92 Chase Who?
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Mara
“What happens to me after this?” Jones asked, his voice hoarse but steady.
I met his eyes, unflinching. “Once you’ve finished with the sketch artist, my husband will decide. Don’t worry-he’s far
kinder than I am. And you’ve been… cooperative.”
He gave a faint, bitter chuckle. He knew what was waiting for him. Death, more than likely. But he didn’t seem afraid.
“At least I’ll be at peace,” he muttered. “And maybe Winston’s Corp will stop harassing me.”
That caught my attention.
“Troubling you?” I echoed.
He nodded. “Chase never paid me the full amount. Said our deal was void since Lucian didn’t die. I still owe. And those
people don’t forget.”
“Where did you last meet him?” I asked.
“The strip bar in the Northwood Casino building. He liked that place. Always met me there.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked at Lucian-half curious, half amused.
Lucian gave me a flat look like, don’t even start.
I turned back to Jones. “So if we go there, we might find him?”
He shook his head. “Doubt it. He’s not stupid. By now, he knows I’ve been captured. Chase has ears everywhere. He’d be
long gone.”
I studied him carefully. The way he spoke. The way he held nothing back. Too easy?
“Everything you’ve told me leads to a dead end, Jones. How do I know you’re not lying?”
He smirked through the blood and bruises.
“Look at me, Little Luna. I’ve got nothing left. You’ve already got me in chains. Do I seem like the type to take the fall
alone?”
No. He didn’t.
He was selfish to the core. And that made him honest-at least when it served him.
“Did Chase pay you in cash or transfer?”
That got a grin.
“I see why you finished second place at your fancy academy,” he said, nodding. “I’ve heard about you. Smart. Dangerous. I
like that.”
I didn’t respond.
“Follow the money,” he added. “I bank with your husband’s bank.”
He winked.
And just like that, he resigned himself to whatever came next.
Jones gave us his account details, and that was that.
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57 Chase Who”
We walked out of the warehouse not much clearer than when we’d walked in-but at least now we had a thread to pull. A name. A scent. A meeting place. And maybe-maybe-a paper trail.
“Are we still going to the office?” I asked Lucian once we reached the car.
He exhaled slowly. “No, love. Let’s work from home.”
I nodded, relieved. I was exhausted. It was already six in the evening, and the day had drained me. I just wanted quiet.
Him. Us.
This war wasn’t over.
But we’d bought ourselves a little more time.
“Don’t worry, Lucian. We’ll solve this,” I said, reaching over to squeeze his hand gently.
He nodded, but the weight in his eyes didn’t lift.
“I think I need to talk to my father tomorrow,” he murmured. “Really talk. He has to tell me who his enemies are-and what
he did to make them enemies.”
He stared ahead, the tension etched into his jawline.
“If this man… this Chase… is targeting us, he’s not just trying to hurt me. He’s trying to end the Nighthorn bloodline. That’s different. That’s deep.”
Lucian shook his head.
“I would’ve said Northwood, but… his daughter is pregnant with Darian’s child. That man may be shady, but I doubt he’d
jeopardize that. Whoever’s behind this-it’s someone outside the obvious.”
I knew the thought would trouble him all night. Which meant the mood back home might be quiet, heavy. Not painful-but
thoughtful. Wound tight with worry.
“Thank you, Mara,” he said suddenly.
I turned to look at him.
“For what?” I asked.
He smiled, but it was a sad kind of smile.
“Before you, I thought women were just… for s*x or spending money. I saw them as selfish, shallow. That’s what Tina and
Martha taught me. They cared about appearances, power, what they could get.”
He glanced at me, his voice softening.
“But you… you changed that. You’ve shown me what loyalty really looks like. What partnership feels like. You’ve stood by
me through everything, and I never saw that coming.”
His words stirred something warm and painful in my chest. I remembered him on my father’s porch, arrogant, guarded,
spewing things he didn’t fully understand. But now… the dots were connecting.
I reached over and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“You just met the wrong ones, Lucian. Women are more than that. We’re strength and softness. Strategy and soul. You just never had someone willing to prove it.”
He looked at me and smiled-genuine, present. Then turned his eyes back to the road.
“We’ll need to increase security,” I added quietly. “Chase is still out there. We don’t even know his real name. This… ghost…
is a long way from finished.”
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92 Chase Who?
Lucian nodded grimly. And for a while, we drove in silence. But not distance. Just reflection.
Back home, Jennifer had prepared dinner. Warm, savory, delicious-it tasted like calm after chaos.
Later, Lucian and I decided to soak in the tub. We lit a few candles. The water was warm, the silence between us comforting. I leaned against his chest, his arms draped over mine, both of us floating in the stillness.
For a moment, I let myself wish.
Wish we could enjoy this without shadows hanging over us.
Wish the world would stop spinning long enough for us to just… be.
But reality wasn’t letting go yet.
Chase was still out there.
And until we found him-peace would remain a borrowed thing.
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603 (Lucian’s POV) Pondering
