*Reed’s POV*
Lucas was dead.
But not from a gunshot. But I didn’t fire the shot. Neither did Alex.
We all heard the sound, something sharp and sudden, but as I stared at his lifeless body, confusion settled deep in my gut. The wound, if you could even call it that, wasn’t from a bullet. It was something else entirely.
Hermine moved toward him, her face unreadable, her steps careful as if she expected him to suddenly spring back to life. She crouched beside him, pressing two fingers to his neck, though we both knew she wouldn’t find a pulse. Her dark brows furrowed as she inspected his head, her fingers brushing through his blood-matted hair. Then she pulled back, exhaling sharply.
“This wasn’t a bullet,” she muttered, shaking her head.
My heart pounded in my chest as I stood frozen, gripping my gun like it could somehow provide answers. My ears still rang from the chaos, the gunfire, the screams-but none of that mattered now. All that mattered was that Lucas lay there, lifeless, his body slumped over in a way that told me he hadn’t even seen it coming.
“It wasn’t a bullet,” she repeats. This time, her fingers barely grazed his temple before she pulled away, eyes narrowing. “It was an explosion.”
I blinked. “What?”
She exhaled sharply. “A small chip must’ve been implanted in his head. Someone triggered it remotely.”
My stomach churned. That meant someone had planned this. Someone had known Lucas would be here.
“Who the hell-”
“I’ll tell you who.” Alex stepped forward, his voice edged with something dark, something too calm given that her father just kicked the bucket. Maybe, she didn’t care, but I could hear the tension underneath. “Whoever set this up had to know he’d be coming.”
“And,” Hermine cut in, her gaze shifting from Lucas to me, “whoever triggered it had to be close.”
A cold dread crawled up my spine.
No.
No, no, no.
My breath hitched as realization slammed into me like a freight train.
Roman. That son of a bitch.
The room felt like it was closing in. My head spun as I staggered back, barely noticing the bodies scattered across the floor. That asshole. After everything he’d done to my woman, he basically disappeared from the face of the earth. I spent night and day looking for him and he dared show up to my estate?
Maybe Lucas’s attack was all a planned act. Maybe Roman needed someone to distract me while he took again from me right under my nose without me knowing.
Not this time. No. I had to move.
The walls felt like they were caving in, pressing against my ribs, choking the air out of me. I stumbled over corpses as I pushed toward the only standing exit, barely registering the chaos around me. My vision blurred as adrenaline pumped through my veins.
I saw a black van, peeling out of the estate’s driveway. Roman.
I tried to focus on the plates, but they were already too far, already blending into the night. My pulse pounded in my ears as I reached for my gun, my legs moving before my mind could catch up-
Then a gunshot rang out.
Pain exploded in my shoulder. I sucked in a sharp breath as the bullet grazed me, searing through flesh. My grip on my gun wavered, but I forced myself to move, diving behind a crumbling pillar just as another shot whizzed past me.
Shit. Someone was still here.
I pressed my back against the cold concrete, my chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. Blood dripped from the wound in my shoulder, warm and sticky, but I couldn’t focus on that now.
Roman was getting away. And someone was still inside my estate and wanted me dead.
I tightened my grip on my gun, swallowing the pain. I dug my head out to shoot at the bastard who fired at me, but he too was getting away. Regardless, I began shooting, emptying the contains of my gun in his direction, hoping that at least two touched him.
I sigh and dropped my gun when I realised I had emptied it. I began to follow in the direction where the bastard was. Maybe, a bullet of my touched him and it had slowed him down.
“Reed! I found something. But we need to get out of here.” Hermine calling out behind me paralyzed me on the spot, a mental battle stirring in my head. Do I follow after him or let him go?
“Reed!”
Dammit! I make a U-turn and lounge toward Hermine. We fall into a stride as we head back into the estate.
“I found Lucas’s phone. I can trace his movements within the last forty-eight hours. But we need to get Alex and Zinnia out. There’s another bomb set to go off in 2 mins.” Hermine was panting rapidly as we spoke.
“Fuck! That’s not enough time.”
“I know!” Hermine snapped. We made it in. While I carried Zinnia, Alex tested her weight on Hermine. As much as we could, we hurried outside before the bomb went off. The moment we cleared the courtyard, the bomb went off, ripping through steel and concrete like paper. The shockwave slammed into us, knocking us forward, sending us sprawling onto the stone pavement. My body ached, dust and debris coating my skin, but I didn’t care. I scrambled up, ignoring the sting of fresh cuts on my hands, and turned back to look at what was left.
Everything I built over the years of planning and strategizing, every brick, every goddamn piece of my empire gone. Reduced to fire and ruin.
I stared, chest heaving, as the structure caved in on itself, one final groan before the flames swallowed it whole. My safehouse. My headquarters. All turned to dust because of that asshole Roman.
“Reed…” Hermine’s voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. She was on her knees.
I couldn’t look away. The flames reflected in my eyes, burning the moment into my soul. This wasn’t just a loss. This was a declaration of war if it wasn’t clear before. Roman had made his move again, thinking he’d outplayed me, thinking he could erase me.
If it wasn’t obvious before, he had just brought the devil out of hell. “I’m gonna make him pay,” I murmured.
Hermine dragged herself closer, her fingers brushing my arm. “Reed…” she rasped, but she didn’t stop me.
I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms so hard I swore I’d draw blood. “I swear on everything I have left, I’ll make him regret this. I’ll break him, Hermine. I’ll tear apart everything he loves, everything he’s built, and I’ll make him watch as it burns. Just like this.” I gestured to the wreckage, my voice shaking, thick with rage. “Hes going to beg for death to take him.”
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