Chapter 449
Chapter 449
Third Person’s POV
Finished
Inside the suffocating darkness of the warehouse, Trista was lashed to a concrete pillar with thick hemp. rope. Heavy–duty duct tape across her mouth reduced her screams to jagged, muffled whimpers.
She listened in terror as the rogues huddled nearby, their voices low and sharp.
They were casually debating whether to break her legs right then and there–planning to use her as a human shield once the Manwaring guards breached the perimeter.
Trista had never felt more helpless.
These guys were animals, and she couldn’t even let herself imagine what Sayer was going through.
As a burly man with a scarred face stepped toward her, a sneer twisting his features as he raised an iron crowbar, she squeezed her eyes shut. She braced for the impact, tears disappearing into her hair.
“Ah p>
The expected agony never came. Instead, a guttural scream tore through the air, followed by the sickening sound of a body hitting the wall and the rapid–fire rhythm of a professional takedown.
Trista snapped her eyes open. The rogues who had looked so untouchable seconds ago were now scrambling, howling in pain as they tried to crawl away from the terrifying silhouette emerging from the shadows.
Elias dropped to a crouch in front of her. His expensive shoes were coated in dust, and his hands were stained with blood he didn’t even bother to wipe off. He was frantic, his normally composed fingers fumbling with the ropes.
Seeing this man–usually the picture of effortless elegance–so unraveled by fear and rage gave Trista a sudden, overwhelming surge of security.
The reality of her survival hit her all at once, and she broke down, hot tears streaming down her face.
Elias saw the raw terror in her eyes and tried to steady his voice. “Breathe. I’m here. Nobody touches you p>
Ignoring the stinging slice on her arm where a blade had grazed her, Trista ripped the tape off her mouth. “Don’t worry about me! Sayer–is he okay p>
Elias clamped a hand on her shoulder, his voice low and absolute. “He’s safe. My team moved him. We’re getting out of here p>
Knowing the boy was alive allowed her frayed nerves to finally snap.
But just as they moved to stand, a flicker of light cut through the dark. A lit lighter arched through the air, landing perfectly in a corner crowded with rusted, leaking gas canisters.
“Damn it!” Elias hissed. As the spark hit the fumes, he spun, throwing his entire weight over Trista, shielding her with his broad back just as the pressure blew.
1:18 pm MM M
Chapter 449
Finished
“Boom p>
A wall of heat and jagged metal fragments tore through the warehouse.
By the time Cassian charged into the wreckage, the building was a tomb of rolling black smoke.
He spotted them immediately–Elias and Trista buried under a pile of debris.
Trista shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs, and looked up right into Cassian’s frantic, ash–grey
eyes.
She winced, trying to push him away. “What are you doing here p>
Cassian’s gaze locked onto the bleeding gash on her arm. His voice sounded like a wire about to snap. “I followed Elias’s car p>
Trista didn’t have the energy to question his motives. She scrambled out from under him, her eyes searching the rubble behind him for Elias.
The Ironthorns‘ medical team swarmed the site a second later.
The lead physician took one look at her and reached for her arm. “Dr. Holmes, let’s get you to the center p>
“Get off me p>
She shoved Cassian aside with a burst of desperate strength, stumbling toward the unconscious Elias.
She was afraid to even touch his blood–soaked frame. She knelt beside him, her voice a broken, trembling mess. “Elias! Wake up! You’re a Manwaring–you can’t go out like this p>
Cassian stood frozen, the air knocked out of his lungs.
He watched her weep for another man. He watched the eyes that used to hold only warmth for him fill with terror and devotion for another man.
Even when he was there, even when he tried to help, there was always someone else willing to die for her.
“Godmother… waaaaah p>
“Daddy! Wake up p>
Sayer came running from the perimeter with the medics. Seeing his father covered in blood, the boy’s screams were gut–wrenching.
Trista pulled the child into her arms, and in the middle of the wreckage, they looked exactly like a family.
Cassian clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
He fought back the primal, destructive urge howling in his chest. “The rescue team is here,” he said, his voice a jagged rasp. “He’s not going to die p>
Trista didn’t even hear him.
2/3
1:18 pm
Chapter 449
Finished
She stayed by Elias’s side, whispering his name over and over, never once casting a glance at the man standing right behind her.
Cassian felt like a ghost.
He had imagined a thousand ways to bleed for her, to protect her, to fix what he’d broken.
But reality was mocking him–no matter how fast he ran, he was always a step too late.
There was always someone else standing in the spot that used to be his, making him look like a redundant, pathetic observer.
The medics loaded Elias onto a stretcher and signaled for the family to follow.
Cassian forced himself to stay clinical. He stepped in to intercept Trista. “The kid is in shock. You take him in the family car. I’ll ride in the ambulance to make sure he gets straight into the VIP trauma suite p>
Trista looked at the sobbing, exhausted Sayer in her arms. She didn’t argue. She just gave a hollow nod and let him handle the logistics.
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Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.