Chapter 85
[ 494 words ]
Chapter 85:
A knot of nervous tension formed in her stomach. She grabbed her purse, locked the door, and walked down the stairs.
She pushed open the lobby doors and stepped out into the bright morning light.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
Parked directly in front of her apartment building, its polished black paint gleaming in the sun, was a single, massive, blacked-out Escalade. It wasn’t a military motorcade, but its sheer size and imposing presence dominated the quiet suburban street, drawing the eyes of every neighbor.
𝘋і𝘀сov𝗲𝘳 𝗇𝗲𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝗼𝘳i𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗇 g𝘢l𝗻𝗼𝗏𝗲𝗹𝘀.со𝗆
Neighbors were standing on their porches, holding coffee mugs, staring in absolute shock at the display of raw power.
Jarrod Romero was not hiding in the shadows today.
He was standing on the sidewalk, leaning casually against the rear door of the SUV. He was wearing a custom-tailored, charcoal gray suit that fit his broad shoulders perfectly. The sunlight caught the sharp, ruthless angles of his jaw. He looked like a king surveying his territory.
When he saw Caroline, his dark eyes locked onto her. A faint, incredibly arrogant smile touched his lips.
He pushed off the car and walked toward her.
Caroline’s heart hammered against her ribs. “Jarrod, what are you doing?” she hissed, looking around at the staring neighbors. “This is broad daylight! You’re blowing my cover!”
Jarrod stopped right in front of her. He didn’t care who was watching. He reached out and wrapped his large hand firmly around hers, lacing their fingers together.
His grip was warm, solid, and completely unyielding.
“Your cover is being upgraded,” Jarrod said smoothly, pulling her toward the SUV.
“I have to go to work!” Caroline argued, trying to dig her heels in. “I’ll get fired!”
Jarrod opened the heavy armored door and looked down at her, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement.
“I spoke with Dr. Cromwell this morning,” Jarrod informed her, his tone dripping with absolute authority. “You’re on a mandatory three-day leave for ‘stress.’ After the gala, you will return. We need to maintain the appearance of normalcy so the people hunting you don’t lose their bait.”
Caroline’s jaw dropped. He had completely bypassed her, using his overwhelming power to sever her ties to that toxic hospital in a single phone call.
He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her into the leather seat, then climbed in after her, and Bell shut the door.
The SUV immediately began to move, rolling smoothly down the street.
Caroline turned to him, her mind spinning. “You can’t just do that! Where are we going?”
Jarrod shifted in his seat, turning his full attention to her. The amusement vanished from his face, replaced by a cold, deadly seriousness.
He reached out and gripped her knee.
“Tonight is the Romero family centennial gala,” Jarrod stated. The words hung in the air like a declaration of war. “The entire political and military elite of this city will be in one room. And you are going to walk in there on my arm, as my wife.”
Caroline’s blood ran cold. The gala. The ultimate snake pit.
.
.
.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.