جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 70

The chill of the glass pressing against Cassy’s forehead did nothing to cool the raw heat humming through her veins. Up in the high analytics booth, overlooking the pristine sheet of ice, she adjusted her sleek wire-frame designer glasses. Her dark chestnut hair was pulled back into a neat tail, revealing the sharp, confident line of her jaw. On the tablet in her hands, glowing real-time spatial grids tracked every single player on the rink below.Down on the ice, the energy was lethal.Ever since Portia Felize Mineses had been slapped with felony charges and subsequently released on bail three days ago, Hendrix Sevilla had turned into a walking disaster. He wasn't playing hockey anymore. He was spiraling into absolute madness, obsessed with clearing Portia’s name and completely convinced that Cassy was the mastermind behind his world falling apart.Cassy tapped her screen, zooming in on the red tracking dot that represented Hendrix. "He's completely out of position again," she murmur

Elijah Castanier did not pull away gently. He didn't offer a polite excuse, nor did he handle the fragile, sobbing woman clinging to his chest with an ounce of mercy.Instead, he looked down at Portia’s hand grasping his dark silk lapel with pure, unadulterated disgust. His jet-black hair caught the warm glow of the crystal chandeliers above, but his face remained carved out of pure, uncompromising stone.Elijah reached down, his fingers wrapping around Portia’s delicate wrist in an iron grip.Portia’s pupils dilated in sudden shock, her breath hitching sharply in her throat as the cold reality of his touch hit her. Elijah’s jaw clenched tightly, the corded muscles in his thick forearm tensing like steel cables under his custom suit sleeve.With brutal, icy precision, Elijah peeled her manicured fingers off his suit fabric. He didn't just release her; he twisted her arm back just far enough to strain her shoulder joint, forcing her fragile posture to instantly break.Portia let out a

The morning air outside the university student union was crisp and bite-cold, but the atmosphere on the central quad felt suffocatingly hot. Cassandra Amore Del Fierro stood at the top of the concrete steps, her fingers tight around the strap of her leather shoulder bag. Across the sprawling stone courtyard, dozens of students gathered in small clusters near the central fountain and oak trees. Phone screens glowed under the pale sunlight, bright displays flashing the latest viral tabloid headline designed to drag her name through the mud.Whispers rippled through the crowd like a slow poison. Snickers broke out near the library benches. Bitter, judgmental eyes tracked her every movement from thirty feet away.Cassy swallowed down the lump in her throat. She pulled her shoulders back, tilted her chin up, and adjusted her sleek wire-frame glasses. She was done hiding under baggy clothes and defensive silences. Portia’s calculated lies and Hendrix’s pathetic smear campaign were meant to

Karius Hidalgo hit the living room like a storm that had been waiting all day to break.One second Chase was pinned over Elijah on the rug, blood dripping from both their mouths, fists still cocked and chests heaving. The next second a massive hand locked around the back of Chase’s torn collar and yanked him straight up into the air. Karius’s other arm shot out, open palm slamming into Elijah’s bare chest and driving him backward until his spine cracked against the wall hard enough to rattle the framed team photo hanging beside him.The whole room went still except for the harsh sound of three sets of lungs fighting for air.Karius stood between them, 6’4” of pure fortress muscle, dark ash-brown hair still neat even after the violence, forest-green eyes blazing under the hooded lids that usually gave nothing away. His henley was stretched tight across a chest like a barrel. The worn leather wristband on his right arm looked ready to snap from how hard his fist was clenched. A faint sc

The three sets of headlights caught her first.Elijah’s black SUV skidded to a stop on the wet path. Chase’s motorcycle growled in right behind it. Karius’s truck blocked the other side. Doors flew open. Three tall frames cut through the rain without jackets, without hesitation, without anything except the pure terror of losing her.“Cassy!” Elijah’s voice ripped across the storm, ice-blue eyes already locked on the small curled shape under the gazebo. Rain plastered his jet-black hair to his forehead. The remains of his torn shirt clung to lean muscle. He reached her first.Chase was half a step behind, amber eyes wide and frantic, silver chain swinging against his soaked chest. “Baby—fuck—look at you—”Karius’s massive frame filled the last of the space, forest-green eyes burning under the hooded lids, rain streaming down the faint scar above his eyebrow. His henley was already dark with water. “We’ve got you. We’ve got you.”Cassy lifted her head. Tears and rain mixed on her heart-