The moment the tracker locked onto a signal, I didn't waste another damn second. I drove like hell, my gun resting on the passenger seat, heart pounding so violently it felt like it might crack my ribs.
The location? Some abandoned structure on the outskirts—far from the city, hidden by tall grass and rusting metal fences.
A perfect place for a damn ambush.
As soon as we arrived, chaos erupted. My men stormed in behind me, guns drawn. Bullets sliced through the air like thunder cracking the night.
Screams.
Bodies hitting the ground.
I didn't flinch. I didn't stop.
I needed her.
I pushed through the gunfire, rage clouding my vision, tearing down every door, every barricade. Blood smeared across the walls. Men dropped one by one, my gang showing no mercy.
But she wasn't there.
"Where the f**k is she?!" I roared, grabbing one of the bleeding bastards by the collar, slamming him against the wall.
His mouth frothed with blood, but he grinned. "She's not here, boss. You're too late."
I lost it.
My fist connected with his jaw—once, twice, again—until someone pulled me back. I couldn't hear clearly anymore, just the deafening ring of panic echoing in my skull.
Not here?She was supposed to be here.
"Search every f**king corner," I ordered, voice shaking. "Check the tunnels, the basements. She has to be here!"
I felt like I was drowning in my own fury. My lungs were collapsing with each second I didn't see her.
This was my fault.I let her down.
And if anything happened to her—I would burn this city to the ground.
I sprinted up the rusted staircase, boots slamming against the metal with every breathless second. My lungs were burning, throat dry, but nothing mattered except her.
The rooftop door slammed open.
And there she was.
Adeline.
Sitting on the freezing concrete, her arms limp at her sides, her eyes vacant—like life had drained out of her. The moonlight washed over her, but she didn't glow like usual. She looked… hollow.
And right behind her, a man stood—filthy, grinning, insane—his hand gripping her hair and a blade pressed against her throat.
My heart dropped to my knees.
I raised my gun, but he snapped, "One more step, and I'll slice her open like paper."
I froze. My finger twitched on the trigger.
"She means something to you, doesn't she?" he sneered, dragging the knife just a little, leaving the faintest trace of red. "Then kneel."
My pulse roared in my ears.
No one had ever asked that of me. Not since my parents died. I had stood tall at their funeral. I had faced killers, betrayal, war—but never bowed.
Never.
But right now, she was all I had left.
My last thread of light in a life full of blood and ash.
So I dropped to my knees.
Not out of weakness. But out of desperation.
Out of love.
The cold concrete bit into my skin, and my pride shattered beneath it.
His laughter echoed off the rooftop.
But I didn't care.
I kept my eyes on her. Her trembling hands. The tear trailing down her cheek. Her lips moved, mouthing something I couldn't hear. Maybe my name.
And in that moment, I knew—
I'd give up my life for hers.
Again.And again.
She shook her head at me.
Her lips trembled. Her eyes widened in disbelief, silently begging me not to kneel. As if it shattered something inside her to see me like this.
But I gave her a small, reassuring nod.
I've got you.
That moment of stillness shattered in a heartbeat.
The man roared and lunged forward—blade aimed straight for my throat.
I rolled sideways just in time. The blade grazed my shoulder, burning like fire. He swung again, but I caught his wrist mid-air and twisted. The knife clattered to the ground, and we both went for it.
We grappled—fists, knees, elbows.
The rooftop echoed with the sound of bones colliding, boots scraping, growls of rage. He was fast, but I was angrier. Each punch I landed was for every tear she cried. Every bruise on her skin. Every moment of fear she endured.
But then—
He pulled out something from his coat.
A gun.
He aimed it right at me.
Before I could react—A blur moved.
"No!" she screamed.
Adeline.
She leapt from where she was sitting and grabbed his arm, throwing him off balance just as he pulled the trigger.
The shot went wild.
He snarled, turned—and with one brutal motion, slammed her away.
Her body flew back like a ragdoll, crashing into the concrete wall with a sickening thud. Her head snapped back, and she crumpled to the floor, motionless.
"Adeline!"
Something inside me snapped.
Everything around me went silent except the roar in my chest. My vision tunneled. I didn't see a man anymore—I saw a monster who hurt her.
And monsters don't get mercy.
He walked toward her slowly, like a predator circling a wounded deer.
She was barely conscious… her body limp, but her eyes fluttered open—just in time to see him standing over her.
He crouched.
And then—he grabbed her hair, yanking her head back.
"You really think he can save you?" he hissed near her ear. "You're just bait—nothing more."
That was it.
I didn't feel the pain in my shoulder anymore. I didn't hear the storm of gunfire below us. All I felt was rage.
White-hot.
Blinding.
I surged forward, letting out a roar from deep in my chest, and grabbed his throat with both hands—ripping him away from her like he was weightless.
His eyes widened in shock as I slammed him into the rooftop floor.
"You touched her," I growled, tightening my grip as he clawed at my hands. "You touched her."
He gasped, kicked, tried to reach for his weapon—but I smashed his arm down and heard the bone crack.
I could've ended him right then.
But I wanted him to suffer.
I leaned in close, voice like steel.
"She is not your bait. She is mine to protect. Mine to die for if I have to."
And then—I raised my fist, and the rooftop echoed with the sickening sound of knuckles meeting flesh, again and again, until the man beneath me stopped moving.