shattered promises

chapter 9

Blood Money

The silence after the kiss felt louder than the gunshots outside.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us spoke.

The air between us still burned with everything that had just happened.

My lips tingled.

My heart wouldn’t slow down.

And Sebastian—

Sebastian looked like a man trying to regain control before he completely lost it.

Another loud crash echoed somewhere inside the apartment.

Reality snapped back instantly.

Sebastian turned away first, running a hand through his hair roughly.

“We need to move.”

His voice was calm again.

Too calm.

Like he was forcing the emotion back into a locked room inside himself.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing.

“Right.”

That single word sounded painfully weak compared to the storm inside me.

Because nothing about that kiss felt accidental.

Or temporary.

And that terrified me.

Sebastian opened the storage room door carefully, checking the hallway.

Clear.

For now.

He reached for my hand automatically before stopping himself halfway.

The hesitation lasted only a second.

Then his fingers closed around mine anyway.

Firm.

Protective.

Like letting go wasn’t an option anymore.

We moved quietly through the dark hallway while distant voices echoed from downstairs.

Most of the attackers were still focused near the front of the apartment.

Which meant we had a small chance to escape.

Small.

“Stay behind me,” Sebastian whispered.

“You’ve said that a lot.”

“Because you keep ending up in danger.”

I almost smiled despite everything.

Almost.

We reached the back service stairs without being seen.

The moment the heavy door shut behind us, the noise from upstairs became muffled again.

Sebastian exhaled slowly, tension still visible across his face.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

The question caught me off guard.

Not because he asked.

Because he genuinely cared about the answer.

“I should be asking you that.”

A faint humorless smile crossed his lips.

“I’m harder to kill.”

“You sound very confident.”

“I sound experienced.”

The darkness in those words stayed with me as we descended the stairs.

Because Sebastian never exaggerated danger.

If anything, he minimized it.

Which meant things were probably worse than I realized.

We finally reached the underground parking garage.

Three black SUVs waited near the exit with Sebastian’s security team surrounding them.

The moment they saw him, relief flashed across several faces.

“Sir,” one of the guards rushed forward. “We lost two men upstairs.”

Sebastian’s expression darkened immediately.

“Injured?”

The guard hesitated.

“No.”

The silence that followed felt heavy.

Deadly.

I watched Sebastian carefully.

Waiting for some reaction.

Anger.

Grief.

Anything.

But instead, his expression became colder.

Controlled.

And somehow, that hurt more.

Because I suddenly realized something terrifying.

He was used to loss.

“We move now,” Sebastian ordered sharply.

“The files?” another guard asked.

Sebastian’s eyes shifted briefly toward me.

“I have them.”

That caught my attention immediately.

During all the chaos, I hadn’t even noticed him taking the storage drive.

We quickly entered one of the SUVs.

The moment the doors locked, the convoy sped out of the garage.

Only then did I finally breathe properly again.

Barely.

For several minutes, silence filled the car.

City lights blurred outside the windows while tension sat heavily between us.

Not just because of the attack.

Because of the kiss.

Neither of us knew what to do with it now.

Finally, I looked toward him.

“So… are we pretending that didn’t happen?”

Sebastian’s jaw tightened instantly.

“That would probably be smarter.”

The answer shouldn’t have disappointed me.

But it did.

I looked away toward the window.

“Right.”

A quiet pause followed.

Then—

“I didn’t say I wanted to pretend.”

My heart betrayed me immediately.

Slowly, I turned back toward him.

Sebastian’s gaze stayed fixed ahead.

But his expression had changed.

Less controlled.

More dangerous.

“Then what are you saying?” I asked softly.

Silence stretched.

Then finally—

“I’m saying this situation already puts you at risk.”

His voice lowered slightly.

“And caring about you makes it worse.”

The honesty in those words hit me harder than the kiss itself.

Because Sebastian Blackwood didn’t sound afraid of enemies.

He sounded afraid of his feelings.

Before I could respond, one of the guards in the front seat spoke.

“Sir, we intercepted another message.”

Sebastian’s expression darkened instantly.

“From who?”

“We don’t know yet.”

The guard handed him a tablet.

Sebastian read silently for several seconds.

Then his entire posture stiffened.

“What is it?” I asked immediately.

He didn’t answer right away.

Which scared me.

Finally, he handed me the tablet.

My stomach dropped instantly.

It was a photo.

Of me.

Leaving my apartment two nights ago.

Taken from a distance.

Watched.

Tracked.

Below the photo was a message:

She knows too much already. Finish it before Blackwood destroys everything.

Fear slammed into my chest so hard it physically hurt.

“They’re hunting me.”

Sebastian’s gaze turned ice cold.

“No,” he corrected quietly.

“They’re preparing for war.”

The car suddenly felt too small.

Too hot.

Too dangerous.

I handed the tablet back slowly.

“This is insane.”

“Yes.”

“How can you stay so calm?”

His eyes met mine fully now.

“Because panic won’t protect you.”

I hated that part of me felt safer when he said things like that.

Like his control somehow balanced my fear.

The convoy finally pulled into another private property nearly forty minutes later.

This one was smaller than Sebastian’s estate but heavily guarded.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“One of my secure locations.”

I blinked. “You have multiple secure locations?”

His expression remained unreadable.

“I have multiple enemies.”

That answer stayed with me as we entered the building.

The inside was modern but quiet.

Almost empty.

Clearly designed for emergencies.

Sebastian led me upstairs into a private office overlooking the city skyline.

The moment the door closed behind us, the tension returned instantly.

Not danger this time.

Something else.

Something much more complicated.

“You should rest,” he said quietly.

I crossed my arms.

“I’m tired of resting while everyone else hides the truth from me.”

A shadow crossed his face.

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“And I’m trying to understand what Liam died for.”

Silence.

Then Sebastian walked toward the desk slowly.

He placed the storage drive carefully onto the surface.

“You want the truth?”

“Yes.”

He nodded once.

Then connected the drive to another computer.

More files appeared instantly.

But this time…

One folder stood out.

BLOOD MONEY

My stomach tightened.

Sebastian opened it carefully.

Inside were transaction records worth millions.

Payments.

Bribes.

Secret accounts tied to politicians and business leaders.

And at the center of all of it—

A symbol.

A black crest stamped onto every file.

“What is that?” I whispered.

Sebastian’s expression became dangerously unreadable.

“A private organization.”

“What kind of organization?”

His eyes stayed fixed on the screen.

“The kind powerful people use to control other powerful people.”

Fear crawled slowly through me.

“And Liam was involved with them?”

“Yes.”

I swallowed hard.

“Was he part of it?”

Sebastian hesitated.

And somehow…

That hesitation hurt more than the answer.

“Yes,” he admitted quietly.

The room suddenly felt cold.

“No…”

“He got pulled into something bigger than he understood.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

His voice sharpened slightly.

“Because I warned him.”

That stunned me.

“You knew?”

“I knew he was getting too close to dangerous people.”

Anger flared instantly inside me.

“And you said nothing to me?”

Sebastian looked at me sharply.

“I was trying to keep you out of it.”

“You don’t get to decide that!”

My voice echoed through the office.

Emotion crashed through me violently.

Grief.

Anger.

Confusion.

Everything at once.

“You knew he was in danger,” I whispered painfully.

“Yes.”

“And you let me plan a future with him anyway.”

Something dark flashed across Sebastian’s face.

“You think I could control him?” he snapped. “Liam made his own choices.”

“But you knew!”

The hurt in my voice nearly broke me.

Silence crashed between us.

Heavy.

Sharp.

Painful.

Then Sebastian spoke quietly.

“He loved you.”

I froze.

“What?”

“He talked about you constantly.”

My chest tightened painfully.

“He wanted out,” Sebastian continued softly. “That’s why he stole the files.”

I stared at him, tears burning behind my eyes.

“To expose them?”

“Yes.”

A pause.

“And to protect you.”

The words shattered something inside me.

Because suddenly…

Liam wasn’t just a liar anymore.

He was also afraid.

Trapped.

Trying to escape.

I looked away quickly, wiping at my eyes angrily.

“I hate this.”

Sebastian’s voice softened slightly.

“I know.”

“No,” I whispered painfully.

“You don’t.”

Then suddenly—

The computer screen flickered.

A new message appeared automatically.

No sender.

No warning.

Just words.

YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED WITH HIM.

My blood turned cold.

Then another line appeared beneath it.

TELL BLACKWOOD THE GAME HAS STARTED.

Sebastian’s expression darkened instantly.

Dangerous.

Deadly.

And for the first time since meeting him…

I saw real fear in his eyes.

Not for himself.

For me.