로그인Danny's POV I cleared my throat loudly, letting out a sharp, aggressive, "Mhmm mhmm mhmm." Chad immediately stopped looking at Julian. He reached for his glass of water, his large hand wrapping around the glass effortlessly, and shoved it toward me. He looked at me carefully, his eyebrows pulling together. "Are you okay?" I grabbed the glass, my fingers tight against the cold surface and drank the water in one frantic gulp as Julian finally walked away and disappeared back into the kitchen. I slammed the cup down on the dining table, hard enough to make the remaining ice clink loudly, but not hard enough to break the glass. I glared up at him, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "Well, never been better." Chad’s dark eyes were still fixed entirely on my face, tracking the tense set of my jaw. He tilted his head slightly, his tone dropping into that quiet, heavy rumble. "Are you sure?" I forced my lips to stretch wide, faking a bright completely empty smile
Danny's POV I opened my eyes slowly, the warmth of the room wrapping around me before I even fully realized where I was. I was curled up right against Chad’s chest, the steady heavy thud of his heartbeat right under my cheek. I stayed completely still just looking up at him. When he was asleep like this his face looked so peaceful, all those hard dangerous lines around his jaw completely melting away. He looked like a normal person, not the guy who ran whatever with an iron fist. He must be really tired from all the chaos lately, so I didn't want to wake him up. I carefully slid out from under his heavy arm, creeping across the room and slipping into the bathroom. After taking a warm shower, I stood in front of the mirror, stretching out my arms. At least my body isn't aching anymore. The soreness from yesterday had finally faded into a dull, manageable hum. I put on one of his oversized shirts and headed downstairs. The moment I got close to the kitchen, a rich, buttery scent
Erica's POV "Hello, my princess." I let out a long, exhausted sigh, the weight of the day pressing down on my shoulders as I rubbed my temples. "What do you want this time?" "Can't I call my own daughter again?" I rolled my eyes so hard it physically hurt. I grabbed the remote from the coffee table, clicking the button to lower the volume on the interesting action movie playing on the TV. "You only call me for money." "Well, good you know," her voice came through the speaker, completely flat, not even trying to deny it. "Are you still in Paris? I thought you got paid well to go there, you should send money home to us." A sharp knot formed right in the center of my chest. "Mum, I just sent you money last week!" "Yes, I know, don't be rude about it," she snapped back, her tone turning sharp and defensive. "I used that money to sort your brothers school bills but now we have run out on foodstuffs and we need money." My heart completely sank. A familiar, sick feeling washed over
Danny's POV A nervous laugh forced its way out of my throat, the sheer absurdity of what he’d just suggested hitting me all at once. "You can't just do that to someone because I wasn't comfortable?" I said, staring at him like he’d lost his mind. Chadwick grinned, his lips twisting into that dark, effortless smirk that always made my stomach do weird things. "Uhhh but you don't feel comfortable with his face right?" I rolled my eyes so hard it practically hurt, letting out a long sigh as I shifted on the mattress. "It is fine. It is fine. Don't worry about it." Chadwick tilted his head, his brown eyes tracking my expression closely. "Are you sure?" "I mean yeah idk...." I muttered, my fingers casually tugging at the edge of the blanket. I looked away, feeling a little stupid for even bringing it up in the first place. "It is just somehow that he looks like me." Chadwick laughed, a low rumbling sound that vibrated through the quiet bedroom. He leaned back a bit, looking compl
Danny's POV I dropped my hands from my face, letting out a long, heavy breath to shake off the embarrassment. "Okay, please just say it again," I muttered, looking right at him. "I am sorry I got distracted." Chadwick let out a low rumble of a laugh, the sound vibrating right against my side. "Okay. I said Gabriel would be going back home tomorrow, and I was right he was kidnapped by Leo. The police and my men are still searching for him." I just nodded, swallowing down the sudden lump in my throat. Hearing that Gabriel was actually safe made the heavy panic in my chest loosen up a bit, but the mention of Leo still kept me on edge. Chadwick didn't say anything else. He just reached out, wrapping his fingers around mine and holding our hands together. I looked up, and the breath completely caught in my throat. His eyes were softening so soft, I had never seen his eyes like this before. The cold, ruthless Sanchez look was entirely gone. Chad looked at me, like he was staring at
Danny's POV By 6 p.m the living room felt like a waiting room at a hospital. The movie was playing on the screen, some stupid action thing with explosions, but neither of us was actually looking at it. I was lying down, my head resting heavy on Erica's laps, staring straight at the wall. My stomach was doing that slow, sick twist it always does when I am terrified. Panic was just sitting there, heavy on my chest, suffocating us both. We were just waiting. Waiting for Chad to walk through that door with whatever news he was bringing.Then, the heavy thuds of boot heels came from behind me, echoing against the marble floor.My body reacted before my brain did. I scrambled up from Erica's lap, my heart jumping straight into my throat. Chad walked in. Behind him was Rojit, and right behind them was a group of massive men I had never seen before. They were dressed like guards, completely serious, moving like machines.Chad came right toward me. The scent of the outside rain and smoke fo
Danny's POV The lecture hall felt like a pressurized chamber. The hum of the air conditioning was the only thing filling the silence as Professor Chadwick stood at the front of the room. He wasn't teaching. He had a slide projected on the screen behind him, something about parasites and the way th
Danny's POV I felt like a walking open wound.I was back in that bathroom, the water scalding, turning my skin a raw, angry pink. I scrubbed and scrubbed until the soap stung, but it didn't matter. I could still feel the phantom weight of Miguel’s hands, the way he had pinned me against that door
Danny's POV The walk back to the dorms felt like a trip to the gallows. I kept pulling the sleeves of my pink hoodie over my knuckles, trying to hide the fact that I was shaking. Every shadow under the trees looked like a person reaching for me, every flicker of a streetlamp felt like a camera len
Danny's POV The lecture hall felt like a pressurized chamber. The hum of the air conditioning was the only thing filling the silence as Professor Chadwick stood at the front of the room. He wasn't teaching. He had a slide projected on the screen behind him, something about parasites and the way th







