Chapter 261 [ 497 words ] Chapter 261: Caroline pivoted sharply to the right. The blade missed her ribs by an inch. She reached out, her hands moving like lightning, grabbed Rocco’s wrist with both hands, twisted her body, and applied a brutal joint lock. CRACK. The sound of Rocco’s
Chapter 260 [ 511 words ] Chapter 260: Caroline took one step back. She raised her boot and kicked the heavy steel fire door with explosive force. BANG! The steel door slammed against the brick wall like a gunshot. Rocco and his men whipped their heads around. They saw a
Chapter 259 [ 479 words ] Chapter 259: She heard a faint, metallic scrape. It sounded like a heavy steel grate being lifted. Caroline accelerated. She dropped her center of gravity and slid smoothly around the corner. The hallway was completely empty. At the very end of the corridor, a
Chapter 258 [ 484 words ] Chapter 258: Brenna turned her head slowly and stared at Julian, her eyes wide as saucers. “You… you bought that for me?” Brenna whispered. Julian swallowed hard and slowly opened the velvet box. Inside was a beautiful, delicate diamond pendant necklace. Not an engagement
Chapter 257 [ 480 words ] Chapter 257: He gripped the dark blue velvet box so tightly his knuckles turned completely white. Caroline pressed her spine hard against the brick. Panic flared in her chest. She had to stop him. If he opened that box, the professional boundary would be
Chapter 256 [ 510 words ] Chapter 256: “And my husband’s possessiveness is pathologically violent,” Caroline added, her tone dropping into a deadly serious whisper. “He is insanely jealous. I really don’t want him to break your hands over a stupid misunderstanding. You need those hands for surgery, don’t you?”
Chapter 255 [ 483 words ] Chapter 255: He looked at the empty space between them. A flash of profound, raw hurt crossed his eyes. He slowly pulled back, his shoulders slumping. He reached his hand into his blazer pocket. His fingers nervously traced the square outline of a small
Chapter 254 [ 468 words ] Chapter 254: Sitting directly across the table was Dr. Evans, the head of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Evans slowly lowered his whiskey glass. His eyes dragged over Caroline’s cheap leather jacket and faded jeans. His upper lip curled into a sneer of pure, unfiltered disgust.
Chapter 253 [ 477 words ] Chapter 253: She pushed through the revolving glass doors and stepped out into the cool autumn night. The crisp air hit her face. It tasted like absolute freedom. She raised her hand and flagged down a passing yellow cab. “Georgetown,” Caroline told the driver,
Chapter 252 [ 622 words ] Chapter 252: Seeing Julian’s name sent a fresh spike of anxiety through her. The memory of her cold, brutal dismissal of him that morning was still raw. She had done it to protect him, to push him out of the blast radius of Jarrod’s
Chapter 251 [ 379 words ] Chapter 251: Three minutes later, the jarring ring of the military satellite phone echoed from the living room. Jarrod answered it immediately. His voice was a low, rapid rumble of tactical commands. He sounded impatient and lethal. Caroline slid off the high mattress. Her
Chapter 250 [ 492 words ] Chapter 250: “The Pentagon has a critical situation,” Jarrod announced, his voice scraping like sandpaper. “I have to leave. I will be gone all night.” A tiny, involuntary spark of profound relief flashed in Caroline’s gray eyes. She had survived. The JSOC call was
Chapter 249 [ 486 words ] Chapter 249: He shifted his weight. His left hand shot up, grabbing both of her wrists. He forced her arms above her head, pinning them to the mattress in a firm, unbreakable grip. He pressed his left forearm across her pinned wrists. His left
Chapter 248 [ 506 words ] Chapter 248: “Wait—” Caroline gasped, tearing her mouth away, her heart hammering in panic. “Thirty-day grace period!” she cried, shoving her palms frantically against his rigid chest. “You swore, Jarrod! This is not consent! You misunderstood!” The words hit Jarrod like a physical blow.
Chapter 247 [ 526 words ] Chapter 247: The word home pressed against Caroline’s ribs, unfamiliar and dangerous. She didn’t trust it. She wasn’t ready to want it. But standing in the cold evening air, wrapped in the heat of a man who would burn the world to keep her
Chapter 246 [ 456 words ] Chapter 246: Thirty minutes later, the black armored SUV pulled up to a high-end, heavily secured organic grocery store in Georgetown. Jarrod had changed into a black leather jacket and dark jeans. His right arm remained held carefully still at his side as he
Chapter 245 [ 525 words ] Chapter 245: Caroline lowered the phone. Her hands were shaking violently. I’m sorry, Julian, she thought, her stomach twisting with guilt. I have to hurt you to keep you away from this danger. She had just destroyed the only genuine friendship she had left.
Chapter 244 [ 454 words ] Chapter 244: Across the city, the atmosphere in the Washington United Medical Center Emergency Department was chaotic. Nurses huddled near the supply closet, whispering furiously about Caroline’s unexplained absence. Dr. Finchley, the Chief of the ER, marched out of his office. His face was
Chapter 243 [ 495 words ] Chapter 243: He grabbed Caroline’s shoulders with his left hand and shoved her back against the leather seat. Before she could gasp, his mouth crashed down onto hers. It was a brutal, punishing kiss, driven by pure, unadulterated jealousy and a desperate need to
Chapter 242 [ 490 words ] Chapter 242: “Clean up this mess,” Cornelia ordered, gesturing to the shattered glass on the floor. “Don’t let the servants see how weak you are.” Cornelia walked out of the room. The trap was fully armed. Caroline Thompson’s days were numbered. Ten minutes earlier.