I shut my eyes,pain stabbing through me,tears cutting tracks down my face,my nails digging into my palms.“Listen to him.Tell everyone to retreat…for now.Hold off on any action.”
The bodyguard hesitated,then keyed his communicator and relayed the order in a low voice.
Ethan and Natalie exchanged relieved smiles.“That’s better,”Natalie cooed.“Would’ve been easier if you had behaved sooner.Why make a scene?”
Ethan slipped his phone away and scoffed.“Jenna,remember today.Don’t think your family backing makes you untouchable.To me,you’re nothing.”
With that,he started the SUV.It turned and roared off,kicking up dust as it sped away.
I watched them go until my strength left me.I sagged in the back seat,silent tears falling,my heart aching as if it were about to break.
The bodyguard leaned forward,worried etched on his face.“Miss…”
I forced my head up,wiped my face and cold anger instantly filled my eyes.“Notify everyone.”
My voice was raw but steady and cold.“The withdrawal was a ruse.Have the second and third teams flank the road and use every tech we have to monitor and lock onto all communications between Ethan and that man called Scarface Seven.”
“Tell the operations unit to do whatever it takes to secure my daughter within ten minutes.Then…”I paused,my gaze hard as steel.“Stop that SUV.Everyone inside must survive.”
"Yes!"the bodyguard answered with a sharp gaze.He immediately snapped on his walkie-talkie and barked orders.
I stared toward the road where Ethan had gone,my nails biting into my skin.
His car hadn’t gone far.
He parked in front of an old auto repair shop not far ahead,clearly expecting me to follow.
Or perhaps,he never intended to leave at all.As our car pulled up,the rusted roller door groaned open,revealing the darkness inside.
The bodyguard slowed and looked at me,waiting for further instructions.
"Go in,"I said.My voice shook,my palms slick with sweat.
It would be dangerous,I knew that,but Emma was in there and I would walk through fire for her.
The car rolled slowly into the repair shop.
Pale lights cut through the dust in the air.Ethan’s SUV sat in the center of the lot.He leaned against the hood with a cigarette dangling from his lips.Natalie clung to his arm,fixing her makeup in a small mirror and rolling her eyes the moment she saw us pull in.
Further back,I spotted the van.