Chapter 16 — The Man Who Refused To Fall
737 Words
“DAMIEN!”
Adaeze’s scream echoed through the smoke-filled corridor.
Tunde dragged her backward.
“Move!”
“No!”
She fought against his grip desperately.
The image of Damien standing alone behind that wall of smoke burned into her mind.
Bleeding.
Surrounded.
Still choosing to stay behind for her.
Gunfire exploded again.
The sound nearly shattered her.
“Damien!”
Tunde cursed and tightened his hold.
“If you go back there, he dies for nothing!”
The words hit hard enough to stop her.
For one terrible second.
Then another explosion rocked the floor beneath them.
The hallway lights flickered violently.
Security guards rushed around them.
Shouting.
Chaos.
Everything felt unreal.
Tunde practically shoved her into a service elevator.
The doors slammed shut.
And for the first time since meeting Damien Black—
Adaeze couldn't see him.
The realization made panic crawl up her throat.
The elevator descended rapidly.
Too rapidly.
Her breathing became uneven.
“What if he's dead?”
Tunde looked away.
“He's not.”
“You don't know that!”
“No.” His expression darkened. “But Damien Black is many things.”
The elevator reached the underground parking level.
The doors opened.
Armed guards immediately surrounded them.
“He doesn't die easily.”
Outside, rain poured heavily over London.
Black SUVs waited near a hidden exit.
Tunde pushed Adaeze toward one.
“We need to go.”
She stopped instantly.
“No.”
His patience snapped.
“Adaeze!”
“I’m not leaving London without him.”
The conviction in her voice surprised even herself.
Because somehow—
Somewhere between Lagos and London—
Damien had become more than her boss.
More than her protector.
More than the terrifying billionaire who controlled everything.
He had become the person she looked for first.
The person who made her feel safe.
The person she couldn't stop thinking about.
And now he might be dying.
The thought physically hurt.
Before Tunde could argue—
A convoy of black vehicles suddenly entered the underground lot.
Everyone froze.
Weapons immediately raised.
Guards moved into position.
The lead SUV stopped.
The driver's door opened slowly.
Adaeze stopped breathing.
No.
It couldn't be.
A familiar figure stepped out into the rain.
Tall.
Powerful.
Bleeding.
Alive.
“Damien.”
Relief hit her so hard her knees nearly gave out.
Damien stood there soaked by rain, his white shirt stained red with blood.
But he was standing.
Still standing.
Still terrifying.
Still Damien.
The second his eyes found her—
Something changed in his expression.
A tension she hadn't noticed before disappeared instantly.
Like he had been searching for her too.
Adaeze ran.
Without thinking.
Without caring who was watching.
She ran straight toward him.
Damien barely had time to react before she crashed into him.
His arms wrapped around her automatically.
Protectively.
Possessively.
The force nearly made him wince from his injury.
But he didn't let go.
Not even a little.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Rain poured around them.
The world disappeared.
And for the first time—
Adaeze stopped fighting what she felt.
Because the possibility of losing him had shown her the truth.
She cared.
Far more than she wanted to.
Far more than was safe.
Damien's hand moved into her hair slowly.
“You're crying.”
She laughed shakily against his chest.
“You got shot.”
His grip tightened slightly.
“And you're alive.”
The words sounded familiar.
Because he'd said them before.
Like her survival mattered more than his own.
Dangerously more.
Then suddenly—
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
One of Damien's guards answered.
His face immediately turned pale.
“Sir.”
Damien looked up sharply.
“What?”
The guard swallowed hard.
“We found Chike.”
Hope exploded through Adaeze instantly.
“Where?”
But the guard didn't look relieved.
He looked terrified.
Damien noticed too.
“What's wrong?”
The guard hesitated.
Then quietly—
“He wasn't alone.”
Silence.
Cold silence.
The guard handed Damien a tablet.
Damien's expression darkened immediately.
Adaeze grabbed it.
And her blood froze.
The screen showed a photograph.
Chike standing beside a beautiful woman.
A woman Adaeze recognized instantly.
A woman she never expected to see again.
Richard's sister.
The same woman who disappeared seven years ago.
The same woman everyone believed was dead.
And beneath the photo was a single message.
WELCOME TO THE NEXT GAME.
- Writer
