Jordan’s POVI gathered my army in the underground basement. It was time to go to war and they had to be ready. I left Sierra in our room and told her to remain there until I got back. I wished I had time to explain to her, but that would have to wait. “Lorenzo has been acting like a bitch and it’s payback time. I need y’all to put your houses in order. We’re going to war,” I told themI had my tech guys give me the locations for Lorenzo’s warehouses, I planned to destroy about three of them that day. Depending on how Lorenzo reacted, I was going to destroy one warehouse every day until his business ran dry.I had another two find out the people who had been tailing Andrew earlier that day. They were going to be scapegoats for the others. I told the guards I had already stationed in different parts of the house to maintain their places. I couldn’t leave my house unaccounted for.When I got the locations, I created three groups of four people each and sent each group to each location.
Sierra’s POVJordan left me in our room, saying he had “business” to attend to. When I asked him what business he was talking about, he said something about having had enough of Lorenzo. I decided not to pry. I thought he was going to be away for a few hours, but it was getting darker and Jordan wasn’t back. Andrew wasn’t around either so Jordan had a different guard stationed outside our room. Whatever I needed, I simply had to ask him. When I asked him where Jordan was and what he was doing, he didn’t even look in my direction to acknowledge that I was, at least, saying something. I was upset, yet I was trying to be very understanding. At least, Jordan didn’t leave me stranded. He had told me earlier that he might be a while. He could have filled me in that it was going to be longer than a while though. I was getting irritable. I decided to take a moment and look back on how my day went.I had received a threat message from Lorenzo, the same man who wanted my husband dead, if I wa
Sierra’s POVThat explained why Andrew was nervous as hell. It was Charlotte! I felt like Albert Einstein. The first thing I got to know about Andrew was that he liked my friend! I almost giggled. The man never gave anything away. If he thought he was doing a good job at hiding it, then he was, of all of us, the most laughable. If the situation we were in wasn’t critical, I would have teased Charlotte.“You look awful,” I said to her. “Are you okay?” I probed further.“Gee, thanks, best friend.” Charlotte eyed me playfully, forcing me to laugh. Trust Charlotte to make you laugh in the middle of a war.“You haven’t answered me, lady.” I reminded her.“Nothing. I was just worried, that's all. Your bodyguard was already at my door when I heard gunshots. He dashed back into his car and the guys who were shooting at him followed suit. I watched everything happen and I started to panic.”I remember Charlotte telling me how she didn’t like violence because watching people being violent mad
Jordan’s POV When I got the intel that some of Lorenzo’s guys were spotted leaving Crystal Bay, I knew where they were headed. My villa. I called Andrew to change routes, but his number wasn’t going. Then, I called Sierra, hoping she’d answer as well. When she did, I wasn’t surprised at the tone with which she spoke to me. I owed her an explanation, one I promised myself I’d give her as soon as this whole Lorenzo situation boiled over. I dealt with Lorenzo so bad that he wouldn’t be able to get back up for a long time. I instructed Andrew to take the ladies to my safe house. The following morning, I texted Andrew to let him know it was safe for the ladies to return. Lorenzo’s guys were still outside the villa. I had my guys keep an eye on them, in case they decided to try something funny. Lorenzo had been blowing up my phone since the day I burned down his warehouses. I wasn’t ready to deal with his drama, so I didn’t let his relentless calls bother me. I needed Sierra brought
Sierra’s POV Jordan didn’t come after me. It wasn’t as if that would have changed anything, but maybe it would have made me feel more important. I gave Andrew the stink eye as I grabbed the car keys off his hand and got into the car. I knew Jordan had his guys tailing me, otherwise, why would he allow me to leave like that? At that moment, I was thankful that I learned how to drive when papa insisted. It had been a while since I had been behind the wheel, but I was too upset to mind. Thankfully, I got to Charlotte’s in one piece. I came out of the car and headed for the front door. It was slightly ajar. “Charlotte?” I called. Andrew had dropped her off not too long ago. Did she go somewhere? After calling out to her multiple times and not getting any response, I called her phone. I could hear her phone ring. It was in her living room, but she wasn’t there. I could hear splattering, but I didn’t know where it was coming from. When I turned to climb the staircase to the bedroo
Jordan’s POV“What do you mean by she’s gone?” I gripped my phone tightly in my hand. “The men lost her. They were right behind her, following her when she came out of Charlotte’s. They noticed some moments later that she had tricked them.” Andrew explained cautiously, knowing I was going to flip.“What the f**k do you mean by Sierra tricked them? How the f**k can one person trick several trained bodyguards?” I growled. That didn’t even make any sense.I opened my phone to see where Sierra was. Good thing she still had her phone with her. I could tell she was heading out of Crystal Bay. Where in the world was she going to?I got into my car and started following her. I was going to look for her personally. I didn’t want to hear cock and bull stories anymore. I called Andrew and told him to find out from Charlotte what must have caused Sierra to want to leave.As I passed by Charlotte’s house, I saw police men coming in and going out of her house. And it just clicked. Charlotte had be
Andrew’s POVOne of the guards called me to let me know that they couldn’t find Sierra. I didn’t know how I was supposed to tell that to Jordan, but I had to. Perks of the job. Obviously, he was mad. I would be too. The next thing I did was open up Sierra’s location on my phone. She was still in Crystal Bay which was a good thing, but according to the map, she was driving out of town.My bodyguard instincts kicked in. I was trained for moments like this. If Sierra was frightened out of Crystal Bay after visiting Charlotte’s, then something wasn’t adding up. Even if they had a disagreement, it wouldn’t have been that deep.I left Leila’s at the front of her parent’s house and started driving towards Charlotte’s. If I didn’t like the woman, trust me, I wouldn’t have been so bothered. There was just something about her. She was the second person I’d met who could easily read me.To many people, I was indecipherable. I knew Sierra thought the same thing too because I never really gave he
Jordan’s POVLeila was working with Dominic.I was livid. She even had to stoop to the point of dragging Jeremy into her dirty game. How could she use her father like that? I sprang forward in an attempt to hold her in place before she noticed me. My right foot hit a metal rod causing Leila to look up at me. I watched her face morph into horror, as if she had just seen a ghost.If she wasn’t careful though, she was going to be one too.Leila jumped out of the van, running away from me, scared that she had been caught. She was certainly no match for me, but I loved that she was playing the predator and his prey game. I enjoyed the thrill of having to hunt her down.When I thought I was in on her, she took a gun out of her back pocket and pointed it at me.“Bitch!” I snarled “You almost ruined my marriage. You’re going to regret lying to me and my wife.”We began to turn in circles, with Leila still pointing the gun in my face. I was getting tired of her drama already. My plan was to d
Sierra’s POVAmelia stood just inside the door and held it half-open, fingers clenching the edge as if she was weighing whether to slam it in the guard’s face. But the man didn’t move. His eyes were dark and inscrutable as he scanned the space behind her as if he were a predator hunting for prey.My breath hitched. He was looking for me. I melted deeper into the shadows, flattening my spine against the cool tiles as though I could make myself unseeable.My pulse thundered in my ears, blocking out all sound except that too-loud silence stretched between Amelia and the guard. Then, he spoke again.“We received a report.” His voice was low, too calm, like a small storm right before it let loose. “Someone was screaming here.”Amelia gave a soft, incredulous laugh. “That is my friend,” she said smoothly. “She fell and hit her head. I was just helping her up. No need for concern.”I could hear the steady firmness in her tone, too, but I also knew Amelia well enough to detect the faint edge
Sierra’s POVA loud tap on my shoulder shook my body awake. My eyes snapped open, and before I could process where I was, panic rippled through me. My arms flailed, panting and heaving, the scream itself ripped from my throat.“Leave me alone! I don’t have the necklace! There is no key! Why are you after me?” My voice broke with fear, and I scrambled backward, flailing my arms blindly in defense.“Hey, hey! It’s me! It’s Amelia!”Her voice sliced through my hysteria like a knife, pulling me back from the trench of my fear. My thrashing slowed, and I blinked up at her, my sight blurred. Amelia knelt next to me, her face set and terrified, her hands ghosting above me as if she feared I’d shatter.My chest felt heavy, and I looked at her as if she were someone I didn’t know. The bathroom walls felt like they were closing in on me, the shiny tiles glistening under the fluorescent light. The realization crashed over me, I was not running. There weren’t any dark alleys, there weren’t any
Sierra’s POVHe took a shaky breath. “The guards, they’re not here to protect me.My blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"He opened his eyes again, piercing me with his stare. "They're here… for you."I looked at him, my mind spinning. "For me? But why?"“Because,” he said eventually, his voice growing fainter, “because you’re not who you think you are, Sierra.”I frowned, confused. "What are you talking about? Of course, I'm Sierra. I'm your wife."He shook his head slightly. "No," he whispered. "You're… you're not my wife. My wife … my real wife … died years ago.” My heart pounded in my chest. "What are you saying?" My voice trembled as I stuttered.“You’re … you’re an imposter,” he said as his eyes closed once more. “They’re here to take you … home.”"Back?" I whispered, my mind racing. "Back where?"He didn't answer. His breath shortened, and it became ragged. I moved in closer, straining to hear what he had to say.“The… the necklace,” he stammered, voice just a breath. "It's… t
Sierra’s POVMy mouth filled with the metallic tang of blood. I attempted to sit up again but this time I felt lighter, like my spirit was out of my body. Immediately, I felt my head making a weird noise, and another wave of nausea washed over me. I groaned, shutting my eyes against the whirling room. I needed to get up. I needed to find Jordan. But my body felt heavy, unyielding. I tried to call out for help, perhaps Amelia might hear me and come to my aid but it seemed like the muscles of my vocal cavity were limp.I remained on the floor, my body getting weaker by the second. The tile under my body was as cold as ice. It was as though it were the actual earth, the cold creeping up from underneath it like ice water and penetrating my skin, leeching into my bones and freezing me from the inside.Through a fog of pain and disorientation, I heard a faint knocking at the door. "Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?" It was one of the guards. His voice, muffled by the door, had an edge of conc
Sierra’s POVWhen I got to the entrance of the mansion, which was my home, the wrought iron gates, normally a welcoming beacon, now leered at me. Two huge figures in black tactical gear I had never seen loomed as sentinels. Their faces, hard and impenetrable, were lit by the bright glare of the porch light. Before now, I hadn’t seen such a uniform on them, let alone the fierceness of their faces coupled with the air and authority that sat boldly on their faces.There was something about how they conducted themselves. They had a kind of inflexible formality that spoke to something far more than just routine security.I began to wonder how they managed to get to my doorstep at a time like this. A twist of discomfort pulled tight in my gut. This wasn’t right. This was my house, but it felt like it wasn’t my house.I tiptoed up, pretending to be nonchalant. My heart thudded against the cage of my ribs like a bird on the prowl for exit. “Evening,” I shouted, attempting to make my tone ch
Sierra’s POVI got talking with Amelia as we drove, I wasn’t very sure if she would stop by at her house first or head straight to mine. She had been the one assisting me with picking Luca up from school.In fact, Luca now had a handful of his things in her home that he need not come over to pick anything up if he needed to crash there. I was more than grateful that I had Amelia in my life at a challenging time like this. I couldn’t thank her enough.For some reason, I decided to sit in the passenger seat as Amelia drove. From time to time, Amelia would always check up on me asking if I was okay or needed anything and I would respond that I was fine.It kept happening for close to four times till I told her to just focus on driving that I would and can take care of myself. Little did I know that I had set myself up for a lot of untold troubles.I reached into my bag and picked up my phone to call Jordan and see if he was faring well. Of course, I knew that I had just left the hospital
Author’s POVCarlos took another swirl of whiskey and tilted the glass until the amber liquid gleamed in the dim light, and then he took a slow sip. He said this with a smirk that never left his face as he looked Lorenzo up and down, glancing between amusement and contempt.“Jordan was attacked,” he said, finally, gauging Lorenzo’s reaction. Lorenzo stiffened for an instant, but he held his surprise in check. “Attacked?” he echoed.Carlos laughed and pounded his glass on the desk. “Oh, yes. Right in his hospital bed. Imagine that. The mighty Jordan, the vulnerable, the helpless, with a needle in his neck.”Lorenzo’s brows furrowed. “Somebody tried to kill him in the hospital?”Carlos nodded. “When it was all functioning, it was beautifully orchestrated, well, almost. Someone got past his guards. Slipped right into his ward.” He sighed dramatically and shook his head. “Such a shame they failed.”Lorenzo exhaled, rubbing his jaw as he registered the news. Jordan was never supposed to be
Author’s POVLorenzo faced Carlos Moretti and his face was still bruised from the battle he had escaped from. His normally crisp suit was crumpled, evidence of a rough night he had just endured. He squared his shoulders, took a sharp breath and started his report.“It was a fucking mess, boss,” he confessed, bitterness rolling heavy across his tongue. “Everything was in place but the element of surprise was on our side,” he sipped from the glass of wine in his hands and took his time to puff out a smoke before he went ahead to continue his report.“The plan was tight. But Ethan …” He said the name like it was dripping acid on his tongue. “He fought like a motherfucking animal. I mean, I didn’t see that coming…”Carlos perched behind his grand mahogany desk, the low light of the chandelier throwing menacing shadows over his sharp features. The glass of whiskey in his hand was swirling, a sign of his unblinking expression, but the small glint of disappointment that took up residence in
Jordan’s POVThe thought of being confined to a three-week bed rest brought with it some crippling effects that had me reeling over in thoughts upon thoughts. I couldn’t yet bring myself to accept the imagery that it evoked in my mind's eye.I knew how much stress that would be for Sierra, her eyes were already sunken in from staying awake for too long on end. She had refused to admit it to my face but I knew from her looks that she needed rest.Not the kind that the hospital is willing to offer me right now but the Kind that gives her liberty to wake, sleep and eat at any time she wants. I didn't want to ask about work. I remember that she planned on resuming work after we returned from the vacation but here she is sacrificing her work to keep me company and ensure that I got myself by all means. More and more thoughts kept strolling into my heart till I returned to the bed-rest issue.“Bed rest? Three weeks lying here, doing nothing at all,” I murmured grudgingly. It sounded worse