NATHAN CROSS STRIKE BACK..

Chapter 20

The bodyguards understood immediately.

They fanned out, creating a perimeter around the scene. Two of them moved to block the view from the street, positioning themselves so that any passersby would not be able to see what was happening. The other two began scanning the area carefully, looking for any sign that someone might be recording this on their phone.

Because if footage of this got out — if anyone saw Vivienne Sterling, heiress to the Sterling family fortune, lying on the pavement with a disgraced con artist's hand on her bare chest while she embraced him like a lover — the scandal would be catastrophic.

It would destroy Vivienne's reputation.

It would destroy the Sterling family's reputation.

And it would destroy Claire's career and possibly her life.

So the bodyguards worked quickly and efficiently, making absolutely certain that no phones were pointed in their direction, that no bystanders were getting too close, that no security cameras had a clear line of sight to what was happening.

They waited.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Then thirty.

And through it all, Nathan remained in the same position, his hand pressed against Vivienne's chest, his eyes closed in concentration, his breathing slow and steady.

And Vivienne remained in her position as well, her arms wrapped around Nathan, her body relaxed against his, her eyes closed, her face peaceful in a way Claire had not seen in years.

They looked like lovers.

Like a couple lying together in the aftermath of intimacy.

And Claire hated it.

But she did not intervene.

Because Vivienne was not dying anymore.

And that was what mattered.

Even if everything else about this situation made Claire want to scream.

Nathan could feel his body beginning to fail.

Not dramatically.

Not suddenly.

But gradually, like a battery slowly draining of power.

This was the first time he had ever done something like this.

The first time he had transferred spiritual energy to another person in an attempt to heal them. The first time he had used these strange abilities that had awakened within him — abilities he did not fully understand, knowledge he did not remember acquiring, power he did not know the source of.

And it was taking a physical toll on him.

His muscles ached.

His bones felt heavy.

His breathing, though still controlled, required more effort with each passing minute.

He could feel the spiritual energy flowing out of him in a steady stream, flowing through his hand and into Vivienne's body, working to counteract whatever was causing her condition.

And he could feel his own reserves depleting.

Not dangerously.

Not yet.

But enough that he knew he would need to stop soon, or he would collapse from exhaustion.

Nathan made a mental note.

*I need to hit the gym.*

*I need to do more physical training.*

*If I want to harness this power to its full potential, my body needs to be stronger.*

But that was a concern for later.

Right now, he needed to finish what he had started.

He focused on the flow of energy, on the connection between his spiritual core and hers, on the way his warmth was slowly but surely replacing the unnatural cold that had nearly killed her.

And then, at the thirty-four-minute mark, he felt it.

The shift.

The completion.

It was not a dramatic moment. There was no flash of light, no sudden surge of power, no external sign that anything had changed.

But Nathan knew.

He could feel it through the connection his spiritual energy had made with Vivienne's.

Her condition was stable.

Not just stabilized temporarily, like it had been at the fifteen-minute mark.

But actually stable.

Cured.

The root cause of the cold — whatever it was, wherever it had come from — had been addressed. Her spiritual energy, which had been in complete chaos when he first touched her, was now flowing smoothly and naturally through her body. Her internal temperature had returned to normal. Her organs were functioning properly. Her nervous system was no longer screaming with pain.

She was healed.

Nathan took a slow, careful breath.

Then he removed his hand from Vivienne's chest.

The moment his palm left her skin, Vivienne's body seemed to settle even further into relaxation.

Her arms, which had been wrapped tightly around Nathan, loosened slightly but did not let go entirely.

Her breathing, already steady, became even slower and deeper.

Her eyes, which had been closed, remained closed.

She looked like she was sleeping.

Peacefully.

Contentedly.

Like someone who had just experienced the most restful, restorative sleep of their entire life and was drifting in that pleasant space between dreams and waking.

Claire stared at Vivienne's sleeping form with a mixture of relief and suspicion.

She could see that Vivienne was breathing.

That much was obvious.

Her chest was rising and falling steadily. Her color had returned to normal. The frost that had been spreading across her skin like some kind of supernatural plague was completely gone.

She was alive.

But why was she sleeping?

How could she be sleeping?

Just minutes ago she had been in unbearable pain, on the verge of death, and now she was sleeping like nothing had happened at all?

It did not make sense.

Claire looked at Nathan with narrowed eyes.

He looked exhausted.

There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. His breathing was heavier than it had been when he started. His shoulders were slightly slumped, like someone who had just finished a marathon.

But he was conscious.

Alert.

And he was looking at Vivienne with an expression that Claire could not quite read.

Not smug.

Not proud.

Just... satisfied.

Like he had accomplished what he set out to do and was pleased with the result.

Claire's jaw tightened.

She took a step forward, her arms still crossed tightly over her chest, her eyes locked on Nathan's face.

"Are you done?" she asked, her voice flat and controlled but with an edge that suggested she was holding back a great deal of anger.