LOGINShare
Securing the Perimeter
publish date:
2026-10-29 05:45:35POV: Jarrah
The silence in my penthouse had a pulse, heavy and suffocating. Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, Melbourne lay wrapped in midnight fog, a city unaware that its entire power structure had just ruptured. But inside, the only sound that mattered was the uneven, shallow rhythm of Malia’s breathing. She was curled on her side in the center of my bed, buried beneath heavy charcoal linens. Her face was pale, bruised, and shadowed with an exhaustion that ran deeper than bone. Even in sleep, her knuckles were white, clutching the fabric of my shirt like a lifeline. The trauma of the cave-in, of watching Alastair’s domain collapse around us, still held her in its grip. I sat on the edge of the mattress, my thumb gently tracing the line of her cheekbone, careful not to press against the dark contusion near her temple. Every protective instinct inside me screamed a raw, ferocious violent ache. She had walked through hell beside me, survived the collapse of the Kilsyth estate, and yet the air felt fragile, as if a single loud noise would shatter her completely. A silent vibration against my chest broke the stillness. I carefully disengaged my hand from hers, slipping my phone from my inner pocket as I walked out toward the balcony doors, keeping my gaze locked on her frame. I slid the phone open. It was Calaby. "Speak," I growled, my voice low enough not to disturb the room. "He’s alive, boss," Calaby’s gravelly voice came through, laced with static and tension. "Alastair made it out of the subterranean tunnels before the primary support pillars went down. But he’s broken. Witnesses near the north drainage outlet reported seeing a man dragged into a non-descript van. Crippled leg, severe blood loss, half his face burned. He’s running, but he has no army left." My jaw clenched until the muscle burned. "A rat in a hole is still dangerous, Calaby. I don't want him breathing Australian air by sunrise." "I've already initiated the net," Calaby replied. "Every bribed official on our payroll has turned their coat. Federal police, border patrol, maritime security they’re all working for us now. We’ve set up a statewide dragnet. Highways, private airfields, back-alley clinics. I offered fifty grand to any officer who brings in a verified sighting, and a million for his head." "No," I cut in coldly. "No one kills him except me. Keep the net tight. Cut off every rat line he built over the last thirty years. If a single fishing boat leaves Port Phillip Bay without my explicit clearance, sink it." "Understood." I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my jacket. Crossing the room back to the bed, I shed my tactical holster and boots, lowering myself onto the mattress beside Malia. The moment my weight shifted the bed, her eyes snapped open wide, terrified, dark with immediate panic. "Jarrah" she gasped, her hands scrambling against the sheets, her breath hitching wildly. "Shh... I'm here. It's me, Malia," I murmured softly, gathering her gently into my arms. I pulled her against my chest, feeling the violent tremor running through her spine. "You're safe. You're in the penthouse. He can't reach you here." She buried her face in the crook of my neck, her hands balling into my dark sweater. I felt the wet warmth of her tears soaking through the fabric, her chest heaving as the terror slowly ebbed into trembling relief. "I thought... I thought the cavern was coming down again," she whispered, her voice cracked and fragile. "I heard the blast..." "It was just the wind," I soothed, cradling the back of her head, my lips brushing her temple in a slow, solemn promise. "I've got you. I will burn this entire continent to dust before I let anyone put a hand on you again." She held onto me, her fingers digging in, her breathing slowly synchronizing with mine. But as she relaxed against my body, a fresh buzz from my phone cut through the dark. I glanced down at the illuminated screen resting on the nightstand. It was an encrypted message from Calaby: Dragnet hit. Law enforcement intercepted an encrypted signal from a dark site in Victoria. Alastair isn't trying to hide he just activated a scorched-earth protocol. My chest tightened as I read the rest of the message, my eyes darkening as I looked down at Malia sleeping softly against my heartbeat.
Latest chapter
BOUND BY THIS BLOOD CONTRACT The Bunker Breach
POV: Jarrah BOOM!The thermite charges detonated with a blinding, white-hot flash, melting the heavy steel hinges of the blast door into liquid metal. With a tremendous kick, I slammed my boot against the center of the door. The shattered five-ton barrier buckled inward, crashing onto the concrete floor of the bunker corridor with a deafening metallic roar.Smoke instantly poured out, thick and sulfurous."Breaching! Go, go, go!" I roared, diving through the entry archway low, my tactical rifle raised.The interior of the bunker was a claustrophobic nightmare of narrow, damp concrete halls lit only by flickering emergency red strip-lights. The moment we crossed the threshold, the dark corridor erupted into chaos.Automated security turrets and a squad of Alastair’s die-hard mercenaries unleashed a hail of machine-gun fire down the tight tunnel. Bullets ricocheted wildly off the curved walls, biting into the concrete and sending clouds of blinding dust into the air.I slid beh
BOUND BY THIS BLOOD CONTRACT Cape Schanck
POV: Malia The roar of the ocean was deafening, a monstrous swell crashing against the jagged black rocks hundreds of feet below us. The rain came sideways, driven by violent gusts of ocean wind that threatened to rip us right off the narrow cliffside ledge.Jarrah led the advance, his massive frame cutting through the black gloom, his thermal goggles glowing faint green. Behind us, six of our elite tactical operators moved in silent, synchronized formation.We were clinging to a narrow, slippery trail cut into the face of Cape Schanck's sheer cliffs. Below us lay the boiling surf of the Bass Strait; above us, the dark wilderness masked by the raging storm."Hold the rope!" Jarrah shouted over the thunderous boom of waves smashing into the cave mouths below. He reached back, his gloved hand locking around mine with crushing strength as my boot slipped on a patch of wet moss.He yanked me forcefully toward him, pulling my back flush against his chest armor. For a second, despite
BOUND BY THIS BLOOD CONTRACT The Hunt for the Fugitive
POV: JarrahThe war room in the subterranean bunker beneath my Melbourne office was filled with the rhythmic hum of tactical screens and satellite displays. Outside, a severe weather warning had downgraded the coastal regions of Victoria, bringing gale-force winds and relentless rain pounding against the coast."Satellite imagery picked up thermal spikes forty minutes ago," Calaby explained, tapping a screen displaying a high-resolution map of the rugged Victorian shoreline. "Here. Cape Schanck. It’s an old Cold War-era coastal bunker built into the sheer rock face beneath the cliffs. Completely hidden from land, accessible only through a sea-cave network or a reinforced blast door buried in the cliffside."I leaned over the map table, my fists resting heavily on the glass edge. "And Alastair?""Our bribed maritime surveillance confirmed a specialized stealth midget submarine is currently navigating the deep channel off Bass Strait," Calaby added, zooming in on a sonar signature.
BOUND BY THIS BLOOD CONTRACT The Broken Crown
POV: MaliaThe news swept through the Australian underworld like a wildfire on a high wind. By mid-morning, the destruction of the ancestral Kilsyth estate was no longer a secret buried beneath granite rubble; it was a seismic shock that reordered every hierarchy from Melbourne to Sydney.I sat in the velvet armchair facing the expansive glass windows of Jarrah’s private study, sipping dark tea that did little to warm the cold ache in my bones. My body was covered in purple-black bruises, remnants of our narrow escape from the crumbling subterranean tunnels, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the psychological weight settling over the room.Jarrah stood at his massive mahogany desk, dressed in a sharp dark suit that hid every trace of the warrior who had dug me out of the collapsed stone hours prior. Calaby stood across from him, laying out thick folders and tablet displays filled with urgent messages."The heads of the five major syndicates are panicking, boss," Calab
BOUND BY THIS BLOOD CONTRACT Securing the Perimeter
POV: JarrahThe silence in my penthouse had a pulse, heavy and suffocating. Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, Melbourne lay wrapped in midnight fog, a city unaware that its entire power structure had just ruptured. But inside, the only sound that mattered was the uneven, shallow rhythm of Malia’s breathing.She was curled on her side in the center of my bed, buried beneath heavy charcoal linens. Her face was pale, bruised, and shadowed with an exhaustion that ran deeper than bone. Even in sleep, her knuckles were white, clutching the fabric of my shirt like a lifeline. The trauma of the cave-in, of watching Alastair’s domain collapse around us, still held her in its grip.I sat on the edge of the mattress, my thumb gently tracing the line of her cheekbone, careful not to press against the dark contusion near her temple. Every protective instinct inside me screamed a raw, ferocious violent ache. She had walked through hell beside me, survived the collapse of the Kilsyth estate, a
BOUND BY THIS BLOOD CONTRACT EMERGING FROM DARKNESS
POV: JarrahThe blinding glare of early morning sun hit my eyes like a physical blow.The emergency inflatable craft shot out from the cavern mouth under the towering sandstone cliffs, airborne for one heart-stopping second, before slamming down hard onto the rolling gray waters of Port Phillip Bay.Salty sea spray erupted over the bow, washing away the bitter taste of cave dust and gunpowder that had filled my mouth for hours.The boat settled into the ocean swells, bobbing rhythmically on the wide, open water. Behind us, high up on the coastal bluff, a massive column of thick black smoke was rising into the pale blue sky. Kilsyth Manor was gone, its historic stone walls caved in on themselves, buried in a massive sinkhole of its own destruction.I didn't care about the manor. I didn't care about the smoke.I dropped the outboard tiller, turning immediately to the floor of the boat.Malia was lying on her side against the rubber pontoon, trembling violently. The freezing temp
You May Also Like
My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret
Janedoewritings567.1K viewsMafia Men VI - Alessandro's Games
Janedoewritings100.9K viewsThe Mafia's Dark Obsession
Bella Cupid150.5K viewsItalian Men
Sunshine111.3K viewsRuined By Daddy
Chrysanthemum 408 viewsThe Mafia King’s Plus Sized Queen
Mariahh_Maverick62 viewsAnimal Instinct 2
Gegimei442 viewsBound By His Debt
The Black Daisy31 views
