NATHAN CROSS STRIKE BACK..

Chapter 15

At that moment, the secretary gave the order.

She did not say anything out loud. She did not need to.

She simply looked at the security guards and gave a single, sharp nod.

Immediately, they understood what she meant.

Within seconds, the four bodyguards moved as one, closing in around Nathan in a tight, suffocating circle. They did not touch him — not yet — but their presence was unmistakable. Intimidating. A clear message that if he made one wrong move, if he did anything that even remotely looked like a threat, they would end him without hesitation.

Nathan saw them.

He registered their movements, their positioning, the way they had surrounded him completely.

But he did not care.

One way or another, he believed in himself.

He believed that yes, he would definitely be able to heal this woman. He did not know how he knew. He did not fully understand why he was so certain. But something deep inside him — something instinctive and unshakeable — told him that he could do this.

That he *would* do this.

And there was something else, too.

Something he could not quite explain.

He could sense his spiritual energy in her as well.

It was faint. Barely there. But it was unmistakable once he focused on it. Like a thread connecting them. Like he had come in contact with her before, even though he had no memory of it. He could not pinpoint when or where or how, but he could feel it — something familiar, something that resonated with his own energy in a way that made no logical sense.

It was like recognizing a scent you had smelled years ago but could not place.

Like hearing a melody you knew you had heard before but could not remember where.

He did not understand it.

But he felt it.

And it gave him confidence.

Nathan moved forward slowly, carefully, his movements deliberate and unhurried despite the bodyguards hovering around him like vultures waiting for a corpse.

He knelt down beside Vivienne.

She was curled on the pavement, her body trembling violently, her breathing shallow and labored. The frost on her skin had spread past her collarbone now, creeping steadily up her neck in thin, crystalline patterns that looked almost beautiful if they were not so terrifying.

Nathan reached out and touched her shoulder gently.

The moment his hand made contact with her skin, he felt it — a jolt of energy, faint but unmistakable, like a spark jumping between two wires.

Vivienne felt it too.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly, and she looked at him with an expression that was equal parts pain and confusion and something else he could not quite identify.

"You need to sit upright," Nathan said quietly, his voice calm and steady.

Vivienne's eyes widened slightly.

She tried to speak, but the words came out in a barely audible whisper, strained with pain.

"I'm in severe pain," she managed to gasp. "I don't think I can."

"You can," Nathan said simply. "Just sit upright. Trust me."

Vivienne stared at him for a long moment.

Then, with what looked like monumental effort, she began to move.

It should not have been possible.

Claire, watching from a few paces away, knew exactly how much pain Vivienne was in right now. She had seen these episodes before. She knew that when the condition reached this stage, even the smallest movement felt like shards of glass tearing through Vivienne's entire body.

There was no way Vivienne should have been able to sit up on her own.

But she was doing it.

Slowly. Painfully. But she was doing it.

And Claire realized, with a cold shock of recognition, that something had changed.

The pain Vivienne had been feeling — the unbearable, all-consuming agony that had left her gasping and trembling on the pavement — had reduced.

Not by much, but enough.

Enough that Vivienne could move.

Enough that she could sit upright with Nathan's gentle support, her back resting against his leg, her head leaning back slightly as she tried to catch her breath.

The moment Claire saw Vivienne's head resting against Nathan's leg, her jaw tightened so hard she thought her teeth might crack.

"How *dare* you!" Claire's voice exploded across the space between them, sharp and furious. "How dare you get close to her like that! How dare you touch her in this manner!"

She took a step forward, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her entire body radiating outrage.

"Her body is not meant for a weakling like you!" Claire continued, her voice rising with each word. "Her body is not meant for a pervert like you! A stinking scumbag like you!"

She jabbed a finger toward Nathan, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Her body is meant for kings! Men of caliber! Men who are actually worthy of being in her presence! That is what her body is meant for! Not for you to touch! Not for you to put your filthy hands on!"

Silence.

Nathan did not look at Claire.

He was focused entirely on Vivienne now, his hands moving carefully, his expression calm and clinical.

Then, without looking up, he spoke.

"Just keep your mouth shut," Nathan said quietly, his voice flat and unbothered, "and allow me to do what I want to do. Allow me to save her."