Aria's POV
The knife pressed against my throat, cold and sharp.
"Last chance to cooperate," Damien said softly. "Tell me what you remember from three years ago, or I start cutting."
I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for pain. For blood. For the end.
Then the warehouse door exploded inward with a deafening crash.
Damien spun around, knife still in hand. "What the—"
Kade stormed through the shattered door like an avenging angel. He wasn't alone. Marcus and six other men in tactical gear flooded in behind him, guns drawn.
"Step away from her," Kade ordered, his voice deadly calm. His gun was pointed directly at Damien's head.
Damien smiled and pressed the knife harder against my throat. I felt the blade break skin, a warm trickle of blood running down my neck.
"One more step and I open her throat," Damien warned.
Everyone froze.
"How did you find us?" Damien asked, genuinely curious.
"You're not as smart as you think," Kade replied. His eyes found mine, and I saw something fierce and protective burning there. "I put a tracker in Aria's necklace the day she moved in. I've known exactly where she was the entire time."
My hand went to my throat. The simple silver necklace Mom had given me for my birthday—Kade had bugged it?
"Clever," Damien admitted. "But it doesn't change the situation. I still have the knife. You still have the gun. Someone's dying today. Question is, who?"
"You," Kade said simply. "You're the one who's dying."
"If you shoot me, my hand will spasm. The knife will slice her throat. She'll bleed out in seconds." Damien's smile widened. "So go ahead. Take the shot."
The tension was suffocating. Eight guns pointed at Damien, but none of them could fire without killing me.
"Let her go," Kade said, and for the first time, I heard desperation in his voice. "Take me instead. That's what you really want, isn't it? To punish me for betraying you?"
"Oh, I definitely want to punish you," Damien agreed. "But killing her will hurt you so much more than dying yourself would. I learned that from watching you together. You love her."
"I barely know her," Kade lied.
"Liar." Damien laughed. "You love her. It's written all over your face. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to drop your weapon and walk over here. If you don't, I kill her right now."
"Don't," I gasped, blood making my voice wet. "Kade, don't do it."
But he was already lowering his gun.
"Kade, no!" Marcus shouted. "It's a trap!"
"I know." Kade set his gun on the ground and held up his hands. "But I don't care."
He walked forward slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. In them, I saw an apology. A promise. A goodbye.
He was going to sacrifice himself to save me.
"That's it," Damien encouraged. "Nice and slow. Any sudden moves and she dies."
Kade stopped three feet away. "Let her go. You have me now."
"Oh, I'm keeping you both," Damien said cheerfully. "Did you really think I'd settle for just one?"
He moved the knife from my throat to grab Kade—and that's when I acted.
I threw my head backward as hard as I could, slamming into Damien's face. I heard his nose crunch. He screamed, loosening his grip.
"NOW!" Kade yelled.
Marcus and his team opened fire.
Damien dove behind my chair, using me as a shield. Bullets slammed into the metal all around us. I couldn't move, still zip-tied to the chair.
"Nice try!" Damien shouted. He grabbed the chair and tipped it backward. I fell hard, still strapped in, my head cracking against the concrete floor.
Pain exploded through my skull. My vision went gray.
Through the fog, I saw Kade tackle Damien. They crashed to the ground, fighting like animals. Punches. Kicks. The knife skittering across the floor.
"Get her out!" Kade roared at Marcus between blows.
Marcus ran to me, pulling out a knife to cut my zip ties. "Stay with me, Aria. Stay awake."
But I couldn't. The world was spinning. Blood pooled under my head.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was Kade's hands around Damien's throat, squeezing. Squeezing until Damien stopped moving.
I woke up in a hospital bed.
White ceiling. Beeping machines. The smell of antiseptic.
"She's awake," a voice said. Mom's voice.
She appeared beside me, her face tear-streaked and exhausted. "Oh thank God. Baby, you're okay. You're going to be okay."
"What happened?" My throat was raw. Everything hurt.
"Concussion. Cuts and bruises. But you'll heal." Mom squeezed my hand. "Kade saved you. He and his security team found you just in time."
Kade. I looked around the room. "Where is he?"
Mom's expression shifted. "Being questioned by the police. That man who took you—Damien Cross—he's dead. Kade killed him."
Dead. Damien was dead. I should've felt relief. Instead, I felt numb.
"The police want to talk to you when you're ready," Mom continued. "About what happened. About why that man took you." She paused. "Aria, who was he? Why did he call you Isabella?"
My heart sank. The truth was coming out. All of it.
"Mom, I need to tell you something—"
The door burst open. Two men in suits walked in, badges at their belts. Federal agents.
"Miss Moretti," the older one said. "We need to speak with you about your witness protection status. It's been compromised."
Mom's face went pale. "Moretti? What are they talking about?"
"We'll need you to step outside, ma'am," the younger agent said.
"No!" Mom grabbed my hand tighter. "I'm not leaving my daughter. Aria, what's going on?"
I looked at her tear-stained face. At the confusion and hurt in her eyes. I'd lied to her for three years. Let her believe I was someone I wasn't.
"My real name is Isabella Moretti," I said quietly. "Three years ago, I witnessed a murder. I went into witness protection. Everything you know about me—about Aria Sinclair—is a lie."
Mom's hand slipped from mine. She stood up slowly, backing away like I was a stranger.
"You lied to me," she whispered. "For three years. You let me introduce you to Victor, move us into his home, all while hiding who you really were?"
"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you—"
"Is that why that man came after us? Why Victor and I had guns pointed at our heads? Because of your lies?"
"Serena," the older agent interrupted gently. "Your daughter did nothing wrong. She was a victim protecting herself—"
"Don't tell me about my daughter!" Mom snapped. "Except she's not really my daughter, is she? I don't even know who you are."
She walked out of the room without looking back.
My heart shattered.
"Miss Moretti," the older agent said, sitting down beside my bed. "We have a serious problem. Damien Cross is dead, but his organization isn't. They know who you are now. They know you're alive. And they're going to come after you to tie up loose ends."
"What are you saying?"
"We're saying you need to disappear again. New identity. New location. Tonight."
"No." I sat up despite the pain. "I can't keep running. I won't."
"You don't have a choice. They'll kill you."
"Then let them try." I was done being afraid. Done hiding. "I'm not running anymore."
The door opened again. Kade walked in, and my breath caught.
He looked like he'd been through a war. Bruised face. Split lip. Bloodstained clothes. But his eyes were fierce and alive.
"She's not going anywhere," Kade told the agents. "She stays here. With me. I'll protect her."
"Mr. Thornfield, you're under investigation for killing Damien Cross—"
"Self-defense. We all know it. You've got the video from my team's body cams." Kade walked to my bedside. "I'm not letting her disappear again. End of discussion."
The agents exchanged looks. "We'll need to discuss this with our superiors—"
"Then discuss it outside." Kade's tone left no room for argument.
They left, closing the door behind them.
Kade and I stared at each other.
"You killed him," I said.
"Yes."
"Because of me."
"Because he tried to hurt you." Kade's jaw clenched. "I'd do it again. A thousand times."
"My mom hates me now."
"She'll come around. She's just scared." He sat on the edge of my bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck." I managed a weak smile. "But alive. Thanks to you."
"Thanks to you," he corrected. "That headbutt? That was badass. Gave me the opening I needed."
We fell silent. There was so much to say, but I didn't know where to start.
"The tracker in my necklace," I said finally. "When did you put it there?"
"The day you moved in. Before Damien showed up." Kade looked guilty. "I know it was an invasion of privacy, but—"
"It saved my life."
"Yeah." He reached out and took my hand. His fingers were warm, solid, real. "I meant what I said in that warehouse. I would've traded my life for yours."
"Why? We barely know each other."
Kade was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Because from the second I saw you on that balcony, I knew you were going to change everything. I just didn't know how much."
My heart raced. "Kade—"
His phone buzzed. He checked it and his expression went dark.
"What is it?" I asked.
He showed me the screen. An email from an unknown sender.
The subject line read: Damien's Last Gift.
Inside was a single photo. Victor and Serena, unconscious in the back of a van.
Below the photo: Your father and her mother. Still alive. For now. Bring Isabella to the following address in two hours, or they die. Come alone, or they die. Call the police, or they die. This is your last chance, Thornfield.