CHAPTER EIGHT
1251 Words
Elena’s POV
I couldn’t sleep.
The city outside the apartment was quiet, but my mind wasn’t.
Victor Kane, Vanessa, and the war Ethan said had started. Everything felt unreal.
I stood by the window in the living room, staring at the glowing skyline. Somewhere out people were planning to destroy my husband and possibly me.
Footsteps sounded behind me. It was Ethan.
“You should be sleeping,” he said softly.
I turned. He had changed into a black shirt and loose pants, his dark hair slightly messy like he had run his fingers through it too many times tonight.
“How do you sleep when someone just declared war on your life?” I asked.
His eyes softened slightly.
“You get used to it.”
That answer made my chest tighten.
“No one should get used to that.”
For a moment he didn’t speak, then he walked toward me slowly. The closer he got, the more I noticed how exhausted he looked, not weak, just burdened.
“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.
“I’m not.”
He took my hand. My protest died instantly, because my fingers really were trembling.
“Fear is normal,” Ethan murmured.
I looked up at him.
“Are you afraid?”
His lips curved faintly.
“Yes.”
My breath caught.
“You are?”
His gaze dropped to my face.
“Not for myself.”
Something in my chest fluttered unexpectedly.
“Then for what?”
His thumb brushed lightly over my knuckles.
“For you.”
The words were simple. But the way he said them sent warmth through my entire body.
Before I could respond, he stepped closer, too close. My heart started racing.
“Ethan…”
“Yes?”
“You’re doing that thing again.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“What thing?”
“Standing too close.”
He smirked slightly.
“And that bothers you?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, because the truth was that it didn’t.
“Maybe,” I said weakly.
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips. The air between us changed. Not dangerous, but tense, Something softer and warmer.
“You’re not afraid of me anymore,” he said quietly.
I swallowed.
“No.”
“And that doesn’t worry you?”
I shook my head slowly.
For a moment neither of us moved.
Then Ethan reached up and gently brushed a strand of hair away from my face. The touch was so light it sent a shiver down my spine.
“You’re braver than you think,” he murmured.
My pulse was racing now.
“You’re the dangerous billionaire, remember?” I said softly. “You’re supposed to be the brave one.”
His lips curved slightly.
“Dangerous men still worry about the people they care about.”
My breath caught again. Care about. The words hung between us.
And suddenly I realized something that scared me more than Victor Kane.
I was starting to trust my husband. Maybe even, like him.
Ethan’s hand moved to my waist, slowly and carefully. Like he was giving me time to step away if I wanted. I didn’t.
My heart pounded as he pulled me slightly closer.
“Tell me to stop,” he said quietly.
I didn’t.
Instead, I whispered, “Why would I do that?”
That was the moment his control broke. He pulled me fully against him and kissed me. The kiss wasn’t rushed or rough. It was deep, warm, and possessive in a way that made my knees feel weak.
His hand tightened slightly at my waist while the other moved to the back of my neck.
I felt surrounded by him, protected, and claimed.
When the kiss finally broke, we were both breathing harder. I looked up at him, my face burning.
“Well,” I whispered.
“That was unexpected.”
Ethan smirked faintly.
“Was it?”
Before I could respond, his phone suddenly rang. The moment was shattered instantly. He answered.
“Yes?”
Daniel’s voice came through the speaker, tense.
“Ethan, we have a problem.”
Ethan’s POV
The moment Daniel said that, I knew something had gone wrong.
“What happened?”
Daniel didn’t hesitate.
“Victor just moved his assets again.”
“That’s not unusual.”
“This time he didn’t move them to another company.”
“He moved them to Vanessa.”
My jaw tightened.
“Explain.”
“Three separate offshore accounts were transferred into her name tonight.”
That confirmed what I had already suspected, Vanessa wasn’t just helping Victor, she was part of the operation.
Elena was watching me nervously.
“What is it?” she asked.
I ended the call slowly.
“Vanessa just received millions from Victor.”
Her face went pale.
“No.”
“Yes.”
The room fell silent.
Then suddenly my phone buzzed again.
But this time it wasn’t Daniel.
It was an unknown number.
A single message appeared. And it read;
“Look outside.”
Marcus Hale’s POV
Across the street, I watched the apartment building through binoculars. Ethan Carter’s penthouse lights were on. That meant both targets were home.
My instructions had been very clear. Observe and don’t act yet. But I had learned something interesting tonight.
The woman Victor wanted to use against Ethan?
She wasn’t weak.
When the lights in the penthouse shifted, I saw their silhouettes move closer together. And then… kiss.
I sighed quietly.
“Well, that complicates things.”
Because emotional attachments made wars messy.
My phone buzzed.
Victor’s name appeared.
I answered.
“Yes.”
Victor’s voice was calm.
“Is the target confirmed?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“And Ethan?”
“He’s with her.”
Victor chuckled.
“Perfect.”
Marcus frowned slightly.
“What’s the next order?”
Victor’s answer made the night suddenly feel colder.
“Send them a message.”
Elena’s POV
Ethan walked toward the window slowly.
“Stay behind me,” he said.
“Why?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled the curtain aside slightly. And froze.
I stepped closer.
“What is it?”
He didn’t move.
So I looked past him toward the street and my heart stopped.
A black car was parked directly across from the building. Its headlights turned on suddenly. Blinding white light flooded the entire window.
And then…..
BOOM.
The explosion rocked the street.
The shockwave shattered several parked cars and sent flames bursting into the air.
I screamed.
Ethan pulled me down instinctively as glass from nearby buildings rained onto the pavement below.
Car alarms screamed across the block. And Smoke rose into the night sky. My entire body was shaking.
“What just happened?” I gasped.
Ethan’s face had turned dangerously calm again.
“That,” he said quietly…
“…was a warning.”
My stomach twisted.
“A warning?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer to the window again, scanning the street carefully.
“Victor doesn’t waste explosives.”
I looked at him.
“So if that was just a warning…”
My voice trembled.
“…what happens next?”
If Victor Kane has already started attacking the city to reach Ethan…. how long will it take before he comes directly for me?
Marcus Hale’s POV
Across the burning street, a figure stepped briefly out of the shadows before disappearing into the smoke.
I had just confirmed the target.
The war had officially begun.
- Writer
