The Supreme Sovereign Returns

Chapter 007

"Hey, miss, are you listening?" Cassian Reed glanced over and noticed Rosalie Calloway staring at him, so he flashed a faintly amused smile and added, "I know I'm handsome, but there's no need to stare at me like that. You said your car was here, so where is it? Can we hurry this up? Time is money, miss."

Rosalie's pretty face flushed crimson as she lowered her gaze and answered in a voice barely above a whisper, "It's on the second level, over there."

Cassian sighed. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on with this girl, but given Rosalie's current state, he couldn't just leave her hanging. If you're going to help someone, you might as well see it through to the end.

Following Rosalie's directions, he retrieved an Aurelian from the underground parking garage. Cassian hadn't driven in ages. He spent several minutes in the garage fumbling around, groping at the controls, and nearly stomping the gas pedal instead of the brake. It took a while before muscle memory gradually surfaced. He lit a cigarette, gripped the wheel with one hand, and managed to bring the Aurelian up without a single scratch.

A thousand years ago, Cassian had been the Ashford family's live-in son-in-law in name only. In reality, he'd been suppressed at every turn, rarely allowed to leave the house or interact with others. But on the rare occasions he did go out, Cassian had been the designated driver. Driving was one skill that hadn't faded even after a millennium.

Time to hit the road.

"...Have you ever actually driven before?"

Rosalie sat in the passenger seat, hand pressed to her forehead. Baldy and his crew had planned to take her somewhere, not kill her outright, so they hadn't used anything too potent. She was recovering quickly now. As she turned to study Cassian's profile, she still felt he looked vaguely familiar. But what really caught her attention was his driving.

Cassian's driving was atrocious, with the car lurching between sudden bursts of speed and painfully slow crawls that left Rosalie struggling to believe that anyone in the world could possibly be a worse driver than she was.

"Ahem," Cassian cleared his throat, feeling his pride take a hit despite being a Sovereign, and tried to maintain his composure as he steered the Aurelian into traffic before muttering, "Of course I can drive; I just haven't been behind the wheel in a while."

"How long is 'a while'?"

"About a thousand years, I'd say."

"...Sir, are you actually sick in the head, or just pretending?"

Rosalie's mind had already cleared up quite a bit, and hearing that response brought her the rest of the way back. She stared at him suspiciously. A thousand years? Combined with everything else he'd said and done, Rosalie was starting to think that even if this guy was remotely normal, he wouldn't be saying things this... bizarre.

Cassian glanced at the rearview mirror and shrugged.

"Miss, I went through all that trouble to get you out of there. Sure, you already paid for my drinks and we're square, but you don't have to treat me like this. Are you really going to use me, then discard me?"

"I'm sorry. And thank you, by the way, for what you did back there."

Rosalie realized she'd been a bit rude. Her beautiful face flushed slightly with embarrassment as she gave him an address. "Could you take me there? My family's situation is decent enough. You saved my life, so I should thank you properly."

Cassian shot her a skeptical sideways glance, finding her claim almost impossible to believe, because if Rosalie's father and the Calloway Group ranked among the top five, or even the top three, wealthiest families in Harborcrest, then calling them "decent enough" was an understatement of absurd proportions. By that standard, more than half the city's residents would be crying themselves to sleep after realizing that, compared with the Calloway Group, they weren't merely poor but practically destitute.

"What are you looking at?"

Rosalie noticed something odd in Cassian's expression.

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course I believe you. Absolutely."

"But like I said, you bought me drinks, so we're even. You don't need to thank me again. Even if you tried, I'd have no reason to accept it. Besides, I need to shake off these guys first before I can take you home."

Cassian offered her a faint, relaxed smile before casually asking, "Shake off?"

Rosalie immediately seized on those two telling words, sensing that he was hinting at something important, but before she could question him further, Cassian tilted his head toward the rearview mirror and said, "Look."

Following his gaze, Rosalie studied the mirror with growing suspicion, but after staring at it for several seconds, she couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary, and her expression gradually filled with confusion as she asked, "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Miss, your brain is supposed to be used for thinking, you know."

Cassian sighed again, genuinely concerned for Rosalie's observational skills. "See those two Corvanes? One black, one white. They've been tailing us since we left the garage. I even took a few extra turns on purpose. Other cars around us changed, but not them."

"Miss, you live in a quiet neighborhood, right? I'm guessing the Goulds aren't done with you yet. They just didn't want to make a scene in the busy areas. You didn't even notice. Once we get to a more isolated stretch of road, you're going to be in for a rough time."

Rosalie's delicate brows shot up in alarm as disbelief spread across her face, and she immediately turned her attention to the rearview mirror, staring intently at the road behind them.

Sure enough, the two Corvanes looked like ordinary vehicles going about their business unless you paid close attention, but once Rosalie noticed them, their intentions became unmistakable. No matter how far the Aurelian pulled ahead, neither Corvane fell back or showed any sign of slowing down, and both remained stubbornly on their tail.

A flash of panic crossed Rosalie's face as she turned to Cassian and asked, "What are we going to do?"

"Put your seatbelt on," Cassian replied in a cool, even tone, as though the two vehicles behind them posed no threat at all.

"When you were bumping into everything back in the garage, I was worried you'd crash into me, so I buckled up ages ago!"

Rosalie pointed at the seatbelt across her waist, her expression inexplicably smug.

Cassian had a cigarette clamped between his lips and nearly choked. Damn it, did I step in dog shit today or something? Nothing's going right. Every time I try to act tough, something goes sideways. His face darkened. He had nothing to say to that. Slowly, deliberately, he pressed down on the accelerator. The Aurelian's engine roared to life, and it surged forward in an instant.

The scenery on both sides began streaking past in a blur, racing backward.

"Be careful!"

Rosalie's eyes went wide. Her body swayed with the motion of the car, and she gripped her seat, terrified of being thrown around. "Don't speed up! I'm scared we'll crash. I had this car specially modified when I bought it. It's not built to go fast!"

"It's enough."

Cassian flashed a confident grin.

For the first time, the Aurelian unleashed its full potential. It moved like a wild beast, fierce and untamed, yet it never collided with anything. It wove between vehicles with precision, drawing the attention of countless pedestrians who stopped to watch. Some even pulled out their phones to record.

In this day and age, street racing was a rare sight.

Behind them, inside one of the Corvanes, a man with bleached blond hair kept his eyes locked on the Aurelian's tail. Its sudden acceleration had caught them off guard. If they hesitated any longer, they'd lose it entirely.

"Damn it, floor it!"

A voice snarled through the phone. "I've had enough of this guy. The Gould heir gave us one job today: bring that woman back at any cost. Doesn't matter how badly she's hurt, as long as she's not dead. Just don't kill her, got it?"

"Got it!"

Blondie's eyes glinted with vicious intent as he nodded sharply.

The Goulds control the city. They've never cared about rules. Earlier, they'd chosen to tail quietly because it saved them some hassle. But now that their target was running, there was no point holding back. Blondie slammed his foot down hard.

The Corvane roared to life, engine thundering as it shot forward.

Cassian glanced back through the mirror, exhaled a lazy stream of smoke, and smirked.

That's right. I've been waiting for you to catch up.