جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 30

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOLAUREN’S POV By the time we got on the plane, I felt like my nerves had been peeled open.Less than twenty-four hours.That was how long we had before a bomb somewhere in Julian’s world decided to finish the job Serena had started.Silas had stayed back to make sure none of the cars were anywhere near the apartment complex by the time it went off. That should have made me feel better.It did not.I sat stiffly in one seat of the private jet like if I moved too much, something else would explode.Across from me, Julian sat with his tablet in hand, calm as sin, scrolling like he was not a man flying away from a possible car bomb.I stared at him for a while.Then I stared out the window.Then I stared at him again.He did not look up once.After a few hours, I got tired of my own thoughts and went to the bathroom just to feel like I was doing something. When I came back, he was still on that tablet.I stopped in front of him. “Are you married to that thing?”He did n

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURLAUREN’S POV The night air felt incredibly still as Julian pulled back from me. I sat on the edge of the pool, my chest rising and falling in erratic, heavy pants. My fingers were still gripping the wet concrete so tightly that my knuckles ached. He didn't say a word as he reached for a plush, white towel resting on one of the nearby lounge chairs.He wrapped the heavy towel around my shivering shoulders, his large hands lingering warmly on my arms before he pulled me to my feet."Let's get inside," he murmured. I nodded, utterly incapable of forming a coherent sentence.In the master bathroom, the lights were dimmed to a soft, warm glow. We didn't speak as we stripped away the remnants of our wet clothes and discarded them on the floor. Julian took a second towel and dried my back, my legs, and my hair. I watched him through the massive vanity mirror. His dark hair was tousled and wet, falling over his forehead. He caught my gaze in the reflection, his dark ey

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXLAUREN’S POV The air conditioning inside the gallery hit my flushed skin the second I stepped back through the side doors, but it did nothing to cool the panic rushing through my veins.Dante’s words echoed in my ears.*One of them involved making Julian lose his memory.*I wiped my sweaty palms on the sides of my dress and scanned the crowded room. My eyes immediately found Julian. It was impossible not to find him. He commanded the space without even trying, standing by a massive sculpture with two men in sharp suits nodding at whatever he was saying.He didn’t look at me, but the moment I stepped into his peripheral vision, his posture shifted. His shoulders squared, and he handed his empty champagne flute to a passing waiter without breaking his conversation. A few seconds later, he dismissed the men with a sharp nod and started walking toward me.I forced my feet to stay planted. I forced my breathing to steady."You were gone exactly fourteen minutes," Julian

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT LAUREN’S POV *Time’s up. Meet me at the address I sent you in one hour with the cash, or I go straight to the office and ask for Julian Cross.* I dressed quickly in the darkest clothes I could find in Serena’s sprawling closet—a plain black hoodie and a pair of faded jeans that I had bought myself. No makeup. No jewelry. I shoved Serena’s phone into my pocket and slipped out of the master bedroom. The penthouse was dead silent. I crept down the hallway, keeping my footsteps incredibly light until I reached the private elevator. I bypassed it and took the service stairs instead, descending three flights before catching a regular elevator to the underground garage. I ordered a rideshare a block away from the building, constantly checking over my shoulder to make sure Silas hadn’t materialized from the shadows. The address Jake had sent was on the far edge of the city, in a neighborhood and a bleak, desolate place. The rideshare driver dropped me off at the cu

CHAPTER THIRTYLAUREN’S POVThe car ride to Julian’s headquarters felt like a trap closing in slow motion. I sat in the passenger seat of his black SUV, fingers twisting the hem of the black pencil skirt Nancy had laid out for me this morning. Julian hadn’t said much since breakfast, just that one filthy promise about the couch in his office. But his hand kept brushing my thigh every time he shifted gears, like he couldn’t stop touching me even when he was pissed about whatever he thought I was hiding.I kept replaying the lighter in my head. Jake’s lighter. The one I’d seen in Julian’s jacket pocket last night. “You’re quiet,” he said, voice low as we pulled into the underground parking garage. “That usually means you’re plotting something.”I forced a laugh. “Or maybe I’m just wondering if I’m dressed right for whatever this meeting is.”He parked, killed the engine, and turned to me. Those dark eyes pinned me in place. “You’re dressed like my wife. That’s all that matters.” His th