MasukThe gunfire was getting closer. Louder. Like a war happening just outside.Julian pulled Lia away from the broken window. Pushed her behind the bed. "Stay down. Don't move.""What's happening?""Someone's attacking the warehouse. Don't know who. Could be Caspian's people. Could be a rival to Bratva. Either way, we use the chaos to get out.""How? The door's locked. We're trapped.""Not anymore." Julian grabbed a piece of broken glass from the window. Big shard. Sharp. "When they come to check on us, I take them down. Get their keys. We run.""You're hurt. You can barely stand.""I'll manage. I've survived worse."Footsteps outside. Running. Yelling in Russian. Panicked. Scared.The door burst open. Two guards. Young. Distracted by whatever was happening outside.Julian moved. Fast. Slammed the glass into the first guard's throat. Blood everywhere. The man dropped.The second guard reached for his gun. Julian tackled him. They fought. Brutal. Ugly. Desperate.Lia watched. Frozen. Hand
"We need to leave. Now." Lia was already moving. Trying to get dressed. Find some small equipments. Do anything useful while her hands shook.Julian grabbed her shoulders. "Stop. Think about this. It could be a trap.""I don't care. That's Caspian. He's surrendering himself. Because of me. I have to stop him.""How? We don't even know if that video is real. Could be old footage. Could be photoshopped like the last one.""It looked real. The timestamp was from today. And the warehouse in the background, I recognize it. Caspian showed me once. Said it was one of his properties on the south side.""Okay. But even if it's real, what's your plan? Walk in there? Ask Kozlov nicely to let him go?"Lia didn't have a plan. Just knew she couldn't sit in this motel room while Caspian traded his life for hers."I'll figure it out when we get there. But I have to try."Julian looked at her. Really looked at her. Then nodded. "Okay. We go. But we're smart about it. We scout first. Don't just rush in
Dorian walked in looking like he'd seen a ghost."What?" Caspian didn't look up from the map. He'd been staring at it for three hours. Plotting. Planning. Trying to figure out where Kozlov was hiding."I found her."Caspian's head snapped up. "What?""Lia. I found her. She's alive."The world stopped. Everything stopped. "Where? Is she okay? The baby?""Both fine. Some injuries. She was in a hospital upstate. Preterm labor scare. But she's stable now.""Take me to her. Right now.""I can't.""What do you mean you can't?""She's not there anymore. By the time I got the location, she was gone.""Gone where?"Dorian hesitated. "With Julian Ashford."Silence. Cold. Deadly."Say that again.""Julian showed up. Got her out before the Bratva could take her. They're on the run together. Have been for days.""Together.""Yeah.""Lia is with Julian. Her ex-husband. The man who destroyed her. And she's just... with him.""She didn't have a choice, Boss. The guards were dead. Bratva was coming. J
Dorian drove fast. Too fast for the dark country roads."Slow down," Lia said. "You're going to crash.""Can't. Cops are behind us. Maybe ten minutes back. We need distance.""Where are we going?""Safe house. Two hours north. The boss is meeting us there.""Caspian's there? Right now?""Will be by the time we arrive. He's been going crazy looking for you. When I told him I found you..." Dorian's voice cracked. "I've never heard him sound like that. Relief and rage and fear all at once."Lia's chest tightened. "Is he okay? I saw a photo. He was tied up. Beaten.""That was fake. Photoshop. Kozlov trying to mess with your head."Relief flooded through her. "So he's not hurt?""Didn't say that. He's been fighting a war for three weeks. He's hurt. Just not as bad as that photo made it look."Three weeks. She'd been gone for three weeks. It felt like months. Like years."What about the Bratva? Did he... did he end it?""Working on it. Kozlov's still out there. But most of his organization
Julian came back with bags.Lia heard the knock. Three times. Pause. Two times. Like he'd said.She unlocked the door. Let him in. Locked it again immediately."Got food. Medicine. Bandages." He set everything on the small table. "And a burner phone. But we can't use it yet. Not until we're somewhere safer.""Why not? I need to call Caspian. Let him know I'm alive.""Because calls can be traced. Even burners. Especially if they're monitoring his phone. Which they probably are." Julian pulled out a bottle of water. Handed it to her. "Drink. You're dehydrated."Lia wanted to argue. I wanted to grab the phone and call anyway. But he was right. If the Bratva was watching Caspian's phone, one call could lead them straight here.She drank the water. Realized how thirsty she was. Drank the whole bottle."Good. Now eat something." Julian unwrapped a sandwich. Turkey and cheese. Simple. Safe. "Doctor said you need to keep your strength up. For the baby.""I don't feel hungry.""I don't care. E
"That's a lie." Julian's voice was shaking. "Lia, I swear on my life, that's a lie. I didn't make any deal."The Russian laughed. "Why would we lie? You're already caught. Both of you.""Because you want her to distrust me! I want her isolated! Easier to control!" Julian turned to Lia. His eyes were desperate. Pleading. "I came here to save you. That's all. I've been following their movements for days. I knew they were coming for you. I got here first.""Then why did he say you made a deal?" Lia's voice was broken. She wanted to believe him. But she'd been betrayed so many times. By Julian. By Caspian. By everyone."I don't know! Maybe they're trying to turn you against me so you won't fight! Maybe they want you scared and alone!""Or maybe you're lying. Again. Like you always do.""I'm not! Lia, please. I know I've fucked up. I know I've hurt you. But I would never sell you out to the Bratva. Never."The Russian stepped closer. Gun pointed at Julian's head. "Enough talking. Get in th
The SUV smelled like leather and cigarettes. Lia sat wedged between two men built like linebackers, her wrists zip-tied in front of her. Every time she tried to speak, the man on her left would shake his head. A silent warning.So she stayed quiet. Watched the city pass by through tinted windows. T
The SUV smelled like leather and cigarettes. Lia sat wedged between two massive men, her wrists zip-tied in front of her. Every bump in the road sent pain shooting through her arms. She'd tried screaming when they first grabbed her. One of the men had backhanded her hard enough to make her ears rin
Monday morning came too fast.Lia woke in the guest bedroom to gray light filtering through the curtains and the sound of Julian's car pulling out of the driveway. He hadn't even bothered coming in to see if she was home. Probably assumed she was at Isla's again. Or maybe he just didn't care anymor
Lia stood in front of her closet trying to decide what to wear to her own betrayal.The black dress felt too obvious. The red is too bold. She settled on dark green silk that Caspian had once said brought out her eyes. At least if she was going to gather intelligence for a blackmailer, she could lo







