جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 60

*Grace’s POV*I was burning alive. The world around me was a dark, suffocating blur of agonizing heat and violent, uncontrollable shivering. My entire body felt like it had been crushed under a concrete block. Every joint ached. My chest burned with every shallow, ragged breath I took. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they were sewn shut. "Drink, Grace." The deep, gravelly voice vibrated through the mattress, grounding me for a fraction of a second. A large, calloused hand slipped behind my neck. I was lifted effortlessly against a broad, rock-hard chest. The rim of a cold glass was pressed to my dry, cracked lips. I managed to swallow a few sips of ice water before my stomach violently rolled. I turned my head away, letting out a fractured, miserable whimper. I was completely exhausted. My brain was melting. The line between reality and nightmares entirely vanished. I felt the cool, damp relief of a wet cloth being pressed against my burning forehead. "Your

*Mia’s POV*I aggressively shoved my bright red Honda Civic into park. The tires screeched slightly against the pristine, sweeping asphalt of the Sunshine Medical Clinic parking lot. I didn't care. I grabbed my oversized tote bag and slammed the car door shut. It had been four days since Grace collapsed from the flu. Four days since the General had locked his fortress down tighter than Fort Knox. I missed my best friend and I needed to see her.she had mentioned something about starting her internship here just like me. l was so excited for her to startShe was like the sister I never had,we knew each other since nursing school and although she is the soft and shy type,the complete opposite of me,she was still the realest person I have ever known and the safest person to be with.I marched toward the clinic entrance, mentally preparing myself for a shift of dealing with Dr. Hayes and his lavender-scented hand sanitizer. So annoying ughhhh"Ma'am. Halt." The voice was crisp, letha

*Grace’s POV*It had been two days since the fever completely left my system. The suffocating, heavy tension that had plagued the Master Suite was entirely gone. With the secret of Grandmother's baby demand out in the open, the fortress finally felt like a place I could actually breathe in. I was standing in the massive kitchen, pouring myself a cup of tea, when the heavy, rhythmic thud of combat boots echoed down the hallway. Alexander walked into the room. He wasn't wearing his formal green dress uniform. He was dressed in pure, lethal tactical gear. Black cargo pants, heavy boots, and a tight, black short-sleeved compression shirt that left every jagged scar on his thick forearms entirely exposed. My heart immediately did a familiar, traitorous flip against my ribs. "Good morning," I smiled, wrapping my hands around my warm mug. Alexander stopped at the marble island. His storm-gray eyes swept over me, doing his daily, silent tactical assessment of my health. He noted the co

*Grace’s POV*Monday morning at the Sunshine Pediatric Clinic was entirely, wonderfully chaotic. The bright fluorescent lights, the smell of sterile antiseptic, and the sound of crying toddlers echoing down the hallway felt incredibly grounding. For the first time in a week, I didn't feel like a high-value target trapped in a military fortress. I felt like Grace. I stood at the nurses' station, wearing my light blue scrubs. Around my neck rested the heavy, silver stethoscope Alexander had given me. *Nurse Grace Reeves.* Every time the metal brushed against my collarbone, a warm, reassuring heat bloomed in my chest. "Okay, room four needs a booster shot, and room six needs a temperature check," Mia announced, dropping a stack of charts onto the desk. She was practically vibrating with energy. Mia knew about the Syndicate threat. I had told her everything on the drive over. But true to her fearless nature, she had simply rolled her eyes, declared that the Vanguard operatives secret

*Grace’s POV*"A-A Safe House?" I repeated, my voice shaking in the quiet cab of the SUV. "Where?"Alexander lowered the radio. His storm-gray eyes locked onto mine. "It is a highly classified, off-the-grid location. Completely isolated in the mountains. We will relocate there until my operatives systematically dismantle the Syndicate.""But my internship... my dad..." I stammered, panic rising in my chest. "Your father is currently being escorted to my father's residence which is heavily guarded by a lethal Security detail," Alexander stated smoothly, his thumb rubbing comforting circles into my shoulders. "Your internship is irrelevant right now. Your survival is my only objective."“What about mia” I instinctively whispered knowing fully well that if I was compromised, she probably has been compromised tooHe looked at me and lifted the secure comms device back to his mouth. "Brooks," Alexander commanded. "Prep the covert transport chopper. You will extract Ms. Chen from her apar