The air in the room was thick with heat, desire, and something even more dangerous—reality. Maddox’s body was still covering mine, his skin burning against me, his breath heavy on my neck. I felt trapped in a heady haze, my heart still pounding in my ears, with the certainty that nothing we had done that night could be undone. There was no turning back. His hands remained on my skin, tracing lazy circles on my waist. It was such an intimate gesture, so uncharacteristic of him, that it forced me to look at him. Maddox had his eyes closed, but his expression was not that of a man asleep. “Maddox…” I whispered, not even knowing what I wanted to say. He opened his eyes slowly, locking his gaze onto mine, and something inside me tightened. His usually cold gray eyes were now darkened by something I couldn’t decipher. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Because in the silence of that room, tangled in the sheets, in our own shattered boundaries, we both knew that what
The roadside motel where we took refuge was old, with flickering hallway lights and an eerie silence in the air. Just being there reminded me of what we had left behind—the chase that still haunted us, and, most of all, the unbearable tension burning between Maddox and me. But this time, I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for him to decide what he wanted to do with me. I wasn’t a piece in his game. I was the one holding the board. And if he wasn’t going to make a move… then I would. --- The motel bathroom was small, with a fogged-up mirror and the distant creak of pipes. I leaned against the sink, staring at my reflection, trying to cool the heat on my skin, but it was useless. Then the door opened. Max. His silhouette filled the doorway, his gaze locked onto mine as he shut the door behind him with calculated slowness. His presence consumed everything. The air grew thick. He didn’t speak at first—just watched me. And I did the same. Max wasn’t like Maddox.
The journey continued in tense silence. Maddox hadn’t said a single word since what had happened between us in the room. His jaw was clenched, his expression cold as steel as he drove down the deserted highway. Max, sitting in the back seat, had a satisfied smirk on his face, as if he had won a silent game where only he understood the rules. I, on the other hand, still felt my skin burning. Maddox’s taste was still on my lips, his hot breath against my skin, his firm hands claiming me with a desperation I had never seen in him before. But there had been no words after that—only an abrupt retreat and the weight of the forbidden settling between us. I needed air. “I want to switch cars.” Maddox frowned for the first time that night. “Why?” “Because I’m tired of being in this one.” It was Max who chuckled softly. “Let her go, Maddox. Maybe she wants some fresh air… or new company.” His tone was laced with double meaning, and the worst part was that Maddox noticed. Hi
The roar of the engine shattered the silence of the deserted road, and the speed at which Dax was driving made me grip the edge of my seat. The tension still buzzing between us was buried under a far more pressing reality: someone was following us."How many?" Dax asked, gripping the steering wheel with a dark expression.Maddox’s voice came through the communicator."At least three cars. Armed."My chest tightened."Who are they?""Not Khalid," Maddox replied. "They’re worse."That simple phrase was enough to make my skin prickle.Dax didn’t ask questions. He pressed the accelerator harder, and the road began to blur with speed. But the reflection of headlights in the rearview mirror told me we weren’t the only ones moving."They’re gaining on us," I murmured, feeling the adrenaline start to take over my body.Dax smirked, that wild grin that only appeared when things got dangerous."Let them try."The first bullet struck the rear of the car.The sound of metal being pierced was like
The clock on the nightstand read 3:47 a.m., but time held no meaning in the tension hanging in the air. The room was drowned in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the steady breathing of Maddox, who lay on his side in bed, seemingly asleep. I, on the other hand, remained seated in a chair by the window, a gun resting on my lap, my gaze lost on the deserted road. I didn’t trust the calm. I didn’t trust this momentary reprieve. And least of all, I trusted what I felt every time I looked at him. --- The sound of keys hitting the floor made me turn my head. Maddox stirred, letting out a low grunt of frustration as he adjusted himself in bed. "You're still awake?" "Obviously." He ran a hand over his face before slowly sitting up, his eyes scanning me with exhaustion and something else... something I recognized all too well in him. Exasperation. "Amalia, go to sleep." I shrugged, not taking my eyes off the window. "I'm not tired." Maddox rubbed the back of his
Maddox’s eyes opened slowly, heavy with sleep, but his gaze sharpened the moment he found me so close. I didn’t move. Neither did he. The air between us was dense, charged with electricity. My lips were slightly parted, my breath held, while his was deep, as if he were battling something within himself. For a moment, I thought he was going to do something. That he would close the distance, that his hand would move to my waist, that he would give in to what was written in his gaze. But Maddox always knew how to control the fire. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a rough sigh before rolling onto his back, moving just far enough for the cold to replace his warmth. "Sleep, Amalia," he murmured in a husky voice, almost a whisper. I felt a wave of frustration crash through my chest. It wasn’t the first time he had done this. He would get close, touch me without touching me, look at me as if he were doomed… and then he would pull away, as if afraid of what might h
The road snaked between rocky mountains, leaving behind the dust and chaos of the ambush. The car engine roared under my hands as the nighttime landscape blurred past us.We had survived. Again. But this time, something was different.Maddox sat in the passenger seat, checking his phone with a clenched jaw. Max and Dax were in the back, sharpening knives in silence.There was an air of tension that had nothing to do with the chase or the threat of death. It was something deeper. Something buried under layers of control and denial."Give me the address," I murmured.Maddox glanced at me sideways."Just keep going. I'll tell you when to turn."For the first time in a long while, there wasn’t a cheap motel waiting at the end of the road. No uncomfortable beds or flickering neon lights. This time, we were heading to a real shelter.One of Maddox’s hidden properties.A place he didn’t even want to return to.And that said everything.When we finally stopped in front of a massive property in
The air inside the house felt stifling, heavy with something more than just the warmth of the fireplace. It was an electrifying tension that no one seemed willing to break, an undercurrent that kept us all trapped in the moment. Maddox still held my face in his hand, his eyes tracing over me with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. The pressure of his thumb against my jaw wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t gentle either. It was a silent warning. Dax had leaned back on the couch, his sharp gaze gleaming with dark amusement. Max, on the other hand, hadn’t moved, but the tightness in his jaw spoke louder than any words. The frantic drumming in my chest grew louder as Maddox leaned in just a little more. His breath grazed my lips. For a second, I thought he was going to do it. That he was finally going to break the invisible barrier between us. But then, the sound of a gunshot echoed in the distance. Reality crashed over us like a wave of ice. Maddox reacted first. He let g
The first ray of sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtain, tracing a golden line across the messy bed. The warmth of Maddox’s body still lingered in the sheets, even though he was no longer there.I sat up slowly, still wrapped in the slow rhythm of our night. Every muscle ached in new ways—not from physical exhaustion, but from the emotional intensity still vibrating in my bones.Maddox had been... different.There had been a fierce tenderness in his touch. A restrained need that didn’t come from desire, but from something deeper. More dangerous.An attachment he didn’t want to admit.I wrapped the sheet around me and stepped out of the room. The hallway was quiet, but not empty. I could feel his presence before I saw him.And there he was.Standing by the window in the main room, a cup of coffee in hand, eyes fixed on the horizon. He wore only his suit pants, his shirt unbuttoned, and the sunlight kissed his back as if trying to understand him too.When he heard my steps, he
The contact was barely a touch.But for both of them, it was the end of resistance.Amalia felt the slight tremble in Maddox's fingers when he touched her. It wasn't insecurity—it was the weight of everything he always held back. The words he never said. The emotions he had denied, even when he desired her, even when he protected her like his life depended on it.This time, he didn’t stop.His lips brushed hers with a gentleness that shattered her. As if he didn’t want to break her. As if he knew that if he crossed that line, there would be no going back.She held him by the nape, pulling him closer, and he lost control.He kissed her with a silent desperation. A mix of need, guilt, desire, and redemption. As if she were his only way out. His only peace.Maddox gripped her waist, pulling her toward him. His hard, tense body enveloped hers completely. The brush of his torso against hers made her burn inside. It wasn’t just heat—it was connection. The kind of fire that consumes you slow
The roar of engines echoed through the trees.Amalia adjusted her tactical jacket as she descended the hill alongside Maddox, Dax, and Max. Leaves crunched beneath their boots. In the distance, a cloud of dust rose: Cillian’s men were on the move.“Left flank, Dax. Don’t let anyone come through the stream,” Maddox ordered without turning. His voice was clear, sharp. Undeniably a leader, without hesitation.“Got it,” Dax replied, drawing both his knife and pistol. His smile was tense but electric—like he’d been waiting for this moment for weeks.“Max, with me,” Maddox continued. “We’ll greet them head-on. Amalia…”She looked up.“What?”“You decide,” Maddox said, his gray eyes locked on hers. “Do you lead the second line of defense or come to the front?”Amalia swallowed. It was the first time he openly gave her the choice. He wasn’t sidelining her or treating her like a burden.“The front,” she answered without hesitation.A flicker of approval crossed Maddox’s face. Just for a second
The name hung in the air like an ancient poison.Gian.Amalia hadn’t heard it in years. Not since the first whispers, when everything was still darkness and fragments. Not since Maddox had erased it from every conversation, as if eliminating his existence was the only way to contain what it truly meant."Are you sure?" Amalia asked, her voice barely a thread.Maddox looked at her. His gaze, usually impenetrable, was now an uncontrollable storm. His gray eyes gleamed like blades under the dawn light slipping through the shattered windows."Too sure."June stood in the corner of the room, still processing everything that had just been revealed. But when she heard that name, she took a step back. As if the past had just punched her in the face."He wasn’t dead..." she whispered."He never was," Max said, voice dry.Dax ran a hand through his hair, frustrated."They lied to all of us.""Who is Gian?" Amalia finally asked, her tone as sharp as a promise of breaking.Maddox didn’t answer imm
The dawn arrived uninvited.The sky, stained with a threatening gray, seemed to anticipate the storm.In the base’s operations room, maps were spread out, screens were on, and the air… was heavy.Max was marking positions on the map with absolute focus.Dax was checking intercepted surveillance cameras.Maddox stood, arms crossed, watching everything as if he had already seen it all play out in his mind.And Amalia.Amalia was there.Sitting at the table, among them.One of them.But she was no longer just the woman dragged into this war by mistake.Now… she was part of the strategy."We have three blind spots on the west border," Max said, pointing. "If they’re coming in, it’ll be through there.""And what if that’s not what they want?" Amalia cut in. "What if this is just a distraction?""That’s what I thought too," Dax added. "Look at this."He projected a video.A hooded figure moved through shadows.A familiar silhouette."Is that…?" Amalia whispered."Yeah," Maddox confirmed, his
The return to the safe house was silent. None of them needed to speak. The glances exchanged in the rearview mirror, Maddox's tense grip on the steering wheel, the way Amalia kept her eyes fixed on the road… it was enough to understand that something had changed.The Council wasn’t dead. Only asleep. And now, it had awakened.As soon as they arrived, the protocols were activated. Ivan ordered all access points to be sealed, triple surveillance installed, and the war room prepared. The atmosphere was electric. Every step, every command, every look carried the certainty that the real enemy had finally shown its face.But Maddox said nothing. Not yet.He went straight to his office, with Amalia following silently. When the door closed, the silence grew heavy."You knew," she broke the tension. "Say it, Maddox. Just say it. You knew."He turned slowly. His jacket was open, sleeves rolled up, and his gray eyes darker than ever."I knew there were strange movements," he admitted. "But not th
The early morning was a living, throbbing creature.And Maddox was already awake before the first ray of sunlight pierced through the bulletproof windows of the house. He was dressed in black, as always, immaculate even in chaos. His movements were controlled, as if each one was calculated for combat."We’re ready," Ivan reported as he entered the meeting room.Behind him, Dax and Max came in almost at the same time. Both wore the same serious expression, although Dax still carried the hangover from the night before."What does the satellite report say?" Maddox asked, without lifting his gaze from the digital map in front of him."Movement to the north. Heat points in the area of the old gas factory. They shouldn’t be there," Max replied, crossing his arms."Then they’re testing our surveillance," Maddox murmured.Amalia appeared in the room a few seconds later. She wore a fitted jacket over a black shirt, her hair tied in a braid that gave her a fiercer look. Her eyes met Maddox’s for
The calm before the storm came in the shape of a freezing dawn.Amalia woke to the sound of soft footsteps in the hallway. They weren’t nervous. They were calculated. Measured. Like someone who didn’t need to hide.She grabbed her gun from the nightstand without thinking. She was no longer the same woman who had stumbled into this world by accident. She no longer hesitated.She opened the door silently and saw him.Derek."What are you doing?" she asked, not lowering her weapon.Derek raised his hands slowly."I was heading to the office. Maddox asked for the blueprints of the southern entrances.""Maddox is in the east wing."Derek hesitated for a second. Just one.And for Amalia, it was enough."Stay still," she ordered.At that moment, the silent alarm vibrated on her device. An encrypted message from Ivan."Communication intercepted. One of ours is selling coordinates."Amalia’s blood ran cold.Derek narrowed his eyes, as if he knew the moment for masks had passed."You were always
The night fell violently over the land.It wasn’t just any nightfall. It was a declaration of war.The sky turned dark faster than usual, as if the universe knew something was about to break.Inside the mansion, the atmosphere was different. Dense. Silent. The kind of calm that only comes before disaster.Amalia was in Maddox’s office, alone, with the documents she had stolen. In front of her, a map of the tunnel system that crossed the border. Smuggling routes. Coded names. Black-and-white photographs of faces that shouldn’t exist.The list of the Council’s traitors.And in the center, a single word repeated again and again:ARES.Behind that name was Maddox’s past. The real reason why it all began.And the man who was now about to unleash the final fire."Amalia," said a firm voice from the door.She didn’t flinch. She knew he would come. He always did.Maddox stepped inside. Imposing. Impeccable. Wearing a black suit that contrasted with his gray eyes, now sharper than ever."I knew