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CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT
publish date:
2026-04-16 16:23:30
Latest chapter
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER EIGHTY TWO
Ragnar stayed still for a moment after Lance’s words settled into him.“I love you… so fucking much.”The sentence lingered, not loud, not overwhelming, just there, sitting in the space between them like something solid. Something that couldn’t be taken back.He exhaled slowly.Then, carefully, he removed Lance’s arms from around him, not roughly, not rejecting, just enough to turn.To face him.Lance didn’t step back.Didn’t even try to hide the way he was looking at him now, open, bright, completely unguarded in a way he hadn’t been in days.And that alone was… dangerous.Ragnar’s expression settled back into something more controlled, though not as cold as before.“Don’t misunderstand this,” he said.His voice was steady again. Grounded.But not distant.“This does not mean we are in a relationship.”Lance blinked.Once.Then—He smiled.Not small. Not subtle.Wide.Unapologetic.Like he hadn’t even heard the warning part.“…So you like me too,” he said immediately, voice light, al
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER EIGHTY ONE
They broke apart slowly.Not abruptly, not awkwardly, just enough for air, for space, for reality to settle back in.But it didn’t feel the same anymore.Nothing about it did.The room felt different now. Not louder, not brighter, just… altered, like something irreversible had clicked into place and neither of them had fully processed it yet.Lance was the first to really look at him properly.Not the cold version of him. Not the boss. Not the wall he usually hid behind.Just Ragnar.And the second he did, something in Lance shifted.A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. Slow. Knowing.Dangerous in its own way.“…So,” he murmured, voice lower now, lighter, like the tension that had been suffocating him for days had finally snapped, “you do have a heart after all.”Ragnar didn’t answer immediately.And that alone said everything.Because for the first time, He looked… off.Not shaken. Not out of control.But not entirely composed either.His usual stillness was there, but it wasn’
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER EIGHTY
Ragnar didn’t remain seated for long after the call ended.The moment the line went dead, the silence returned to his office but it no longer pressed in on him the way it had before. It wasn’t suffocating, wasn’t chaotic or resisting him.It was clear.Decisive.Zara’s voice lingered in his mind, steady and unyielding, cutting clean through every excuse he had tried to construct.If you don’t say anything, you’ll lose him.Ragnar exhaled slowly and rose from his chair in one controlled motion. Everything about him remained composed, his cuffs aligned, his posture straight, his expression unreadable as ever.But beneath that control, something had already shifted.He didn’t hesitate.“Send Lance to my office.”The instruction left him as calmly as any other order, nothing in his tone betraying the weight behind it. To anyone listening, it was routine. Ordinary.It wasn’t.Lance didn’t rush when the message reached him.He didn’t do that anymore.There had been a time, recent, embarrass
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER SEVENTY NINE
Zara didn’t speak right away after that.Not because she didn’t have anything to say but because she could feel it.The shift.Small, quiet… but real.For the first time in a long time, Ragnar wasn’t shutting the conversation down. He wasn’t dismissing, redirecting, or cutting things off the moment they got too personal.He was still there.Still listening.Still… open.And that alone made something warm settle in her chest.“…You should tell him.”The words came gently, but they didn’t waver.Ragnar’s brows pulled together slightly. “Tell him what?”Zara didn’t entertain that. “How you feel.”The response was immediate.“No.”Flat.Certain.Zara smiled faintly, like she had expected that answer before he even said it. “Ragnar—”“I don’t do that,” he cut in.There it was.That wall again.Solid.Familiar.Zara didn’t push against it harshly. She never had.Instead, her voice softened, steady and patient. “No,” she agreed quietly, “you don’t.”A pause.Then,“But you’ve also never been
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT
That night, sitting alone in his office long after everyone had left, staring at a file he hadn’t turned a page on in over ten minutes… he picked up his phone.And called her.The line rang once.Twice.Then,“Ragnar?”Zara’s voice was soft, laced with quiet surprise. Not concern, she didn’t panic easily but there was something underneath it. Something warm. Something that didn’t belong anywhere else in his life.He didn’t answer immediately.Because even now, even after pressing the call button, he wasn’t entirely sure why he had.“…Are you busy?” he asked finally.A small pause. Then a faint smile in her voice. “For you? Never.”That made something in his chest tighten slightly, subtle, controlled, but there.He leaned back in his chair, gaze drifting toward the dark window across the room. “I need your opinion on something.”Zara was quiet for a second longer this time. Not because she didn’t have an answer but because she understood what that meant.Ragnar didn’t ask for opinions.
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVEN
The change didn’t fade after a day.It stayed.Settled deeper.Over the next few days, Lance became… precise about it. Not obvious, not dramatic but intentional in a way that couldn’t be ignored if you were paying attention closely enough.He didn’t skip work. Didn’t miss meetings. Didn’t give Ragnar any actual reason to call him out.But he minimized contact.If something could be sent through someone else, it was. If a report could be dropped off without staying, he dropped it and left. If Ragnar was expected somewhere, Lance made sure he had already done what was needed before Ragnar even got there.Clean. Efficient.Distant.And Ragnar noticed.Of course he did.It wasn’t avoidance in the obvious sense, Lance wasn’t running, wasn’t acting nervous or unsettled. That would’ve been easier to deal with. Easier to control.This was different.This was deliberate.Lance wasn’t avoiding Ragnar because he cared too much.He was avoiding him because he had decided not to care at all.And t
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next day came faster than Lance expected, sunlight filtering through the windows and pulling him out of sleep.They all had breakfast together before heading back to the mansion for further preparations.When they arrived, Ragnar was already standing in the main hall speaking to someone in a lo
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER ELEVEN
The quarters were quiet except for the faint hum of the old air conditioner. Lance sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor, every muscle stiff from the day’s training. His hands ached, his body felt heavy, but the worst part wasn’t the pain, it was the knot in his chest, the dread he could
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER TEN
Marcus and Lance stepped back out into the main part of the club, the music hitting them again like a wall. The bass vibrated through the floor while lights flashed across the crowded room. People were still dancing, shouting, and drinking like nothing else in the world existed.Marcus scanned the
COLLATERAL DESIRE CHAPTER NINE
Days later, Lance woke to the sound of loud music blasting through the room and the thick smell of cigarettes and drugs lingering in the air.His head throbbed.He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around. Several men filled the room, some sitting on couches, others leaning against walls
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