720 DAYS IN PRISON, HE RETURNED INVINCIBLE

Chapter eighteen: The ice queen

*****************

Jack Moore was breathing heavily, in series of sharp and heavy breaths coming in ragged rhythm. His face was bloodied and battered, making recognizing him complicated, his expensive suit disheveled, blood streaked the imported fabric. He laid motionless in the ruin, his leg twisted in an unnatural angle that suggested the thugs had dislocated his joints.

Killian looked at everything with eerie calmness; at Jack who was panting hard on the floor, and at the thugs who were also catching their breaths after giving their employer a hell beating to survive.

"All of you get out." Killian shooed them like flies. "Wait."

They paused at the door, turning sharply with a mix of relief and fear in their expression. Smallie was trembling vigorously, merely turning to look Killian, whispering frantic inaudible words that could have been prayers to escape this moment, or curse on himself for joining the thugs in the first place.

"If you ever do this kind of job again," His voice was a quiet command. He looked at all of them. "I won't spare any of you."

"We won't..we won't. We will get a decent job." They chorused, their voices breaking in fear.

"Now, go."

Smallie disengaged the lock, his palm was clammy and blood and shaking.They all ran out of the room.

Vivianne was silent all through. She had controlled powerful men in the boardroom with pen and orders, but this was entirely different. It was brute strength that equalized walking into an action movie where a hero stepped into chaos to save his lover, except in this case, she wasn't his lover, and neither did she even know this man from anywhere before. She'd seen people fight, but what she'd just witnessed was extraordinary and brutal.

Killian rose to his feet and walked over to meet Jack who was crawling across to the entrance with the remaining energy inside, leaving blood marks on the expensive carpet.

Killian planted his boot on his ankle, pressed down slightly hard yet the crushing force was heavier than heavy metal.

Crack!

"Ahhh!!!"

Jack screamed in pain— deep.

When Killian decided to step off his ankle, it was crooked and sore, taking an abnormal form. Killian crouched at his side, his eyes empty, devoid of all emotions that were warm.

"This is just the beginning, Moore," His voice was rough, but the sincerity was guaranteed. It wasn't loud, yet it was threatening. "your family shall fall along with the Ashbourne. It is a promise, and Killian Dante doesn't break his promises."

With that, Killian steadied back to his feet, looked at the entire Bar without any interest, without even looking in Vivienne's direction like the ice queen wasn't existing in the room, then he moved to the door.

"Wait!" Vivianne's voice cut across sharply and it sounded odd like she was desperate for attention that had always come easily to her before. Killian stopped at the door and turned back slowly, raising a brow.

Vivianne, the ice queen everyone feared hesitated to speak, the woman who had destroyed executives in the board room had sweats shimmering over her forehead, her fingers fidgeted nervously. If anyone who recognized her saw her in that manner, they wouldn't have believed it.

For about five seconds, she Battled with her words. This man who singlehandedly defeated six men could break her neck in one snap.

"Please." The word forced out of her mouth, trembling. Killian arched a brow at her. "Please?"

Vivianne gained a little bit of confidence hearing him speak.

".. it's dark outside, please..can you help me..I need to get home.. safely.. those men might still be lurking around..." The words cracked out from her mouth, a mix of plea and panic.

Killian turned to her fully in mild surprise.

"And what does that make me? Your bodyguard?" He asked her calmly not expecting any response because it wasn't actually a question. "I'm not interested."

Vivianne's heart sank in her stomach. The taste of rejection was sour. She'd never been rejected, people had always hearkened to her order, some even do it willingly, but for the very first time, this stranger had broken that rule—

"Please.." Her throat burned with desperation.

—and neither had she been at someone's advantage too, neither had she Pleaded before she gets whatever she wanted. Everything feared and composed about the ice queen was shattered by this stranger, and something more placed behind her chest(heart) that had shifted since Killian fought the men to save her, but she didn't realize it yet.

"Please I'll pay you. Any amount you want."

Killian paused, his brow raised in mild surprise.

"You think," he said slowly, "I care about your money?"