The device vehicle was abandoned in the Dock District. Sloane’s team was hunting Julian on foot. He had disappeared somewhere into the east part of the city. He was looking for a hiding spot or a place to watch the fire. We thought we had him check-mated, but the second device changed everything. The timer was ticking like a clock in my head. It was not about killing me anymore. Julian was out of time and he was pivoting. He wanted to destroy a symbol and leave a scar on the city that would last for years.The second device was moving through the streets and we did not know where. Sloane’s teams were hunting for Julian and the device at the same time. The police were on the move. The news was starting to talk, people were getting nervous. The panic had not fully registered into the minds of everyone else, but it was coming fast.My convoy turned away from the Gravel Yards, we were heading to a safe location. Helen was on the radio, talking to Sloane and looking at the maps of the ci

Sloane’s voice reverberated in my ears like a dark omen. I had never heard his voice sound so shrill and tense. It was like my ears were being dragged through a pile of shattered glass.I stared at the eastern entrance, and my heart clenched with a fear I’d never known, Helen was gone. She had vanished into the shadows of the lobby. There were just two minutes lef…One hundred and twenty seconds. That was all that remained of the building, and she was inside of it. Fuck, fuck…fuck!"We have to go after her," I said mindlessly, springing towards the building already as my heart hammered in my chest.Sloane grabbed my arm and stared at me in abject disbelief "Carter, you can't! It’s fucking suicide!""Two minutes, Sloane," I said and pulled my arm away from him. I didn't look back as I marched forward. "She is in there with two minutes left on a fucking bomb that’ll tear down the entire building. I am going after her no matter what!"I ran toward the entrance and glanced at my watch as

The front door groaned under my weight and the sound of wood strained against hinges, as I pushed it open.Three bloody weeks since we’d stepped into the mansion. Three weeks of silence, dust, and the stale, suffocating scent of abandonment that clung to the velvet curtains like a burial shroud. I didn't care that my arms were aching, or that my muscles were screaming for some sort of comfort. I also didn't care that Helen was still whispering protests, her voice a thin, shaky rasp against my chest as she tried to pull away."Carter, please... put me down. I’m okay. I can walk on my own," she murmured, her fingers curling weakly into the fabric of my shirt.I didn't answer. I just held her tighter, pulling her body into the safety of my own. I carried her through the dim hallways and straight into the bedroom.When I dropped her onto the bed, the mattress springs let out a long, familiar sigh under her weight. The room felt like an icebox all of a sudden. We had both deserted this sp

I stared at Adolph and looked for the cracks, for the hidden agenda, for the flickers of greed that had once defined our relationship. He stood perfectly still, his posture humble, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of agitation. He knew I was deciding whether to trust him or put a fucking bullet in his head."The living room," I finally said coldly. "And if you lie to me even once, Adolph, I won’t ask you to leave. You won’t be leaving at all."He didn’t argue, he simply bowed his head, a gesture of subservience that I no longer bought, and shuffled toward the stairs. When we reached the main floor, the atmosphere suddenly became toxic and my heart clenched slightly in my chest. Helen was standing by the window, the morning light framing her in a way that made her look fragile, yet iron-willed. When she saw Adolph, her entire posture shifted and her eyes went cold. She didn't scream or demand to know why a snake like Adolph was in our home; she just stared at him with a glacial, holl

The ride back to the mansion felt like a I was going through a fucking tunnel of agony. My body was a complete ruin thanks to Adolph and those bloody horses.Every time the SUV hit a bump, my spine jolted, sending waves of fire through my marrow. By the time I collapsed onto the leather couch in the living room, I didn't even have the strength to unclench my fists.My muscles felt like they had been shredded and stitched back together with wire. My thighs, battered from hours of gripping the Andalusian’s powerful flanks, throbbed with a dull ache.I felt every single bone in my body, each one crying out for a stillness I hadn't been granted in weeks. I was hollowed out, drained by the weight of the ranch, the expectations of the Memphis elites, and the suffocating silence between me and Helen.A maid walked into the room, her voice a soft murmur as she bowed slightly.“Mr. Van Alen, your dinner is ready.” She announced.My eyelids were so heavy that it felt like a chore just trying to