All Chapters of CRAVING THE BAD BOY: Chapter 221 - Chapter 230

The sound of the gun clicking echoed through the night. Everyone froze. The man in the shadows held the gun steadily, his eyes fixed on Nick. Ariana's heart nearly stopped. "Nick."She moved instinctively toward him, but Nick quickly grabbed her hand. "Stay back.""No."Her voice trembled. "I said stay back."The firmness in his tone made her stop, but only for a second. The stranger stepped out of the shadows. He was tall and dressed entirely in black. His face was hidden beneath a cap, making it impossible to recognize him. "You've caused enough trouble, Nick," the man said coldly.Nick's expression darkened. "So this is how it ends?""It should have ended a long time ago."Ariana looked between them. "You know him?"Nick did not take his eyes off the gunman. "Unfortunately."The man smiled. "You always were difficult to kill."A chill ran through Ariana. Kill? What was he talking about? She looked at Nick, waiting for an explanation, but his attention remained on the stranger. "You

The words on the paper seemed to burn into Ariana's eyes. PHASE TWO: BEGIN IMMEDIATELY.She looked at the photograph of herself again. It had clearly been taken recently. She was leaving her office building, carrying a cup of coffee and looking completely unaware that someone had been watching her.A cold shiver ran through her. Someone had been following her. For a very long time. "What is Phase Two?" she asked quietly.Nobody answered. Claire and Victor exchanged worried looks. That silence was enough to frighten her. Nick tried to sit up, but a wave of pain crossed his face. "Easy," Ariana said, gently pushing him back down."I'm fine.""You've been shot.""I've had worse days."She gave him a look. "This is not the time for jokes."A small smile touched his lips, but it quickly disappeared. Victor took the paper from Claire and studied it carefully. "This shouldn't exist.""What does it mean?" Ariana asked again.Victor looked at her, his expression grim. "It means whoever is runn

The woman smiled as she looked at Ariana. "Hello, sweetheart. I've been looking for you."Ariana's entire body went cold. She had never seen this woman before in her life. Yet the woman spoke as if they knew each other. Behind her, the men in dark uniforms spread out and surrounded the clearing. Nobody tried to move. Nobody even spoke. Daniel was still in Nick's arms, breathing heavily. Nick looked up at the woman. "Who are you?"She finally turned her attention to him. For a brief second, something dark flashed in her eyes. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, Nick."Ariana immediately stepped closer to him. "You know him too?"The woman smiled again. "Oh, I know both of you."Victor suddenly stepped forward. "You shouldn't be here."The woman laughed softly. "And yet, here I am."For the first time, Victor looked genuinely worried. Ariana noticed it immediately. "Who is she?" she asked.No one answered. The woman sighed. "Must I do everything myself?"She looked directly at Ariana. "

The bright lights from the helicopters covered the entire clearing. Ariana lifted a hand to shield her eyes. The loud noise of the blades made it difficult to think. The voice from the speaker came again. "Do not resist. Surrender Ariana and Nick."Fear swept through the group. Several of the men who had arrived with Evelyn immediately stepped back. It was clear that even they had not expected this. Victor looked furious. "This wasn't the plan."Evelyn looked up at the sky, her face pale. "No, it wasn't."Ariana's father moved closer to her. "You need to leave."She stared at him. "Leave where?""Anywhere but here."Nick stepped beside her despite his injury. "We're not going anywhere until someone tells us what's happening."Her father looked at him for a long moment. Then he sighed. "The Circle has rules.""I don't care about their rules.""You should."There was something in his voice that made both Ariana and Nick fall silent. Her father looked between them. "They've been searchin

The gun remained pointed at Ariana. The man holding it did not look nervous. His face was calm, as though he had done this many times before. Nick stepped in front of Ariana without thinking. "If you want her, you go through me first." The armed man smiled slightly. "You always choose the difficult path." Nick did not move. "I'll ask one last time. Lower the gun." Instead of answering, the man took another step closer. Around them, the other members of The Circle slowly tightened their position. Every possible way out was disappearing. Ariana looked around quickly. There were too many of them. "We can't fight all of them," she whispered. Her father heard her. "No," he replied quietly. "But we don't have to." Victor slowly moved closer until he was standing beside Daniel. Without looking at anyone, he spoke in a low voice. "Thirty seconds." Daniel gave the smallest nod. "I understand." Ariana frowned. "What are you talking about?" Nick noticed the silent exchange too.