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The Only Way

Author: Duchess Pen
last update publish date: 2026-09-14 16:07:49

Chapter 9: The Only Way

"Marcus." Griggs sounded almost disappointed, like a teacher catching a favorite student cheating. "I thought you had better instincts than this. Guess loyalty beats good sense after all."

"Back off, Griggs." Marcus's hand hovered near his sidearm, though he didn't draw it. "You've got no authority to detain me. I still outrank you on paper, whatever Voss signed an hour ago."

"On paper." Griggs smiled, and somehow that was worse than if he'd shouted. "Funny thing about p
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  • THE WARDENS OBSESSION   Running on Empty

    Chapter 12: Running on Empty"Who's back there?" Ryan twisted in his seat, watching the headlights eat up the distance behind them."I don't plan on finding out by slowing down." Samuel pressed the gas, and the stolen sedan shuddered like it was already giving up, the fuel needle buried past empty, the engine sputtering on whatever fumes it had left."If this thing dies on an empty highway with them right behind us—""I know." His knuckles had gone bloodless on the wheel. "Working on it."The headlights kept closing, near enough now that Ryan could make out a heavy pickup, the kind meant for hauling, not chasing, which told him whoever was driving hadn't picked that truck for speed. They'd picked it to run something smaller off the road."They're not trying to catch us." The realization hit Ryan like cold water down his spine. "They're trying to hit us."Samuel checked the mirror and confirmed it without a word. "Brace."The impact came a second later, the truck's grille slamming thei

  • THE WARDENS OBSESSION   Nowhere Safe

    Chapter 11: Nowhere SafeThey hit the fire escape running.Ryan clutched the box against his chest as Samuel led him down the rusted metal steps two at a time, the structure groaning under their weight, every clang echoing far louder than either of them wanted. Below, flashlight beams swept across the alley they'd parked in, voices calling out instructions Ryan couldn't make out but understood well enough anyway."They're at the car," Samuel whispered, freezing them both on the second-floor landing. "We can't go that way.""Then which way?"Samuel scanned the alley below, jaw tight, calculating with the same speed he'd shown all night. "Across the rooftops. This building connects to the next three down the block. If we move fast, we can put distance between us before they even realize which direction we went.""You want me to jump between rooftops? Now?""I want you alive in ten minutes. This is how we manage that." Samuel was already climbing back up rather than down, pulling Ryan wi

  • THE WARDENS OBSESSION   Home Again

    Chapter 10: Home AgainThe apartment building looked exactly the way Ryan remembered it, which somehow made everything worse.Samuel killed the headlights two blocks out and coasted the last stretch in darkness, scanning both sides of the street before pulling into an alley behind the building. "Stay low. If anyone's watching this place, I want them looking for a car, not two people on foot.""Nobody's watching. Why would they be? I've been locked up for over a year.""Because your brother left something here that Voss has spent years trying to erase, and the second Griggs reports we're missing, someone in that organization is going to remember exactly where you used to live." Samuel cut the engine. "I'd rather be wrong and careful than right and dead."They slipped out of the vehicle and moved along the back of the building, Ryan's legs unsteady beneath him, half from exhaustion and half from the surreal weight of standing on a street he'd once walked every day without a second thoug

  • THE WARDENS OBSESSION   The Only Way

    Chapter 9: The Only Way"Marcus." Griggs sounded almost disappointed, like a teacher catching a favorite student cheating. "I thought you had better instincts than this. Guess loyalty beats good sense after all.""Back off, Griggs." Marcus's hand hovered near his sidearm, though he didn't draw it. "You've got no authority to detain me. I still outrank you on paper, whatever Voss signed an hour ago.""On paper." Griggs smiled, and somehow that was worse than if he'd shouted. "Funny thing about paper — Voss can rewrite it faster than you can read it. Right now, you're aiding the escape of a flagged threat and a warden who's already been stripped of command. That's not a conversation you want to have."Ryan's heart slammed against his ribs as the two guards flanking Griggs shifted their stance, weapons lowered but ready, waiting for one word to change that. Beside him, Samuel had gone rigid in a way Ryan recognized now — not fear, calculation."Let them go," Samuel said. "Nobody else nee

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    Chapter 7: Locked Down"They're sealing the corridor," Samuel said. "Run!"They sprinted through the dark, Samuel's hand locked around Ryan's wrist, guiding him past obstacles neither of them could see. Ahead, the groan of the sealing door grew louder, metal grinding against metal as it descended from the ceiling, a barrier meant to trap them on the wrong side permanently."We're not going to make it," Ryan gasped."We will." Samuel's grip tightened. "Faster."The gap beneath the door had shrunk to less than three feet, closing steadily, unforgivingly. Samuel shoved Ryan ahead of him, forcing him to drop and slide beneath the descending steel with inches to spare, and threw himself after him a half second later. The door slammed shut behind them with a finality that echoed through the corridor like a gunshot, sealing off the pursuit voices instantly, cutting them off mid-shout.Silence. Ryan lay on the concrete, chest heaving, listening to nothing but his own pulse hammering in his ea

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