Lahat ng Kabanata ng Falling for Danger : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

“Are you sure it’s him?”I stared at the still image on the screen—the grainy, colorless shot of my father bound to a chair, looking beaten and hollow. I’d seen him tired before. Angry. Broken even. But never like that.Jillian didn’t answer immediately. He studied the video frame by frame, jaw clenched, blue eyes cold.“I’m sure,” he finally said.My breath caught in my throat. “He looked… scared.”Jillian shifted his gaze to me. “They wanted us to see that.”“Who sent it?”He tapped the side of the screen. “Encrypted. But sloppy. We’re close to tracking the source. It’s not Alyssa, not directly. Someone’s acting for her—or trying to make it look that way.”I paced the floor, arms wrapped around my body. “What do they want from us?”“You,” he said without hesitation. “They want you rattled. Scared. Distracted.”“Well, they’ve succeeded,” I muttered bitterly.Jillian rose from his seat and came to stand in front of me. “Don’t let fear control you. You’re stronger than that.”I wanted

The blood was gone.The carpets scrubbed, the walls wiped clean, the shattered vases replaced—like nothing ever happened.But I remembered.The way the gunshots had echoed off the marble floors. The way Reuben’s body dropped. The way Jillian looked at me—really looked at me—like I wasn’t just the girl sold into his world.Like I was something more.Even now, days later, I could still feel the weight of the gun in my hand.I hadn’t fired. I hadn’t needed to.But I had changed.And I could see that he saw it too.Jillian hadn’t left my side since that night. Wherever he went, he made sure someone was stationed outside my room. He didn’t say much—he never did—but the way he hovered near me said everything.Something between us had shifted.We weren’t strangers anymore.Not really.He knocked once before opening my door. He always did that now, even though it was his house.“You’re up early,” he said.I was sitting by the window in my robe, a cup of untouched tea in my hand.“I couldn’t s

“You’re staring,” I murmured, stretching across the bed.Jillian leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes hot and fixed on me like I was his personal obsession. “Can you blame me?”I smiled, letting the silk sheet slide lower down my chest. “I’m surprised you’re still here. Thought you’d be out chasing shadows by now.”“I should be.”“But?”His voice dropped. “I’d rather be here.”I tilted my head. “That’s unlike you.”“I’m becoming unlike me.” He walked forward slowly, each step deliberate. “You did that.”I sat up. “And what are you going to do about it?”He knelt on the bed, brushing hair from my face. “Make the most of the time I have before everything explodes.”I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Then stop wasting it.”He kissed me, slow and deep, with a desperation that tasted like regret before it even happened. Like he knew something I didn’t. His fingers brushed my spine, and I arched into him instinctively, feeling the heat between us spike like fire on dry wood.“D

The mansion was chaos.People in suits and dresses buzzed through the hallways like bees in a hive, barking orders and throwing swatches of fabric in the air. The scent of fresh roses—hundreds of them—mixed with the tang of heated arguments, making the air thick and exhausting. I hadn’t even had breakfast yet.“No, no, no! The centerpieces go on the mirrored stands, not the crystal ones!” I heard someone scream from the grand ballroom.I was already regretting every single choice we’d made.“I didn’t pick the crystal stands,” I mumbled under my breath, arms folded as I stood in the middle of the grand hallway, surrounded by fabric samples and clipboard-wielding coordinators.“You didn’t not pick them either,” Jillian muttered beside me, his voice low and a little amused. He looked down at his phone again, scrolling, not even pretending to be helpful.“You’re not even paying attention,” I said sharply.His head tilted slightly. “To chaos? No thanks.”“This is our wedding, Jillian.”“An

I could barely breathe.The church was warm, filled with candles and people and chatter, but I felt frozen. My heart thudded painfully beneath the lace bodice of my gown. Everyone was here. Joseph sat in the front row like a king overseeing his legacy. Mafia affiliates from all over Texas whispered behind masks of politeness. Jillian stood just a few steps ahead, his tailored black tux a sharp contrast to the white roses surrounding him.And me?I was moments away from marrying the coldest, most complicated man I had ever met.“Christy,” a soft voice said beside me. It was Mia, my assigned bridesmaid—though at this point she felt more like a handler than a friend. “It’s time.”My knees wobbled beneath me as the chapel doors creaked open. The music swelled—some classical arrangement that felt too grand, too surreal. I clutched the bouquet in my trembling hands and started walking down the aisle, eyes fixed on Jillian.His face was unreadable. Stone cold.I should have been used to it b