CHAPTER 8
1604 Words
Naomi’s heart pounded in her chest as Damian sipped his whiskey, eyes sharp with amusement while he watched her. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to stay calm, to act natural. She could feel the weight of his gaze drifting over her like he was playing a game.
“I must say,” he murmured, setting the glass down with a soft clink, “I’ve missed this little fire of yours. It’s almost a shame you chose Ethan over me.”
Naomi forced a smirk. “You say that like you ever gave me a choice, Ethan is my husband.”
Damian chuckled, slow and dark, before leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “You always had a choice, sweetheart. You just made the wrong one, just like you divorced him in the first place.”
She exhaled sharply. This was going nowhere.
“I held up my end of the deal,” she said, her voice steady. “Now tell me where Ethan’s brother is.”
Damian sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He held it between his fingers, tapping the screen lazily as if savoring the control he had over her.
“You’re always in such a hurry,” he said, looking up at her through thick lashes. “What’s the rush? Ethan will come running soon enough. He will do it because of you.”
Naomi clenched her fists. That was the problem. Ethan would come running, and Damian knew it. This wasn’t about a simple hostage exchange it was about power. It always had been.
“I need to see proof,” she pressed. “That he’s alive.”
Damian tilted his head, studying her. Then, after a long pause, he smirked and tapped something on his phone before turning the screen toward her.
Naomi’s stomach twisted.
The image showed Nathan, Ethan’s younger brother, bound to a chair, blood trailing from his temple. His face was bruised, his lip split, but he was breathing.
“See? He’s in excellent hands.” Damian’s voice dripped with mockery. “For now.”
Naomi forced herself to stay calm. She had expected worse. He’s alive, that’s all that matters. But she needed to act fast.
She turned away slightly as if looking out the window, but it was a calculated move. Her eyes flickered to the door Damian had locked earlier, the one leading to his office. If she could get in there, she could access his messages, his location tracking, something.
Damian moved closer. “What’s going through that dangerous little mind of yours?”
She looked up at him, forcing a smile as she slowly closed the gap between them.
“I was just thinking,” she said softly, placing a hand on his chest, “about all the ways I could make it up to you.”
Damian’s breath hitched, subtle, but noticeable. His control was impeccable, but she knew how to get under his skin, he was always a little egg to c***k.
His fingers skimmed down her arm, his grip tightening around her wrist. “Are you offering yourself to me, Naomi?”
She tilted her head, letting her lips brush the shell of his ear. “Would you say no if I was?”
His body stiffened slightly before his hand moved to cup the back of her neck, tilting her face toward his. His breath was warm against her lips, teasing, but Naomi wasn’t fazed.
She leaned in, closer, closer, until her mouth was just a breath away from his…
Then, in one swift motion, she reached down, snatched the phone from his hand, and ran.
“Naomi!” Damian’s roar followed her as she bolted toward the office door, adrenaline burning through her veins.
She had seconds.
Behind her, she could hear the crash of a glass shattering, and the heavy sound of Damian’s footsteps as he lunged after her. But she had been waiting for this moment.
Her fingers fumbled against the door handle, and, click she was inside.
She slammed it shut and locked it, behind her. Her heart hammered as she backed away.
Damian’s fists pounded against the door. “Open this door right now, Naomi!”
Ignoring him, she turned to the massive desk, Damian’s phone clutched in her grip. She had to move fast. If she could just find Nathan’s location…
The screen was still unlocked. Thank God.
Her fingers flew over the messages.
Then she found it.
A set of coordinates. Pier 17. 11:30 PM.
Her stomach twisted. She glanced at the clock on the wall. 11:02 PM.
She had less than thirty minutes.
Damian’s voice was colder now. “You have nowhere to go, sweetheart. That lock won’t keep me out forever.”
Naomi swallowed hard, already scanning the room for an escape route. The windows. If she could make it out onto the balcony, climb down the emergency stairs.
CRACK.
She flinched as the door shook violently. Damian was kicking it in.
She had seconds.
Taking a deep breath, she did the only thing she could with all her strength.
She smashed the glass window with a chair and climbed over it. It was a narrow escape, she nearly butchered her back on the remains of the broken glass.
Naomi’s breath came in ragged gasps as the cold night air hit her skin. She gripped the balcony railing tightly, glass shards crunching beneath her heels as she balanced precariously. Below, the fire escape zigzagged down the towering building, leading to the alleyway.
Behind her, Damian’s furious voice thundered through the room.
“Naomi, if you jump, I swear”
But she didn’t wait for the threat to finish.
She swung her legs over the edge and let go.
Her body hit the metal platform of the fire escape with a jarring thud. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain in her ribs as she scrambled to her feet again. The cold metal groaned beneath her weight as she sprinted down the stairs, heart hammering.
Above her, Damian appeared at the shattered window, his face twisted in rage.
“Naomi!”
She didn’t look back. She didn’t stop.
She reached the last level and leaped onto the pavement below, the impact jolting her bones. Her fingers fumbled for Damian’s phone in her pocket, her vision blurring as she typed the coordinates into a navigation app. Pier 17… eight minutes away by car.
She needed to move fast.
A sleek black car screeched around the corner.
For a brief, terrifying second, she thought it was Damian’s men.
Then the tinted window rolled down.
“Naomi!” Ethan’s voice. Sharp. Panicked.
Relief crashed over her.
She sprinted toward the car. Before she could reach it, strong arms yanked her back.
Damian.
His grip was ironclad, his breath hot against her ear as he snarled, “You’re not going anywhere.”
Naomi struggled, kicking, twisting, but he was too strong.
Then…
Bang!
A gunshot cracked through the air.
Damian’s body jerked. His grip loosened. His breath hitched.
Another shot.
His body stiffened, then slumped forward, his weight dragging Naomi down with him.
She barely registered the warm, wet sensation on her skin as she shoved him off. Damian collapsed onto the pavement, his eyes wide in shock, blood soaking through his designer shirt.
A pair of strong hands grabbed Naomi, pulling her up. Ethan.
“Are you okay?” His voice was rough, and urgent, scanning her face for injuries.
She could only nod, her body still trembling.
Ethan turned, his security detail lowering their weapons, their eyes locked onto Damian’s unmoving form.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Ethan cupped Naomi’s face, forcing her to focus on him. “Where’s Nathan?”
She inhaled sharply, snapping back to reality. “Pier 17. We need to go. Now.”
“Pier 17” Let’s go boys… Ethan commanded.
The docks loomed ahead, the water reflecting the city lights in eerie ripples. Ethan’s car skidded to a stop, and before it had fully halted, Naomi was out, sprinting toward the abandoned warehouse at the end of the pier.
The place was dimly lit, the scent of salt and rust filling the air.
There she saw him.
Nathan. Tied to a chair, barely conscious.
Her heart clenched.
Ethan was right behind her, gun drawn. His security team fanned out, moving with military precision.
One of Damian’s remaining men turned, startled with hands out, showing a surrender sign.
Ethan fired. A clean shot to the leg. The man crumpled with a yell.
The others surrendered instantly, also raising their hands.
Naomi ran to Nathan, her fingers fumbling with the knots. “Nathan, it’s me. You’re okay.”
His eyes fluttered open, dazed. “Naomi…?”
Ethan crouched beside her, cutting the ropes with a knife from his belt. “I’ve got you, little brother.”
As soon as the ropes fell away, Nathan slumped into Ethan’s arms.
The weight of everything hit Naomi all at once. The danger. The adrenaline. The fact that Damian was finally gone.
Her body shook.
Ethan’s arm wrapped around her waist, anchoring her. “It’s over.”
She turned to him, her breath shallow. “Is it?”
His jaw tightened. “It is.”
The sirens grew louder.
Nathan was safe and Damian was dead.
But in that moment, as Ethan pulled her into his arms, she realized something else.
No matter what had happened between them…
Ethan was always going to be her home.
And maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t too late to start again. She gave his love a second chance.
- Writer
