Chapter Ten
The elevator ride back down was in no particular hurry.
My hands were trembling.
My heart was pounding.
Damien knew.
I squeezed my eyes closed and pressed my lips together to keep panic from creeping in. How had he figured it out?
Had he been sleuthing into my history the entire time? Or had he just seen too much in the way I responded?
I needed to be more cautious. I should have stayed away from there. But it was too late now.
As soon as the elevator doors slid open, I pushed out of the building, the click of heels against marble, a staccato against the Perfect Symmetry, almost drowned out by the rise of blood singing in my ears.
The night air chilled my skin, but I hardly registered it.
I needed to get away.
From Damien.
From all of this.
I hailed a cab, got in and told the driver my address.
As we drove away from the imposing Blackwood Enterprises building, I released a slow, shaky breath.
I have one option now.
Damien could not be involved in this.
Because if he got involved…
Things would turn deadly.
Liam Carter Wouldn't Stop
Before I got home, fatigue had crept deep into my bones.
I opened the door and entered my small apartment, switching on the light.
It wasn't much. Just a tiny, ill-furnished room, a flickering light over the counter, and a bed that squeaked every time I turned over.
But it was mine.
And it had been safe for the past three years.
Until now.
I bolted the door behind me, the mechanism tightening in my fingers.
I was being paranoid.
Liam had only just found me. He wouldn't
There was a knock on the small apartment.
My entire body froze.
I turned slowly, the breath snagging in my throat.
The knock came again. Louder.
I swallowed hard.
No.
It couldn't be him.
Could it?
My feet made themselves put one in front of the other towards the door, my heart raging in my ears.
I wrapped my fingers around the handle.
I took a breath and yanked it open.
The air left my lungs.
Liam Carter stood in the doorframe, dark eyes glinting with amusement.
"Miss me?"
A chill ripped down my spine.
I shut the door with a bang and gasped.
But as I was about to latch it his foot jammed in the gap.
Panic exploded in my chest.
I pushed harder. "Get out."
Liam chuckled. "There's no way to greet family, Elena."
"I don't have a family."
The smirk on his face faltered, briefly, but came back, sharper. Meaner.
"You always had a sharp tongue," he said, thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should show you what happens when you forget your place."
Ice clawed up my throat.
I pushed against the door, trying to slam it shut, but Liam was stronger.
He pressed on, entering as though he owned the place.
"Nice setup," he said, looking around the small apartment. "A bit… tacky for my taste, but hey—can't expect too much from a girl who left with nothing."
I stiffened.
Liam glanced back at me, grin widening.
"Now let's discuss what you owe me."
Damien Was Right
I really should have known better than to let Liam get to me.
I had spent so many years training myself to act like he didn't exist.
But now he was standing in my apartment, blocking the one exit, making sure I remembered exactly why I had run in the first place.
Folding my arms across my chest, I lifted my chin. "I don't owe you anything."
Liam's eyes darkened.
"Now that's where you're wrong." He moved closer, voice smooth, menacing. "You ran, Elena. You abandoned me and left me with everything. And now I'm here to cash in."
I swallowed hard. "You're wasting your time."
His lips curled. "No, I'm trying to make up for lost time."
I needed to get out of here.
My brain scrambled to find an exit.
Would my neighbors notice if I shouted? If I sprinted for the window, would I escape his grip?
Liam must have seen the flicker of panic in my eyes because the smile on his face turned malicious.
"You're considering running, aren't you?" He clicked his tongue. "Still the same little girl. Always looking for the exit."
My hands shook.
I had one shot at this.
One shot, before he knew what I was doing.
I moved fast.
I snatched the lamp from the table and swung.
The glass shattered against Liam's shoulder and he swore as he staggered backward.
I bolted for the door.
But just before I was able to grab it, his fingers closed around my wrist.
A sharp yank
He slammed me against the wall and pain exploded through my arm.
"Bad move, Elena."
I gasped and gasped, but Liam only tightened his hold.
My mind was yelling at me to fight, to kick, to do something.
But then
A new sound.
A deep, measured voice.
"Let. Her. Go."
My heart stopped.
Liam stiffened.
Gradually, he relaxed his grip, his head swiveling toward the door.
And blocking the doorway—filling it like a storm about to break—was Damien Blackwood.
His expression was deadly.
Something deadly burned in his blue eyes.
And in his hand?
A gun.
Aiming straight at Liam's head.
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Lethal.
Silence like that which preceded a storm.) Before destruction.
Damien Blackwood loomed in the door, his wide shoulders blocking the meager light from the hall. He didn't move. Didn't blink.
But the gun in his hand? Steady.
Aimed.
And the look in his eyes?
Murderous.
Liam laughed. A soft, mirthful chuckle, as if the gun against his skull was merely an inconvenience.
"Well, well," he drawled, tightening his grip on my wrist for a moment before letting me go. Ri, 36, recalled: "I thought, When will the billionaire come?"
I staggered back, gasping a short breath, pain throbbing in my wrist.
Damien's jaw ticked, but his gun didn't waver.
"I said," his voice was low, controlled, dangerous, "let her go.
Liam raised his hands in feigned submission. "Relax, big guy. No harm done."
Damien's eyes went to my wrist — where Liam's fingers had been seconds before.
His eyes darkened.
Liam smirked. "You really think you're going to shoot me?
Damien's face did not change. "Yes."
Liam's smile wavered just a bit.
The air crackled.
The tension was stifling, a contest of control unfolding in real time.
One false move, one false breath — and someone wasn't going to leave this place alive.
I exhaled shakily. "Damien."
He darted a glance at me, in my eyes, a moment. Just long enough for me to notice it.
The rage. The promise of violence.
And something deeper. Something terrifying.
I stepped forward. "He's not worth it."
Liam's chuckle returned. "Listen to her, Blackwood." He made a slow step toward the door. "You don't want to get blood on those expensive hands, do you?"
Damien didn't lower the gun.
Didn't move.
But what he said next gave me chills.
"I don't care about blood."
Liam paused.
His smirk vanished for the first time.
Damien moved forward slow, measured. The barrel of the gun didn't waver, didn't flinch.
And then, with an icy finality, he said: "I care about her."
My breath caught.
Liam's gaze bounced back and forth between us. Calculating. Processing.
Then—slowly, he smiled.
It wasn't amusing.
It wasn't cocky.
It was dangerous.
As if he had learned something that had never occurred to him before.
Something he could use.
"Well, now," Liam said, his smile twisting. "That's interesting."
Damien's jaw clenched.
Liam stepped back again, toward the door. "This isn't over, Elena."
I stiffened.
Liam smirked. "I'll see you very soon."
And, just like that — he was gone.
And then the door clicked behind him, and whatever we'd been caught in hung still in the air.
Something unfinished.
The Aftermath
I didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
I just stared at the door, my heart racing.
He was gone.
But not for long.
I knew Liam. He wasn't threatening people for entertainment.
If he said this wasn't over … it wasn't.
That knowledge crushed against my chest, forcing down on me until I could hardly think.
Barely function.
Then—movement.
He stowed the gun and turned to me.
His blue eyes burned.
Not with rage.
But with something worse.
Something that contracted my belly.
He took a slow step forward.
I backed away. "Don't."
His jaw clenched. "Don't what?"
"Don't look at me like that."
His gaze didn't waver. "Like what?"
"Like I'm…" I said, breathing shaky, hugging myself. "Like I'm broken."
Damien was silent.
Then — softly — he said, "I don't think you're broken."
I swallowed hard. "Then what do you think?"
His eyes darkened.
"That you are mine to protect."
My breath hitched.
The words hit like a shock wave, too intense, too much.
I shook my head. "You don't own me, Damien."
Something dangerous curled his lips.
"No." He took another step. "But I will."
My stomach flipped.
I knew I should fight it.
Push back. Run. Do something.
But Damien Blackwood was not a man you ran from.
He was a guy you got sucked in by.
And I was falling fast.