All Chapters of COLLATERAL DESIRE : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

"Get the strike team to the subterranean vault right now!" Ethan growled into his collar mic, his dark jaw tight as his broad hand swerved the steering wheel.Tires screamed against wet asphalt as the heavy black SUV tore through rain-slicked Manhattan streets at ninety miles per hour. He didn't look at me, but his right hand remained crushed over my knee, heavy and hot through my leather pants, anchoring me to the seat while he wove through evening traffic."Silas, I don't care about the perimeter," Ethan snapped, his voice dropping into a lethal register that cut through the engine's roar. "The vault doors stay locked until I am on that floor."My fingers trembled over the glowing screen of my tablet. Red alert banners flashed across the interface, signaling rapid data wipes across our server banks. "Ethan, the primary mainframe in the subterranean vault is already fifty percent corrupted," I said, my voice rising over the sharp screech of the tires as we took a corner on two wheels

"Hold onto my neck, Ava!" Ethan growled, his massive arm locking around my waist and hauling me up against his broad chest. "I'm carrying you across."He stepped directly into the knee-deep flooded corridor, his heavy boots cutting through the surging, dark water. Blue electrical arcs crackled violently against the exposed metal pipes overhead, casting harsh, flickering shadows across his tight jaw.I locked my arms around his neck, holding on with everything I had as he carried my entire weight through the lethal passage. Water rushed in dark swirls around his legs, the cold current pulling against his stride, but Ethan didn't stumble. He moved with careful, calculated strength, picking his path across the floating rubber insulation mats that drifted near the submerged baseboard."Keep your legs up, Ava," Ethan growled, his deep voice vibrating straight through my chest as his large hands locked under my thighs to hold me higher off the dangerous surface."Ethan, watch the ceiling!"

The metal doors of the express lift had barely parted when the first gunshots shattered the air.Ethan’s arm snapped up in a blur. Two precise, deafening blasts echoed through the metal shaft, muzzle flashes illuminating his harsh profile. Before the doors fully cleared the frame, the first intruder standing near the open vault door dropped like a stone, his weapon clattering across the floor."Down!" Ethan commanded, throwing a heavy arm across my collarbone to shove me behind his body.Shards of glass from broken lamps covered the hardwood, crunching loudly under our boots as we moved into the master suite. Shadows shifted rapidly across the walls. The remaining two intruders scrambled across the room, diving for cover behind the heavy marble fireplace in the center of the suite.A second later, a gun barrel popped around the edge of the marble, spraying bullets into the entryway. Wood splintered off the doorframe near my head, raining dust into my hair. Ethan returned fire without

"Stop touching yourself, Ava," Ethan said, his voice a low, heavy command that sliced through the absolute silence of the room.My hand froze on the delicate strap of my white silk gown. I stared at our reflection in the massive mirror of his St. Regis dressing suite, my pulse hammering against my ribs.Before I could pull my hand back, Ethan moved. His fingers wrapped around mine, cold and unyielding, lifting my hand entirely away from my dress. He didn't let go. He dragged my bare palm across the front of his tailored chest, forcing me to feel the heavy, unnatural calm of his heartbeat before pressing his own warm hand flat over my collarbone. His broad palm covered my throat, his thumb resting right over my frantic pulse."Look at me," he commanded, his dark eyes locking onto mine in the glass. "Not the dress. Not the mirror. Me.""Ethan," I breathed, my lungs fighting for air under the weight of his palm. "The security detail…""Is doing their job," he cut in, his grip tightening

"Hold onto me and do not look back," Ethan commanded, his fingers wrapping around mine with an absolute, unyielding force as we stepped out toward the top of the grand marble staircase.Below us, the massive ballroom roared with the noise of Manhattan’s elite. The instant our feet hit the top step, a hundred blinding press flashes went off at once, turning the air into a wall of burning white light. The room below was crowded with billionaire investors, high-ranking politicians, and corporate reporters, all waiting for the moment the Croft and Vance empires officially merged.My pulse was racing, the memory of the dark dressing room and the blood on Ethan’s suit shirt still fresh in my mind. But standing here at the edge of the stairs, Ethan looked entirely untouchable. He didn't flinch. He didn't hesitate. He stood tall, his shoulder pressing against mine, asserting total dominance over every eye in the room."They are looking for any sign of weakness, Ava," Ethan murmured, his voice