Collateral Damage Book Novels & Stories

My living had been turn upside down, and my staffs stood there powerlessly, there faces buried toward the ground. Jax was sitting on the sofa facing the entrance, holding a book I had left on the table earlier before going out. I walked forward and the damages got clearer; vases broken across the floor, and one of my favorite portraits shattered to the ground, with its frame resting by the wall. “The Unwelcome One,” he read from the book’s cover, slowly. “By Martin Crowns.” He looked up, at me, and I walked closer to him. “What’s the deal with you? Why causing all this mess in my abode?” I said slowly and my voice shaking—like I’d poured all my seriousness into that statement.

"So what did you do? He definitely wouldn't bring someone here for no reason." "It's a long and shocking story. I'm still struggling to believe it happened, especially in this day and age." Elena sighed, shaking her head. "I'm being held as collateral for my ex-husband's debt." "Collateral?" "Shocking, right? Your brother is a heartless devil." "That's strange." Sara's brows drew together. "Lu doesn't take people as collateral anymore. He stopped that a long time ago." Elena froze. "What do you mean?"

After that day, this bloody mascara continued Samuel kept taking out his opponent either by threat or simply sending then six feet underground. I cannot say I was a sane person, because my hands were equally dirty and stained with blood of many innocent lives that we sacrificed for flourishing knight.inc to its height, until one day when I came to know something that just made Samuel look nothing less than disgusting demon in my eyes” Mr Colby abruptly paused, his eyes turned moist and thin stream of tear started to fall from corner of his left eyes… it looked as if he was recalling some worst day of his life “Wh... what happened that day?” Aarohi questioned Mr. Colby with curious voice...

“But she’s … collateral damage. I have no use for her.” A cold rush hits my stomach, sharp and twisting, like ice sliding down my spine. My throat tightens. I can feel my pulse hammering in my ears, loud enough that I swear the man could hear it. “Collateral damage,” I repeat under my breath, tasting bile. Collateral. Damage. My hands clench into fists at my sides. “Explain that,” I say. Strangely, my voice doesn’t waver. It’s calm and violent at once.

I typed back. The reply came almost immediately. Someone who knows what it’s like to be collateral damage. I leaned against the counter, suddenly very aware of how alone I was. My reflection in the stainless steel appliance looked thinner somehow, sharper around the eyes. Less forgiving. If you have something to say, I wrote, say it. Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Then: Damian isn’t the first person Alexandra Vaughn has helped destroy. He’s just the one she didn’t plan to fall for.

It’ll be poetic. Elena’s knees nearly gave out. She pressed a hand to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. “He wanted to destroy us both…” Damian nodded slowly. “He’s been doing it piece by piece. You were never the target, Elena. You were collateral damage.” Silence filled the space between them. Not peace—just exhaustion. Finally, Damian said quietly, “Now you understand why I didn’t want you to open that file.” She wiped her tears roughly. “You should have trusted me with the truth.”

Bones cracked wetly. "Stay behind me!" he roared. "No!" I grabbed the dead man's gun, returning fire. We fought side by side, bullets shredding Matteo's precious books, destroying memories while we fought for our lives. One operative got too close to me. Damian's expression changed—something primal and violent took over. He didn't just kill the man. He destroyed him. Bare hands tearing, blood spraying across rare manuscripts. It was savage, excessive, terrifying. And I'd never been more aroused.

“You used to be harder to track.” Damien’s voice was cold as ice. “If you want to settle a score, leave her out of it.” The man chuckled darkly. “Oh, this isn’t about her. She’s just… collateral.” Elena’s blood ran cold. The man lunged, the crowbar swinging in a wide arc. Damien reacted instantly, grabbing a metal rod from the ground and blocking the attack. The clash of metal echoed in the quiet street. “Go to the car!” Damien barked over his shoulder.

All the faces that looked at him were surprised. "What are you talking about? There's no deluge, Honey. Deluge doesn't hit Valeria." His neighbor Cecilia said. I shook my head. "You're mistaken. That cloud is an ominous omen. Hide from—" All of a sudden, the surrounding area exploded as the scattered lightning that everyone was holding back disappeared at the same time. Honey was almost blinded by the blinding light coming from the lightning. He grabbed his head and hit some wood there that started to catch fire. Screams filled the surroundings and ran immortals.

The accompanying text was brief and clinical: *Message received. Pathway damage noted. Collateral accepted. The next pressure will not be residual.* My stomach turned. “She’s dead.” “Or staged to look it.” Damian’s voice had gone flat and lethal. “Either way, the senders just told us they are willing to burn their own messengers. And that the next move will be human, not architectural.”