Chapter 82; Almost There.Ethan’s PovI saw the road curve ahead.Aiden pointed at the tracks in the dirt.“Van tires,” he said. “Recently.”My blood ran cold.I didn’t speak.I couldn’t.Because every step I took brought me closer to the man who thought he could take her.Every breath I dragged through my lungs was a promise.I was coming.And I wasn’t leaving without her.Or without blood.I ran until my lungs burned.Until my shoulder throbbed so deep it felt like something was grinding inside.Until the blood soaking my shirt turned cold against my skin.But I didn’t stop.Aiden jogged beside me, slower than usual from the bullet wound, but still fast enough to keep up. His breath came out sharp.“She’s getting farther,” he muttered. “Their van’s picking up speed.”I clenched my jaw. “Track her again.”He tapped the small device in his hand. A faint blinking dot pulsed on the tiny screen.“Still active,” he said. “But they’re heading off-road. Toward an industrial zone.”Industria

CHAPTER 84; The House He Never Returned ToYvonne’s PovThe car Ethan hotwired some abandoned rental truck left behind on the industrial road rattled so hard it felt like the doors might fall off.But I didn’t care.I sat pressed against Ethan’s side, my fingers locked around his sleeve like letting go meant losing him again. He didn’t push me away. He didn’t tell me to move.He just kept one hand on the wheel and the other wrapped over mine.Steady.Warm.Shaking every few minutes when the pain hit him too hard.He needed a hospital.A real one.Bandages.Stitches.Something more than his own stubbornness holding his body together.But he wouldn’t let us stop.Not even for a second.The road turned from dirt to cracked asphalt, passing fields swallowed by night. The tension in the car was thick Aiden in the back seat, Ethan rigid beside me, me trying not to fall apart.I looked at his shoulder blood-soaked, shirt torn, skin bruised and raw.“Ethan…” I whispered. “You’re hurt.”His ja

CHAPTER 86; Break the Door or Break the ManEthan’s PovBoots thundered across the porch.Heavy. Coordinated.Not criminals professionals.Kai’s people.The same men who kidnapped Yvonne.The same men who believed I was a variable they needed to erase.Aiden pressed his back against the wall beside me, gun raised, blood seeping through his shirt. “They’re positioning. They’ll breach in under thirty seconds.”A glass shard glittered on my arm.Blood dripped onto the dusty floorboards.Yvonne’s breath trembled behind me, her hands gripping the back of my shirt.My shoulder burned so violently it felt like fire was chewing through bone.But I didn’t stop.I didn’t sit.I didn’t rest.Not while she was here. Not while they were at my door. Not while my past was standing inside this rotting house, watching everything fall apart.Mrs. Tyler whimpered from the corner, holding her son’s arm like he could protect her. Funny she had once called me the useless one. Now she was hiding from real

CHAPTER 88; A strong fallYvonne’s Pov“ETHAN!”The name ripped out of my throat before my body even moved.He crashed off the window ledge like his legs had finally given up on him. The drop wasn’t high one story but his body hit the ground hard enough that I felt the thud through my knees.I ran.Aiden shouted behind me“Yvonne, wait !”but I didn’t listen. My legs moved on instinct, fueled by pure terror.Ethan lay in the grass, half-rolled onto his side, blood spreading beneath him like the earth itself was trying to swallow him. His fingers twitched once. His breath hitched sharply.But he wasn’t unconscious.Not yet.I dropped to my knees beside him.His eyes cracked open at the sound of my voice.“Yvonne…” he breathed, like he’d been drowning and I was air.I cupped his face with both shaking hands. “Ethan God Ethan, look at me stay with me”He winced when he tried to move. “You… didn’t run.”His voice was faint but still had that rough edge like even injured, he couldn’t help

CHAPTER 90; When a Man Refuses to DieYvonne’s POVThe moment Ethan slipped under again, head falling sideways, breath barely there I felt something inside me just… tears. Not a clean rip. More like fabric pulled too tight until the threads screamed and came apart.I pressed harder against his wound. My hands were shaking, but I didn’t loosen my grip. If anything, I pushed harder. His blood coated my palms, sticky and warm, running through my fingers and soaking into my sleeves.“Aiden,” I whispered, voice cracking. “He’s fading again. He's going cold.”Aiden threw open another dusty drawer, swearing under his breath. “I know. I’m trying to find something useful.”He didn’t sound panicked. Aiden never did. But there was something in the way he kept glancing at Ethan, something tight in his jaw that told me he was far more scared than he wanted me to see.“Ethan,” I whispered, leaning over him. “Do you hear me? Open your eyes.”His lashes twitched. Barely.I leaned closer until my fore