready to face it head-on at this man's side.His hands were everywhere, stoking the raging inferno of need coiling low in her belly. Lily arched and writhed against James with wanton abandon, surrendering herself over to the scorching riptide of their passion.When he finally sheathed himself inside her with one powerful thrust, she cried out - part pleasure, part primal release. This joining, this most intimate meshing of two souls into one, was what they'd both been starving for in the face of the new threat looming over them.James set a punishing pace, every driving slam of his hips seeming to stake his claim on her more ferociously. Lily matched his intensity with hot, shameless demands for more, nails scoring lines down the flexing muscles
Chapter 40 Lily took a deep breath as she stepped out of the panic room with James. She knew this Spike man turned into horrific news and they'd ought to address him quickly, but right now she simply desired a bit of destruction from all the craziness. "You okay?" James requested, squeezing her hand. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just...Looking to wrap my head around everything, you know?" "Tell me about it." He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. "Finding out you are pregnant inside the center of this whole mess - it's plenty to take in." "But a great marvel although, right?" Lily looked at him, searching his face. As overwhelming as it was, she wanted to make sure that he was satisfied with the baby. The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of James' mouth."The best surprise, baby girl." His calloused thumb stroked over her cheek tenderly. "You and me, starting a family together? Shit, I couldn't have dreamed up anything better." Warmth bloomed in Lily's ch
Chapter 41Lily nodded, feeling a bit knot of hysteria in her chest lighten up at James's words. She wasn't being sidelined or overlooked of the loop anymore. They were partners, 100%, no matter how crazy things got from here. "Okay, good." She took a deep breath and gave him a small smile. "So, where do we start with taking down this Spike guy? I'm guessing we can't just, like, call the cops on him?"James let out a short, humorless laugh. "You could say that. The police wouldn't touch this situation with a ten-foot pole." His expression turned grim. "Spike always had a way of staying one step beforehand of the law through bribery, threats, you name it. He's been operating within the town's underbelly for decades without anyone being able to pin anything strong on him."Lily frowned. "So he's basically untouchable then?""Was untouchable," James corrected. "Before I took down his whole crew almost ten years ago. Put a major dent in his operation." His jaw tightened. "Clearly the son
He led Lily around the bar to a dingy back room, pausing to exchange terse words and a complicated handshake with the hulking bouncer posted by the entrance. The big man grunted something that might have been "boss" before allowing them to pass. The cramped space on the other side looked like the kind of shadowy meet-up spot for backroom deals that you only saw in movies. A battered card table stood in the center, ringed by mismatched chairs occupied by an assortment of seedy-looking men. The air was thick with pipe smoke and the bitter tang of cheap liquor. Several pairs of narrowed eyes swiveled in their direction as James and Lily entered. Lily fought the urge to shrink back under the weight of those appraising, deeply distrustful stares. Instead, she lifted her chin and met their scrutiny head-on, unconsciously standing up a little straighter at James's side. If this ragtag group was expecting their notorious former leader to put on airs or play it arrogant, however, they wer
Chapter 43 On the drive back from that shady meeting, James was pretty much silent the whole time, just staring straight ahead with a intense look on his face. Lily could practically see the gears turning behind those piercing eyes as he calculated his next moves. She figured it was better not to push him for details until he was ready to share. James clearly had a plan brewing for how to take down this Spike lunatic, and she trusted him to loop her in when the time was right instead of leaving her out of the loop. In the meantime, Lily tried her best to just be patient and keep her nerves under control, though that was easier said than done with the stakes so high. Every little bump or sound from outside the car had her heart leaping into her throat, fearing an ambush or attack. Spike seemed like the type of psycho who could strike at literally any moment. By the time they pulled back into the villa's underground garage, Lily felt like she'd aged about ten years. James must have
Chapter 44 Lily nodded seriously. "Got it. I'll stay put no matter what until you come get me." James held her gaze for another beat like he was sizing up how much he could really trust her to follow that order. At last, he gave a curt nod of acceptance. "Good girl." With that, he climbed out of the car, leaving Lily to let loose a shaky breath she hadn't found out she'd been maintaining. She watched through the tinted car windows as James strode away, shoulders squared and each inch the implementing figure she'd come to recognize so nicely. Once he disappeared from view, she allowed herself to slump back against the leather seat with a frustrated groan. Her body still hummed with lingering arousal from James's heated teasing, leaving her feeling antsy and unsettled. Part of her understood why he wanted to keep her safely tucked away while he made his moves. But the other part, the defiant rebel she hadn't even known lived inside her until recently, chafed at being sidelined yet
Chapter 45 The heavy footsteps paused in the sudden silence, making Lily's heart pound even harder in tense anticipation. For a long, agonizing moment, nothing happened except the faint sound of harsh breathing from the intruders. "See anything outta place?" one of the gruff voices eventually spoke up again, sounding perplexed. "Nah, just looks like a regular walk-in closet to me." There was a disdainful snort. "Barely even big enough to fit a broom cupboard in this fancy-ass place, let alone some kinda panic room." Lily didn't dare move a muscle, lungs straining against the effort of holding perfectly still and silent as the men continued their judgemental sweeping of the area just beyond the hidden door. She could only pray the panic room's seamless camouflage held up under their scrutiny. "Yeah, you're probably right," the first voice allowed after another tense pause. "Waste of time looking too hard in here. C'mon, let's take a look at the rest of the upstairs before reportin
Chapter 142: The Watson mansion was fully alive. Streamers hung cascading off of everything they could, balloons bounced merrily around various corners, and the air swam thick with the tantalizing smell of BBQ on the back porch. Today was, after all, Ave's party – but it was more than that; today was the day Lily and James had chosen to once again pledge themselves to one another.Lily stood before the full-length mirror, straightening out her simple white sundress. At seven months, she was radiant—a perfect arc the curve of her belly was, below the flowing fabric.From the doorway, the sound of a voice declared, "You look beautiful." Lily turned to see her cousin Maggie smile at her."Thanks." Lily smoothed the dress. "I feel like a beached whale, but James insists I'm glowing."Maggie burst out laughing. "He's right, you know. You look like you're about to light up his world or something." She walked over and hugged Lily. "I can't believe how far we've come since that one crazy nig
Chapter 141: Lily woke up off. She couldn't explain it, but something just seemed… off. And when she rolled over to check the time, a wave of nausea hit her. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow."Alright?" James mumbled, still half asleep."Yeah, I just feel a little queasy," Lily replied. "Probably just something I ate."James sat up concerned. "You want me to get you something?"Lily shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. We should get up anyway; Ave has that school play today, remember?"They climbed out of bed and busied themselves getting ready for the day. James went into the bedroom to awaken Ave while Lily projectile-vomited into the toilet.James had, by this time, somehow managed to dress Ave in her costume: a huge, puffy frog outfit in bright green made for the school dress rehearsal of "The Frog Prince.""Mommy!" Ave squealed as she clumped down the stairs. "Do I look like a real frog?"Lily laughed, pushing aside her queasiness. "Why, yes, my child, the fairest fr
Chapter 140: Giggles consumed the room, and James stirred awake. He opened an eye to find a little face at the end of the bed staring in at him."Daddy! Wake up!" little Ave chirped in at him.Stepping over the landmines that were on the bed, James ran his hand through the small amount of her running down her back and picked her up, digging fingers into her tummy."Morning, princess," he said by way of splaying a kiss on her forehead.Ave giggled and squirmed. "Mommy said breakfast was ready!""Oh, yeah?" said James, sitting up but not letting go of the squirming Ave. "Am I to take it that's why Mommy sent you in here to wake me up?"Ave nodded, her bouncing brown curls saying more than she could. "Yep! She said tell you there's coffee."James laughed, and if Lily knew him at all well, it was all for her benefit. "Well then, I guess we'd better not have Mommy waiting, huh?"He climbed out of bed, Ave still in his arms, and rolled out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee wafted
Chapter 139James lay on his back on the pristine white sand beach and took a pounding from the burning Maldivian sun. His hand reached up behind him for the coconut cocktail, tasting sweetness in his mouth as the gentle lapping of waves broke almost ten meters away from shore. It was the first time he had really been allowed to relax, barring a three-month period, since they had released the secrets of the Shadow Council onto the world."Penny for your thoughts?" The sound of Lily's voice broke through his reverie. She settled herself down on the lounger beside him. Her skin was golden against the sun.He smiled, squeezing her hand, saying, "Just thinking how surreal this all is. A year ago, I was knee-deep in conspiracies and shadow organizations. Now I'm sipping cocktails on a private island."Lily chortled; that sound always hit James in exactly the right place in his heart."Life's funny that way, isn't it?" she said, turning her head to look at him with her chin resting on her a
Chapter 138: James was pacing his living room relentlessly. Elena was with Rachel. It was all over. Well yah, anyway that was supposed to mean.Lilly squinted at him from the couch. "James, honey, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Come sit down."He sucked in a deep breath and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry; I just… I just can't help but feel this is too easy. After everything we've been through, this is just too easy."Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. "James, I hardly think that anything about this has been easy. But maybe, this is the way it ends. Not really with a bang, but with a whimper."There was a pounding on the door. The teenager was on his feet before James could even open his mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.The door was thrown open. To find Rachel standing there—grimy, dirty, and obviously completely exhausted but still with the fires of determination burning behind her eyes. And past her."Hello, James," came the soft-spoken voice of Ele
Chapter 137: Rachel's hands trembled on the wheel. She drove the car towards the lighthouse. It was a full moon drooping low into a mess, ever drooping across the sky to the west, throwing a queer, sickly light over the whole demesne. She could not believe the fact that she was actually doing this, meeting secretly with her mother, Elena.She couldn't bat the feeling away that this time—this time—things were different. There was no hand in the place that could have been straightened just then, and scarcely a hand for him to take.Beside the lighthouse was her mother's car. Ray closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and felt her hand shake again, then brought it quickly up to her chest and gripped hard. "You can do this," she whispered to herself.She scrambled out of the car and up the serpentine path to the lighthouse, where waves dashed to the rocks and her feet crunched over gravel.One figure stood at the top by the railing, looking out at the water: Elena. His mother.Rachel's hea
Chapter 136The world had barely had enough time to absorb the shock that came with the downfall of Shadow Council. News channels were all agog with relentless updates, while governments scurried to try and react to the development; people all around tried to understand what all this really meant and what the implications of the bombshell were that shook the very fundamentals of society.But there was so much more to it than that which James Watson could see coming.He found himself standing outside the hospital room after just a moment's hesitation on the other side of the door handle. He could see from the small window that Louis was lying in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines, Rachel sat at his side.He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and walked in.Rachel lifted her head. Her eyes were red, red, but glittering. "James," she said very quietly. "I didn't expect you to be here.""How is he?" asked James, who had moved now and stood at the foot of Louis's bed.Rachel sighed. "
# Chapter 135: James took a deep breath and brought his head counterclockwise to his team, tired yet charged. It was time to engage their plan."Okay, let's go over this again. Hawk, are you set up with that kill switch or what?"Hawk just nodded. Her fingers danced across the laptop keyboard. "Okay, I am ready as I will ever be, but remember, this is one shot deal.""Right," James confirmed, turning towards Kelvin. "You got your contacts on standby?"Kelvin lifted his phone reassuringly. "They're all set, just waiting for our signal now."Glancing toward Angie and Agent Johnson, he asked, "You two sure about this? This is going to be dangerous."Angie made a show of rolling up her eyes. "Please. After all else we've done? It's just another Tuesday."It was Johnson's turn to chuckle. "What she said. We've got your back, James."James bobbed his head, his fear mixing in with his excitement. This was it: the last big push to finally bring down the Shadow Council."Alright then," he sai
Chapter 134: Days passed after the warehouse before a blur of debriefings, media frenzy, and shock waves that echoed across the globe. Standing smack in the middle of this hurricane, shaking the very roots of governments and institutions around the globe, was James and his team.They now sat in a safe house, courtesy of Agent Johnson—now an unlikely ally in all of this, ever since the exposure of the Shadow Council. There, in that very suburban home, the living room had now become something of a command center: there were laptops and papers all over, the place cluttered with empty coffee cups.James rubbed his tired eyes at the news playing on mute on the television. Of course, the headline scrolled by in the news: "Global Markets in Turmoil as Shadow Council Revelations Continue.""You should get some rest," Angie said before putting a hand on his shoulder. At least she looked a little better now, with the bruises from her captivity fading, but there was a new hardness in her eyes.