Chapter 8
1142 Words
Chapter Eight
Selene’s POV
My ears rang as the echo of the gunshot bounced off the walls. Cassius dragged me behind the fallen shelf before I could even think.
“Stay down,” he snapped.
I hit the floor hard, breath knocked from my lungs. My shoulder burned where the bullet had grazed me.
“Cassius,” I whispered, panic rising fast.
“I know,” he said tightly. “I’ve got you.”
The stranger stepped closer, boots crunching against broken glass. Slow and unhurried..
“You’re hurt,” he observed calmly.
Cassius shifted, blocking his view of me.
“She’s alive,” Cassius said. “That’s all that matters.”
“For now,” the man replied.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“You’re Selene Carter,” he said again.
I swallowed. “Who are you?”
Cassius growled. “She asked you a question.”
The stranger smiled slightly.
“Names matter,” he said. “And mine carries weight.”
“Try us,” Cassius shot back.
The man’s gaze flicked between us.
“You’re protective,” he said to Cassius. “That’s new.”
Cassius didn’t answer. His hand stayed firm on my wrist.
“You always hated attachments,” the stranger continued.
“And you always loved talking,” Cassius said.
A soft laugh escaped the man.
“I missed that,” he said.
I tensed. “You know him?”
The stranger’s eyes met mine.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he said. “I know him very well.”
Cassius stiffened.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Cassius said.
“And yet,” the man replied, “here I am.”
Lightning flashed, lighting his face. Something about him felt wrong.
Too calm. Too confident.
“Your father was the same,” he said suddenly.
My breath hitched.
“Don’t talk about him,” I snapped.
The man tilted his head.
“Temper,” he noted. “Just like Carter.”
Cassius’s grip tightened.
“You will not use him against her,” Cassius warned.
“Oh, I won’t,” the man said. “I’ll use her.”
My stomach dropped. Cassius took a step forward.
“You touch her,” he said slowly, “and this ends in blood.”
The man raised his hands.
“Relax,” he said. “I’m not Luca.”
That name made my chest tighten.
“Then why are you here?” I demanded.
He looked impressed.
“Because you’re valuable,” he said.
“I’m not,” I snapped. “You’re wrong.”
“Your father stole a ledger,” he replied.
“I don’t have it,” I said quickly.
“Not consciously,” he said.
Cassius turned sharply.
“What does that mean?”
The man smiled.
“It means Carter was smart,” he said. “Smarter than all of us.”
My head spun.
“He didn’t trust banks,” the man continued.
“He didn’t trust the safe.”
“He trusted people,” Cassius muttered bitterly.
“Exactly,” the man said. “Especially his daughter.”
My throat closed.
“I don’t remember anything,” I whispered.
“You will,” he said.
Cassius shook his head.
“No,” he said firmly. “She won’t.”
The man’s gaze hardened.
“You don’t get to decide that,” he said.
Cassius stepped closer.
“I decide what happens to her,” Cassius said.
“That’s adorable,” the man replied.
Anger flashed across Cassius’s face.
“She is not a tool,” Cassius snapped.
“Everyone is,” the man said.
My chest ached. Cassius glanced back at me.
“Look at me,” he said quietly.
I did.
“Breathe,” he said.
I nodded, inhaling shakily.
“You trust me?” he asked.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Good,” he said.
The man chuckled.
“You hear that?” he said. “Blind loyalty.”
Cassius didn’t react.
“You always inspired that,” the man continued.
“In the club.” “In the streets.”
“And now,” he added softly, “in her.”
Cassius raised his gun.
“This ends now,” he said.
The man’s smile faded.
“Careful,” he warned. “One wrong move and she dies.”
I gasped. Cassius froze.
“You said you weren’t here to kill,” Cassius said.
“I lied,” the man replied calmly.
My heart slammed hard. Cassius’s jaw clenched.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
The man took one step closer.
“I want the ledger,” he said.
“And if I don’t have it?” I asked.
“Then I take you,” he said.
Cassius roared. He lunged forward.
Gunfire exploded. The wall behind me shattered.
Cassius shoved me down, covering me with his body.
“Stay down!” he shouted.
I felt his weight, his warmth, and his breath against my ear.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
Bullets tore through the room.
The stranger moved fast. Too fast.
Cassius fired back. The noise was deafening.
My ears rang. My heart pounded. Then everything stopped.
Silence fell heavy. The stranger stood across the room with his gun lowered.
Blood trickled down his temple. Cassius breathed hard.
“You should’ve stayed dead,” Cassius said.
The man laughed softly.
“I did,” he replied. “For you.”
My breath caught.
“What does that mean?” I whispered.
Cassius didn’t answer.
The man’s gaze locked on mine.
“This isn’t over,” he said.
“You’re coming with me,” he added calmly.
“No,” Cassius snapped.
The man smirked.
“Not tonight,” he agreed.
He backed toward the door.
“But soon.”
Rain poured behind him. Thunder cracked.
“You’ll remember,” he said to me.
“Everything.”
Cassius raised his gun again.
“Don’t,” the man warned.
Cassius hesitated. The man vanished into the storm.
Silence returned. My knees gave out.
Cassius caught me instantly. His arms wrapped around me tight.
“You’re safe,” he murmured.
I shook violently.
“He knows me,” I whispered.
“Yes,” Cassius said.
“And my father,” I added.
“Yes,” he repeated.
My voice cracked.
“Cassius,” I whispered. “What if I really have it?”
His grip tightened.
“Then we protect you,” he said.
“And if I remember?”
He hesitated.
“Then everything changes,” he admitted.
The weight of his words crushed my chest. Sirens wailed in the distance.
Cassius pulled back, eyes sharp.
“We need to move,” he said.
“Now.”
I nodded, fear curling deep inside me.
Because whoever that man was…
He wasn’t finished with me yet.
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