LOGINSophia took her hand first, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She noticed Samantha had gone a little serious after what she’d said.“First, take the pill I brought you. I heard about what happened and how sick you got during the chase,” she said, placing the tablet in Samantha’s palm.She stood up, grabbed a glass of water for her, came back, and handed it over. Then sat down beside her again. Samantha swallowed the pill, but curiosity was already burning—she wanted to know what Sophia had come to talk about. She decided to cut the suspense.“What did you want to talk about? You said it was serious.”“Relax, don’t get scared. Nothing new happened. When I said serious, I meant it’s about what went down today—and the other days, too. It’s something that’s… concerning, in a way,” Sophia said, taking Samantha’s hand again.“I get it. I already figured something else had happened.”“Look, I know this isn’t easy for you—going through all of this. I can only imagine what’s running through your
Marcos floored the gas and weaved through traffic on the avenue with pinpoint precision. Samantha had her seatbelt on tight and clung to whatever she could to brace herself, trying not to get thrown around by his sharp maneuvers.At one point during the escape, the rear windshield shattered. They realized they were being shot at.“Get down, Samantha!” Marcos yelled, pressing a hand to her head and forcing her low.Andrew, in the back, returned fire. Marcos swerved past a few more cars and glanced at her—she had both hands over her head, shielding herself.He spotted the traffic light turning yellow and gunned it through the intersection. More bullets hit the car’s body. He warned:“Hold on!”He blasted through the red light, narrowly avoiding a crash. The car behind them wasn’t so lucky—it slammed into another vehicle, causing a pileup. That gave them the break they needed to shake the tail.Marcos eased off the gas a little and turned onto a side street, finally putting real distance
Samantha finished packing everything she needed. She was pissed at Adam—he’d probably requested medical leave for her without even asking.She opened the bedroom door and dragged the suitcase out. Marcos and Andrew were waiting in the living room. Marcos was even talking quietly with one of the men who’d stayed behind at the house.“Ready, princess?” Andrew teased.“I am,” she replied dryly.“What bit you back there? What happened to make you so mad?”“What happened? Your brother might be nice and attentive, but he can also be a complete idiot,” she said, letting all her frustration show.Andrew grinned, clearly amused by how worked up she was—especially since it was over his brother.“I totally agree with you, Samantha. That’s why I told you I’m the better option,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.“You sure? Because you two seem cut from the same cloth. Weren’t you the one flirting with Pedro just a few minutes ago?” she asked, shrugging his arm off.“Wow, damn! The wom
Pedro felt a little awkward under Andrew’s gaze. He looked away, letting Samantha handle the situation.“You okay?” Andrew asked, directing the question straight at him.When Pedro realized he was being spoken to, he couldn’t avoid it anymore.“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you,” he replied, glancing at Samantha.Since Andrew had asked who he was, Samantha seized the chance to explain.“Pedro, this is Andrew—the brother of the guy you met at the hospital,” she said, choosing her words carefully.Andrew stepped further into the house and walked over to him, introducing himself properly.“Nice to meet you, Pedro,” he said, extending his hand.“Nice to meet you too, Andrew,” Pedro replied, shaking it.Andrew gave a small smile. Pedro quickly let go of his hand. He looked back at Samantha again.“The issue with your ex is resolved. He won’t bother you two anymore. But if he shows up again, just let me know—I’ll handle it for good,” he said firmly.Pedro caught the weight behind “for good.” He rea
Andrew, pulling up right behind them, saw the whole thing go down. He racked his gun and jumped out. Both he and Marcos were still clocking the tail car. If those guys tried anything now, they’d be ready.Samantha sprinted toward Ivan and Pedro. She got there and shoved Ivan hard, forcing him off her friend.“Get your hands off him, Ivan. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snapped, wedging herself between them.“I’ve warned you not to stick your nose in this, Samantha. Douglas isn’t here to save you this time. And trust me—you’ll get yours too,” he snarled, shoving her aside.Marcos was already closing in. He caught her before she hit the ground and stepped right into the middle of it, even without the full story.Andrew moved up beside him.“You seem real tough picking on someone smaller—and women. Think you’d do as well against guys like us?” Marcos said, nodding toward Andrew.“I don’t know who the hell you two are, but you’d better stay out of it. This is between my boy
Samantha hurried down the stairs as fast as she could. When she reached the bottom, Marcos and Andrew were already waiting in the living room. Adam and the others weren’t around.“So, can we go to my place?” she asked, impatient.“Yeah. It’s quiet over there. Just some guy named Pedro came looking for you,” Marcos said, standing up.“I figured that might happen. By now, he’s probably freaking out.”“Andrew’s coming with us. Since you need to return your friend’s car, he’ll drive a separate one so we can get back,” Marcos explained.“Fine. Can we go then?” Samantha said, a note of urgency in her voice.The three headed for the front door.As they stepped outside, Samantha finally had a chance to take in the garden. She’d arrived after dark the night before, so she hadn’t seen how stunning the massive property really was.The cars were already parked at the front door. Andrew headed to the one in the back, while Samantha and Marcos went to the front one—Pedro’s.As they got close, Marco







