Hunted and Held

Chapter 002

Under His Protection

I advised Avery not to complicate this.

Though I could not get rid of the sensation of approaching peril weighing down on me, the words kept returning in my head. My chest heaved, the last few minutes playing in my thoughts like a nightmare movie on loop. The gunfight. darkness. Cole's hand's icy, unrelenting hold on me as if he could protect me from the craziness poised to consume us whole.

My body heavy, my limbs slow, I blinked against the strong light and came to. Cole's presence—his proximity, the sense of security, the heat of his body—was the last thing I remembered; suddenly, though, I was somewhere else.

I fully opened my eyes to see my surroundings. a clean, minimalist room. Dark furniture, white walls, floor to ceiling windows. It resembled something from a magazine—a high-rise penthouse, the sort I had only seen in glossy pictures or dreams.

I later saw him as well.

Cole stood by the window, his back to me the shadow of his towering, strong figure etched against the brilliant city lights. He seemed so absolutely peaceful, as though nothing could touch him. Like nothing could ever make him change.

I felt like I should be furious. Like some helpless doll in his game, I wanted to yell at him for dragging me here and for making decisions for me. Still, I couldn't. I couldn't ignore the fire curling in my gut, the indisputable draw that had always been there between us, even if I loathed it; I couldn't stop the way my heart accelerated at just thinking about him.

With the cool floor underfoot grounding me, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. "What the devil do you suppose you are doing?" I insisted, trying to seem enraged, to show him I wouldn't be rolling over to grab whatever he was offering.

He did not turn around right away, but as he gazed out the window I sensed a flutter in his eyes. A flutter of something more than the hard, deliberate man I knew. "Protecting you," he replied at last, his voice low and steady, reflecting none of the inner struggle I knew had to be there.

Rising, my fists clenched at my sides, anger scorching in my chest. "Cole, I have no need of you shielding me. Never did. I am not some damsel in need here waiting for you to rescue. My voice stopped on the final word, an uncontrollably strong wave of feeling.

He turned slowly, his piercing eyes fixing me in place, and I briefly worried whether I had made a mistake. But the way he stared felt like something far more deadly than a mistake. His jaw clenched, and for a moment I could see the fractures in his armor. I noticed the man behind the billionaire, the wounded man who had always borne the weight of the earth on his shoulders.

"Very...” His voice softened, but he could not have confused the steel edge in it. "In this, you are not offered options. Not these days.

My heart pounding, I moved back. You cannot control everything at once. You cannot—" But the words passed my throat since his approach was sudden—too quick for me to react. He was standing in front of me before I realized it, his height towering over me and his presence overpowering in a way that felt both stifling and energizing.

He hissed, eyes blazing with anger, "I'm trying to keep you alive." "You would comprehend how much danger you are in if you stopped arguing with me for five seconds. People ask for you dead, Avery. I cannot let that also happen.

I choked hard, a knot developing in my throat as his words struck me more forcefully than any bullet could. But not right now, I display frailty. Not among him. "What now then?" I'm just meant to remain here, imprisoned in your cage, while you play the great hero?

His looks softened, just slightly, but enough to cause my heart to trip. "I'm not playing hero," he murmured softly, nearly as if to himself. "I am doing in accordance with need. Long ago, what ought I have done?

Between us, there was so much unspoken, so many things I wanted not to hear, things I wanted not to admit. But it was impossible to overlook the raw feeling in his voice. Both of us were caught by our past and the draw between us neither of which we could fight against.

Until the sharp ring of a phone sliced through the tension like a sword, the quiet between us seemed heavy and stifling. Cole's mouth closed and he turned away from me, pulling his phone from his suit's pocket without another word. His face stiffened and his eyes flicked over the screen.

His voice stern, he said, "Stay here."

I neglected to pay attention though. I am unable to. Something about the way his posture had changed from protective to predatory—that which set my instincts screaming. I had to know what was happening. I had to know why he was behaving this way.

I pushed toward him before he could leave the room. "Cole, what's happening??"

His eyes shot to mine, but this time there was no affection. only ice. His voice icy, he advised, "Stay out of it, Avery."

I shot back, keeping my stance, not going to stay out of it. "You're terrified for me, not just some defenseless woman you could hide away. I have the right to know what is happening.

He drew a quick inhalation, his nostrils flared. I felt a shudder down my spine as I momentarily caught a flutter of something darker in his eyes.

His voice a deep growl, he murmured, "You have no idea what you're asking, Avery." You have no notion of what is at risk here.

We were interrupted before I could answer by a knock on the door. Sharp and forceful, the sound reverberated across the space.

Cole's voice darkened even more. "Stay here," he said, more aggressively this time, before walking toward the door. But before he could unlock it, from the other side a deep and familiar voice emerged.

"Cole, we really ought to discuss.

My heartbeat became faster. I knew that voice. Liam's. And I knew this chat would produce nothing worthwhile.

Cole turned back to gaze at me, his shoulders rigid and his expression incomprehensible. As I advise, Avery. Stay in this place. Leave this room not at all.

I opened my mouth to object, but his eyes stopped me from speaking. His urgency He was not posing questions anymore. He was quite demanding.

And I asked myself, for the first time, whether the danger wasn't simply outside the room.

My heart in my throat, I nodded.

But I knew everything was going to change as I watched him open the door—low, scary, and dangerous—and heard Liam's voice.

I heard Liam's voice, clear and icy as Cole answered the door: "It's too late, Cole. You cannot guard her anymore.

My heart thumping, I gasped as the door closed behind him, leaving the frigid, silent chamber.

And then... a sound. A fall.

A scream.

I found myself unable to move. I found it difficult to breathe.

The clear sound of gunfire then.

Frozen, my breath seized in my chest, I was unable to move or reason. Sharp and unexpected, the gunshot reverberated through the penthouse. The air seemed heavy with conflict, as if the planet had stopped breathing to wait for something disastrous.

From the other side of the door, I could hear subdued voices—Cole's, Liam's—but I couldn't make out their words. My pulse thumping, I strained my ears as the silence stretched out into forever.

Then the door broke open—just a sliver—singly. Desperate for any clue of what was occurring, I hurried toward it, unable to stop myself.

But before I could get there, a black man entered the room, his face hidden in the shadows.

I stopped, my body stiff with anxiety.

The man merely stood in the doorway, observing me; he did not speak. Just the silhouette of a man, tall and broad-shouldered, I cannot discern the features. Still, the clear air of danger emanated from him like a physical force. My blood ran cold.

Ask "Who are you?" I insisted, my voice trembling even with my best attempts to appear robust. "What would you like?"

He answered slowly at first. Rather, he moved slowly, deliberately closing the distance between us. His eyes sparkled in the low light, icy and predatory, and my heart stuttered in my chest.

The man said at last, his voice low and gravel: "Tell me where he is." His comments were strong and packed with a warning I could not overlook. "Now," said.

My legs felt like lead, yet my instincts screamed at me to hide and run. My head shook. My voice almost above a whisper, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The stranger didn't appear persuaded. His eyes narrowed, and as he approached even more I could see the lethal glitter in them. "Sweetheart, I have no time for games. Cole, where is he?

I gasped hard, my throat dry, my head whirling. Not Cole, not with all we had gone through, I could not turn on him. But the anxiety was growing, burrowing beneath my flesh and racing my pulse.

The quiet broke once again suddenly. Startled by a loud crash from the other room, I whirled toward the sound while my heart rate surged.

The stranger's lips opened to a twisted smile. You're running too late. It is already starting.

The room seemed to bust with noise before I could even understand what that meant. The door swung open, Cole rushed into the room, his eyes ablaze with wrath. Not alone, though.

Liam stood behind him, his features twisted in a dark smile.

"You really thought you might shield her, Cole?" Liam's voice was dripping with contempt. You both are in too deep right now.

Cole's mouth tightened as he looked between Liam and me. "Get away from her, Liam," he said, his voice tense like a stretched wire just about to break.

But Liam's smile just grew more pronounced. "You are too late. You no longer get to act the hero.

The planet seemed to slink towards me. The air around me buzzed with energy, the anarchy and risk closing in from all sides. Though my heart thumped in my chest, nowhere to run to.

From the corridor, a sudden loud bang burst forth. I gasped, whirling around, but the door closed forcefully rattling the walls.

The room descended into blackness.