The air in the factory was heavy with oil, rust, and the metallic tang of blood. Shadows clung to the walls like they were hiding from the men who stood in the center of the room.Liam stood there—expressionless, hands loose at his sides.The Boss, a tall, broad man with a shaved head and a face carved in harsh lines, studied him with a crooked smile. He stepped closer and patted Liam’s shoulder, the sound sharp in the quiet.“You know why I like you, boy?” His voice was deep, carrying the weight of a man who had spent his life being obeyed.Liam’s dark eyes didn’t flinch. “Why?”The Boss leaned in, his breath hot with the stench of cigar smoke. “Because you fear nothing.”Without warning, he turned, his hand dipping into his jacket. The silver gleam of a gun caught the dim light as he drew it out, spinning it lazily in his grip before pointing it straight at Liam’s chest.The men around them tensed. A couple exchanged glances, muttering under their breath.“Now,” the Boss said, voice
The morning sun glazed the road in warm gold as Liam drove through the quiet streets. His hand rested loosely on the steering wheel, his body relaxed against the seat for the first time in what felt like days. A rare thing—peace.And yet…His thoughts weren’t on the road.They were on her.Elizabeth.He smirked faintly, glancing out of the windshield as if her face might appear in the clouds. He could still picture the way she had rolled her eyes at him over breakfast, the way her voice dropped when she whispered about her old apartment. Even when she was mad, even when she flinched away from him—she stayed.And that bracelet…He wondered if she was still wearing it.If she stared at it the way he hoped she would.If she finally understood she was his.That thought made him smile to himself.He didn’t even realize how fast he was going.The engine hummed steadily, the road stretching ahead like a promise—until—SCREEECH.“What the—?”A motorcycle came out of nowhere, swerving across t
Elizabeth groaned and walked away, mumbling something under her breath as she disappeared into the hallway.The moment she was gone, Liam’s body tensed.His phone, lying on the table beside him, lit up with a loud beep.He glanced toward the hallway, listening for her footsteps—silence.Then he reached for the phone with trembling fingers.A message blinked on the screen.Unknown Number: “Kill her.”His jaw clenched. His vision sharpened.For a long moment, Liam didn’t move. He just stared at the screen like it was a curse written by fate. The fire in his chest rose, but not from the fever—it was something darker. Something violent. But this time… it twisted differently.When he heard Elizabeth’s soft footsteps returning, he quickly swiped the message away and dropped the phone back into the blankets.His body slumped again just as she re-entered the room holding a damp cloth.“You’re awake again?” she muttered.“I never slept,” he rasped, eyes half-lidded. “I was waiting for you.”El
Liam was deeply sick, his body trembling uncontrollably as he lay curled on the bed, drenched in sweat and shivering under the thick blankets. His skin was clammy, his breathing ragged. The storm had passed, but inside the house, the air was heavy with silence and unease.Elizabeth opened the door and stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Her eyes swept over his weakened form. He looked like a ghost of himself—pale, broken, barely able to move.She groaned and rolled her eyes.Without saying a word, she turned and walked out, letting the door swing closed behind her.Downstairs, the quiet of the living room welcomed her like an old friend. Her eyes landed on the front door. The handle gleamed under the soft morning light filtering in through the curtains.She stopped.“I should leave right now,” she muttered, pacing slowly toward it. “He’s sick. Weak. He can’t stop me.”Her heart beat faster. This was her moment. A moment she’d dreamed of too many nights—when his temper flared, when he
Elizabeth paused halfway back to the house. Her fingers clenched at her sides as the thunder roared again, echoing the war inside her chest. She cursed under her breath and turned sharply, storming back toward Liam through the mud.She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him, her hand slippery against his soaked skin. “You can’t just stand here like this!” she yelled. “You’ll freeze out here, what the hell is wrong with you?!”He didn’t move.She shoved at his chest, her hands slapping against it hard. “Say something! Fight back! Yell! Just do something, Liam, instead of this—this zombie act!”Still, he stood there like a stone.So she hit his chest again. Harder this time.“I said stop it!” Her voice cracked, anger spilling out of her. “Stop punishing yourself like this! You think you’re the only one who’s hurt?!”She tried lifting the umbrella again, desperately trying to cover him, but he smacked it away.It crashed to the ground between them.“Just go, okay?” he shouted, his voice r
Rain was falling heavily.It hit the windows like angry fingers, wild and unrelenting, drowning the world in gray. The sky outside was a furious, endless stretch of storm clouds, and the thunder cracked like it was breaking the earth open.Elizabeth stood by the window, staring blankly into the dark, her arms wrapped around herself. The cold from the glass seeped into her skin, but she didn’t move. Her mind was somewhere else—miles and years away.Nathan.His name came with a wave of confusion and emotion she wasn’t prepared for. She hadn’t thought of him in months—no, years, not really. Not in that real way. But now, after everything, after him showing up again like some ghost from a past she thought was buried, the memories came crashing in whether she wanted them or not.She closed her eyes.She could see Nathan’s smile, hear his laugh. Remember how he used to look at her like she was the only person that mattered. And how she used to believe him. God, she had believed in him so mu