Chapter 153
Chapter 153:
He turned to his security detail, which had just pulled alongside on a secondary vessel.
“Pull her out,” he told his captain, his voice completely stripped of feeling. “Then call the police. I want her charged with conspiracy to commit murder p>
He turned his back on the railing, on the screaming, on everything behind him.
He didn’t look back.
Inside the helicopter, the rotor noise was a deafening, unrelenting thrum that vibrated deep in Cailin’s bones.
She shivered uncontrollably beneath three thick wool blankets. The heater was blasting at full strength, but the cold wasn’t on her skin anymore — it had settled somewhere deeper, a cellular chill that no external warmth could reach.
On the stretcher beside her, Elia slept, sedated by the medic. Her small chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm.
Safe.
Kegan sat across from Cailin, her hand locked in both of his. His grip was firm and grounding against the vibrating chaos surrounding them.
“We are safe,” he mouthed over the noise.
𝘉e 𝗉a𝘳𝗍 o𝗳 o𝗎𝘳 c𝗼𝗺𝗺u𝗇𝗶t𝘆 on 𝘨а𝗹n𝘰𝗏е𝗹ѕ.𝗰о𝗺
“He knows,” Cailin managed, her teeth chattering so hard the words barely formed. She leaned forward, needing him to hear her. “He suspects. He asked about the DNA test again. He saw the birthmark. I don’t know how long I can hold him off p>
Kegan leaned in close, his lips brushing her ear, his voice a secret pressed into the roaring dark.
“I fixed the DNA test, Cali. The moment I found out he had sent the sample, I swapped the data in the lab server,” he said. “The official report in his system reads zero percent match. It’s a digital ghost. He has no proof — only doubt p>
“Are you certain it’s untraceable?” she asked, a new terror threading through her voice. “His security infrastructure is the best in the world p>
“I am better,” Kegan said, his eyes fierce and absolute. “I knew he would push for this one day. I protected you p>
The relief that moved through Cailin was so profound it made the world tilt. But then the tilting didn’t stop. The adrenaline had been holding her together for hours, and now it was gone — burned through completely — leaving the pneumonia, the hypothermia, and the ocean’s cold to settle their accounts all at once. The edges of her vision began to narrow and darken.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice fading to almost nothing.
The world went sideways. She slumped forward.
“Cali!” Kegan caught her before she hit the floor. Her skin was burning hot now — a stark, alarming contrast to the shivering of moments before.
“Pilot! ETA to the hospital!” he barked into his headset.
“Five minutes, sir p>
Kegan pressed two fingers to her neck. Her pulse was thready and racing far beyond what it should be.
“Stay with me,” he said, his voice dropping to a low, desperate growl as he held her upright. “Don’t you dare leave me p>
Cailin drifted into the dark.