Chapter 36: They Want Her AliveThe intercom’s crackle still hung in the air like a fucking grenade with the pin already pulled when Aryan’s forehead stayed pressed to mine. His breath was hot, uneven, tasting of smoke and the kind of desperation that doesn’t come from guns or blood or contracts. My ribs throbbed in time with my pulse. Every bruise the smiling bitch had left on me screamed for attention, but none of it hurt half as much as the raw, open thing in his eyes.Stay.The word sat in my chest like a live wire. Contract gone. Legal leash ash. He was offering me the door, the car, any city on the planet, and all I could think was how the hell I was supposed to walk away from the only person who’d ever looked at me like I was worth the ruin.Kabir’s voice cut through again, sharper. “Three blacked-out SUVs, maybe four. Secondary road. They’re pushing hard. ETA two minutes, maybe less. I’ve got the east wing cameras looping but the perimeter sensors just went red.”Aryan’s hand s
Last Updated : 2026-10-06 Read more