Chapter 31: The Illusion of SecurityDarkness swallowed the living room whole. Audrey held her breath, her chest pounding.A heavy mechanical grinding echoed throughout the house. Titanium steel plates descended from the ceiling. The three-inch-thick steel automatically covered all the glass windows and the main door. The safe house locked itself down, becoming a sealed bunker.A few seconds later, the emergency lights flickered on. A dim red glow illuminated the room."Sit on the sofa," Kai commanded in a flat tone. "It will take them about fifteen minutes to breach those titanium plates from the outside."Audrey felt her way through the gloom and collapsed onto the sofa. Her body shook violently. The adrenaline that had been racing through her heart was now plummeting. The cold air from the house's central air conditioning pierced her skin. She hugged herself tight.Kai walked toward the kitchen counter. His footsteps made no sound.He unzipped a tactical supply bag on the counter.

"Let go of me!" Audrey screamed, her voice trembling violently. Tears of pure desperation streamed heavily down her pale cheeks. "I can easily pay you double whatever she is paying! Just name your price!""I absolutely do not need your pathetic pocket change!" Zack laughed harshly. The cruel, booming laugh echoed terrifyingly inside the steel-walled panic room. He aggressively pressed his jagged blade a single millimeter deeper, nearly breaking the fragile epidermis of Audrey's throat. "Isabella already paid me entirely in solid gold bars. You have to die tonight.""You are all absolute monsters!" Audrey sobbed in utter despair. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, entirely bracing herself for the agonizing pain of the cold blade slicing her throat wide open."Shut your damn mouth, you stupid bitch."The tactically masked man raised his hunting knife high into the air. The thick muscles in his arm tensed completely. He fully prepared to viciously slit the throat of the sole heir to Ari

Shards of the shattered vase scattered across the table. A few fragments flew far enough to hit the tips of Audrey's shoes."What was that?!" Audrey yelled in a panic. She pressed her back against the concrete wall. "Why did that vase just explode on its own?!"Kai took a deep breath. He forced the hellish energy back into the seal on his wrist. He had to control his temper. He could not afford to blow his cover now.His blue eyes slowly dimmed back to normal. His face returned to being as cold as a block of ice."An extreme change in air pressure," Kai answered flatly.Audrey stared at Kai with ragged breaths. "Air pressure?""The thermite explosion at the front door compromised the house's vacuum insulation system," Kai lied, his tone perfectly logical. "The freezing temperature from the storm outside clashed with the indoor heating. Cheap glass cannot withstand such a sudden change in temperature."Audrey swallowed hard. The physics logic sounded plausible in her head. She clutched

Hundreds of brass bullet casings clattered against the concrete floor. Thick gunpowder smoke billowed, filling the ruined living room. The pungent stench of sulfur stung the nose.Rex ceased his fire. The barrel of his heavy machine gun smoked with searing heat."Die, you bastard!" Rex laughed savagely. "Do you think you are Superman, catching my bullets?!"The gunpowder smoke slowly thinned, blown away by the night wind. Rex's arrogant laughter stopped instantly. His eyes widened so far they threatened to bulge out of their sockets.In the center of the room, Kai stood with perfect posture. His black shirt fluttered slightly in the wind. There was not a single bullet hole in his body. Not a single drop of blood had been spilled.A shield of pitch-black shadows floated in the air right in front of him. The hundreds of steel bullets fired just moments ago were completely halted. The lethal projectiles froze in mid-air. The steel slowly melted into pools of scorching liquid lead and drip

The rocket explosion blew the front of the safe house to pieces. The massive blast was absolutely deafening.Kai pinned Audrey to the kitchen floor. His back bore the crushing weight of concrete rubble and heavy steel. Thick smoke mixed with gunpowder dust billowed to fill the entire room. Flames began to lick at the curtains and wooden furniture in the living room.Audrey coughed violently from inhaling the searing dust. A sharp ringing pierced her ears."Are you still alive?" Kai asked in a flat tone. His voice cut clearly through the roar of the flames."I am fine," Audrey groaned, panting heavily. "My ears hurt."Kai shoved the massive slab of concrete off his back with a single effortless motion. He stood up and brushed the lingering dust from his shirt. His skin remained completely unscathed by the blast.He offered his hand and pulled Audrey to her feet."Isabella is not playing games," Audrey said, her voice trembling. She stared at the living room, which had already transform