Page 11

"Let’s go meet him outside," Mr. Ragu muttered, gesturing toward the security guard. All of us exited the building. Only then did I notice the other two guards standing on either side of the entrance, scanning the area, though they didn’t seem particularly focused.

Right at that moment, Mr. Lowen’s limousine pulled up in front of the main entrance. A black car in front of it came to a stop first, and three men—evidently his personal security detail—stepped out.

They approached the limo and positioned themselves strategically, completely shielding Mr. Lowen from view as he exited the vehicle. Another man followed him out of the car.

The group of five began walking toward us. As they got closer, I finally laid eyes on Mr. Lowen for the first time, after hearing so much about him.

The powerful CEO of the biggest pharmaceutical corporation in this country was very short—as Damien mentioned, not more than 5’3", small even for an omega. His hair was strikingly unique, styled in a straight, navy-blue fringe that fell over his eyes, with the back reaching his shoulders. The strands were absolutely smooth and even. Small, sleek glasses perched on his nose—clearly not regular lenses. They looked electronic, possibly synced to his phone.

When his pale sapphire-blue eyes locked onto mine for a brief moment, I knew immediately. People always looked at me like that, with that distinct mix of recognition and unease. He could tell I was a purple alpha.

Although Mr. Lowen was around forty years old, his appearance was ageless. To anyone unfamiliar with his background, he could easily pass for a man in his mid-twenties! No doubt, his youthful looks were thanks to his immense wealth—he could afford the best rejuvenation treatments money could buy. His delicate build and boyish hairstyle only amplified that impression.

As I studied him, a realization hit me like a freight train…

At that moment, I knew exactly who his True Mate was. The clarity of it was absurd, and I had to stifle a laugh at the irony of it.

So, definitely, my talent was taking off. I was just getting started!

Mr. Ragu stepped forward to greet Lowen, but the omega waved him off impatiently, his high, piercing voice carrying an icy tone. "Let’s go inside. I dislike open spaces."

Mr. Ragu nodded fervently, and we all moved into the lobby.

Only once inside did the formal greetings take place. I noticed, however, that Lowen didn’t shake Mr. Ragu’s outstretched hand, completely ignoring it. Behind us, another man entered—a beta in his fifties, probably one of Lowen’s lawyers.

We headed toward the stairs instead of the elevator, as per Lowen’s pre-arranged instructions. Apparently, he had been very specific about his preferences for this visit, and I’ll admit, I felt a bit out of my element. I didn’t know the protocol, nor what the exact security requirements were. Mr. Ragu’s guards seemed equally clueless, following no clear plan.

We climbed the stairs to the floor where the conference room was located. During this time, Mr. Ragu chatted with Lowen, whose responses were sparse, but I wasn’t paying attention. An unsettling feeling had taken root in my chest and was growing stronger by the second.

When we entered the conference room, that unease exploded into full-blown alarm. It took everything I had not to yell for everyone to leave immediately.

The area was set up with a podium near one wall—likely a spot where the company’s CEO typically delivered speeches. My eyes were drawn to it with inexplicable intensity.

In front of the podium was a long table surrounded by chairs, with snacks and water bottles neatly arranged on top. Mr. Ragu and Mr. Lowen sat at the table, with Jordan and Lowen’s other lawyer taking seats beside them.

The suffocating sense of wrongness in my chest was building to a breaking point. My ears picked up on something—a faint, barely audible beeping. It was rhythmic, like an old digital timer or stopwatch.

No one else seemed to notice it. The guards outside the room, along with Lowen’s one guard stationed by the door, showed no signs of alarm. It wasn’t surprising, though. As a purple alpha, my senses were far sharper, and even I could barely hear it.

Unable to stand it any longer, I took a step toward Mr. Ragu and said firmly, "We need to leave this room. Right now. Something’s not right."

Mr. Ragu shot me a look of disbelief and irritation, clearly annoyed at my interruption. But Lowen’s reaction was entirely different. His sharp, light sapphire eyes locked onto mine, and I could tell he believed me.

Without a word, he shot to his feet and rushed toward me.

What happened next defied my imagination. I reached out, grabbing Blue Lowen around the waist and turning my back to the podium.

"Get down!" I roared, feeling a little bad about leaving the others, especially Mr. Ragu, who was my boss and an omega, but there was nothing I could do.

In two powerful strides, I lunged toward the far end of the room, flipping over a snack table with a forceful kick. Diving behind it with Lowen, we tumbled to the floor just as a massive explosion ripped through the air…

The building shook violently.

The deafening blast nearly knocked me out, and debris rained down on us—splinters of furniture, shattered ceiling panels, glass, loose wires.

But all I could think about was Damien. The conference room was separated from the room where he was staying by just one wall. If the explosion had come from the podium, the blast had been dangerously close to it.

In my head, I felt a strange, schizophrenic tug-of-war. On one hand, I knew I should protect Lowen—both as his bodyguard, even if only for one day, and because he was a petite omega—so my deeply ingrained instincts spiked off the charts. But on the other hand, I was certain Damien needed me too. Judging by the state of the room—ceiling panels in shreds, metal beams dangling precariously, and the air thick with smoke and dust—it was clear this was a dire situation. I could barely see, and all I could hear were groans, likely from Mr. Ragu and the others. I wasn’t even sure if everyone was alive, though the faint sound of pounding hearts gave me some hope.

For a moment, I was paralyzed by indecision. Was it safe to leave the cover of the table? Was the bomb the main attack, or was there more waiting for us? If I stepped out now, I had no idea what I’d face. But I had to get to Damien. He was the priority.

I looked at Lowen, unsure how to even begin explaining the presence of his own nephew here, so the words tumbled out just like that, pure instinct:

"My boyfriend’s in the next room—I have to go to him! I don’t want to leave you here, but I do have to check on him. The wall might’ve collapsed; he could need my help."

Lowen’s face was pale, his expression a mix of despair and disillusionment. Was he thinking about how his people had failed him yet again? He lay on his back, half-pinned under me, his eyes meeting mine with startling clarity.

"Take me with you. Only you can save me."

Why would he assume that? I was a stranger to him. Yet for some reason, he trusted me, so I nodded.

"Alright, but it’ll be riskier for you. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I won’t stay here alone."

That’s when I noticed something odd—my voice sounded different. My glands tickled, and I realized my fighting mode was activating. That didn’t happen often, but under these circumstances? Totally justified.

My entire body felt like it was burning and tingling, a sensation that told me the bony spines hidden in my body were about to emerge from the purple streaks along my limbs. I couldn’t risk Lowen being pressed up against me any longer.

Clearing my throat, I groaned out, "Listen, I’m going into fighting mode. When I transform, I… change. I lose control over the spikes, you know, the bone protrusions that will come out of my body." I explained awkwardly. "Stay behind me, but keep a safe distance, alright?"

His eyes widened in shock, but he nodded. Every purple alpha had unique abilities. The spines and bone plates were pretty standard, but how they formed, where they emerged, and their size varied from one person to the next.

He glanced at my shoulders, probably noticing how my suit strained against the changes taking place. I had to get rid of my clothes, and I did, while he stared at me. I left only my boxers on. Then, carefully, I peeked over the edge of the table. The room was a dense fog of smoke and debris—visibility was nearly zero.

"Stay close!" I barked, my voice almost unrecognizable, deeply low.

I rose, feeling my body morph in real time. Pressure built in my chest and abdomen as bone plates shifted under my skin, sliding into place to shield my vulnerable organs. The sensation was sharp and piercing, like being split apart from the inside, but I pushed through the pain, adrenaline helping with that.

Guided by instinct, I made my way toward the door. Lowen followed, his presence quiet behind me. As I emerged from the dust cloud, my foot nudged something. I realized it was a body—one of the guards. Lowen must’ve noticed him too because he murmured, "Jason? Jason, are you alive?"

Silence. I couldn’t even hear a heartbeat. The grim reality hit me—this wasn’t just a dream. People were dying. Up until now, it had felt somewhat surreal, like a scene from an action movie. But now? This was a nightmare we couldn’t wake up from.

The glass doors leading out of the conference room were shattered. I stepped through carefully, scanning the smoky hallway beyond. The visibility was still terrible.

Suddenly, I heard it—the pounding of footsteps. Four pairs, closing in from two directions.

"Get down!" I yelled to Lowen.

Then came the gunfire. The first burst struck me in the solar plexus, the second just below my collarbone.

The impact knocked the wind out of me for a moment, and blood sprayed across my face. My adrenaline surged even higher, and in an instant, all the spines erupted all over my body…

Time slowed. My reflexes heightened. With a single leap, I covered nearly six yards, crashing into one of the attackers like a battering ram. Through the haze of smoke, I saw he was dressed entirely in black, his face obscured by a mask. My forearm spines tore through the fabric around his neck and shoulder. He screamed as blood sprayed from the gash.

The second man behind him hesitated, dropping his gun in favor of a taser. He pressed it against my naked torso, sending an electric charge straight through me.

But… nothing happened! No pain, no paralysis—nothing. I was… immune? The realization was as shocking to him as it was to me.

To be fair, I’d never tested my resistance to electricity before. I wasn’t one of those kids who stuck fingers in sockets or licked battery terminals for fun. And yet, here I was, resisting electricity. It was almost funny—Damien, with his ability to generate electrical discharges, paired with me, who could withstand them. Talk about complementary powers!

That thought lasted all of a second. My claws—yeah, I had those too!—slashed across the second man’s face, leaving him screaming and clutching at his wounds as he fell to the floor. The first man was already on his knees, blood gushing from his shredded throat.

But it wasn’t over. I felt another round of bullets slam hard into my back. The bone plates there absorbed most of the impact, but the force was like being hit with a sledgehammer. I gasped, the air driven from my lungs.

A guttural, inhuman roar tore from my throat. Spinning around, I saw two more attackers charging down the hall. I leapt, covering eight yards in a single bound, and collided with them. The spines on my thigh and shin pierced one man’s chest, while the elbow spines ripped into the other’s leg, slicing an artery.

Blood sprayed everywhere, and I knew these men wouldn’t survive long. A part of me recoiled at the thought of killing them, but I had no choice. They wanted me dead—and Lowen too. And maybe Damien. That, I couldn’t allow.

One thing kept bugging me—where were the other guards? Had Lowen’s security team been wiped out? What about Mr. Ragu’s bodyguards? Where were the bodies?

But for now, the most important thing was getting to Damien.

I grabbed the weapons dropped by the attackers and hurled them far into the conference room, well out of reach. Blue Lowen was still curled up near the wall by the exit, staring at me through the dusty air, his eyes wide. Surely, he had never seen a real monster standing right in front of him.

I walked closer to him and said, "Don’t get too close to me, or you’ll get hurt. I have to get to the next room. Four attackers are down, and they’re unarmed, but it’s still not safe here. I’m sorry I can’t stay to protect you, but he’s the priority for me, please understand it."

Lowen stared at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

"I’m going with you," he said. "I’m not staying here. No way."

"Your call, but if you’re in the hallway, you’ll be a sitting duck for anyone who shows up with a gun."

"I’ll take that risk."

I shrugged. "Then let’s go."

Without waiting for a response, I turned and headed for Damien’s room. A heavy metal beam had fallen across the entrance, blocking the door. Grabbing hold of it, I yanked, causing more debris, metal pieces, and plastic panels to rain down from the ceiling. Cables dangled ominously as Lowen flinched and pressed himself against the wall.

Gritting my teeth, I heaved at the beam again. The effort was immense, and several ceiling panels dropped onto my head, but finally, I managed to shove it aside with a roar. I didn’t have time to fumble for a key, so I kicked the door open with all my strength.

The room beyond was thick with dust. The walls looked warped and deformed, likely made of flimsy plastic panels that had bent from the force of the blast.

"Damien!" I shouted.

My heart clenched with fear, but my hearing saved me from panic—I caught the sound of a rapid heartbeat. Damien was alive! He was curled up under a desk, but sprang to his feet as soon as he saw me, running in my direction. Relief hit me like a tidal wave.

"Stop!" I yelled. "Don’t get too close—my spines might hurt you."

He halted just a step away, staring at me with wide eyes. I could only imagine how I looked to him: a beast covered in sharp spikes along my neck and limbs; hands, arms, and legs. Even my face wasn’t remotely human anymore. The protective bone plates above my eyes had slid down, leaving only narrow slits for vision. I must’ve been unrecognizable.

The CEO of Malden Pharmaceuticals had also followed me into the room—staying in the hallway apparently wasn’t an attractive option.

"Damien?!" he blurted out.

Well, I could imagine his shock; seeing his nephew here must have been quite an unexpected sight.

My beautiful omega bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders. "Hello, Uncle Blue. Nice seeing you… Yeah. I’m here with Storm. I’m in my… heat."

Lowen didn’t answer; he adjusted his slightly skewed electronic glasses and just stared at his relative with raised eyebrows. Damien turned toward me, coughing slightly due to the ever-present dust.

"What happened? Are you hurt? I see blood on your stomach," he finally managed to ask.

"I’m fine. The bone plates under my skin absorbed the hits—it’s just surface scratches. I’ll heal in no time."

"That explosion… what was it?"

"Another assassination attempt on your uncle. But he’s alive, as you can see…" I made an awkward gesture toward Lowen. "But I can’t say the same for the others. I suggest both of you stay here while I deal with what’s left of the attackers in the hallway before they bleed out. And there could be more in the building."

Lowen stood next to us, seemingly calm, almost like this was just another day at work. But I could only guess it was his defense mechanism. He's been through so many similar situations that he's probably had to work out some survival strategies.

"Yes, they need to be able to testify. Make sure at least one of them survives." His voice was quite commanding, like that of a person accustomed to exercising authority. "I think this time we’ll catch him—before he buys out another bunch of my guards."

"Him?" I asked, but he didn’t elaborate.

After a brief but heavy silence, I repeated my plea. "Please, both stay here. Hide behind the table. I’ll be back soon."

Stepping back into the hallway, I scanned my surroundings carefully. The dust had somewhat settled, giving me a clearer view down its length. Only the attackers remained. One was trying to stand, and another was sitting up. The two more severely injured required immediate medical attention—their heartbeats were slowing.

I didn’t see any other guards. Where the hell were they? Had they all really been bribed? Lured away somehow?

Whoever Mr. Lowen's enemy was, he seemed quite powerful and determined.

Well, but that wasn’t my problem right now. I grabbed the belt of one of the men and used it as a tourniquet on his leg to stop the bleeding. The other was in worse shape—his carotid artery was damaged. I pressed down on the torn area, unsure of what else I could do.

The two conscious attackers glanced at me, their expressions unreadable beneath their masks.

"You—come here!" I barked at one of them. He didn’t move.

So, I yanked him over and dragged toward his bleeding companion. "Believe me, helping him will work in your favor. Press on that wound, or he’ll bleed out."

"Where the hell did they find a purple alpha?" the man sputtered, sounding genuinely baffled.

The other attacker, in better condition, tried to hobble away. I wasn’t about to let that happen. He limped, but I had no mercy to spare. I knocked him to the ground and landed a swift punch, knocking him out cold. Only then did I notice what fell out of his ear. It was some kind of communication system.

Were there more of them?

Returning to the conference room, I passed the body of a dead security guard. Near the table lay Lowen’s lawyer, also motionless. No signs of life there, either.

However, Mr. Ragu and Jordan were farther from the explosion’s epicenter. They were under a table and still alive. Ragu appeared to be in better shape, even conscious. Jordan was lying on his side, half his face smeared with blood, but his pulse was steady.

"Storm…" Ragu croaked. "Is Mr. Lowen alive?"

I knelt beside him. "Yeah, he’s alive. He’s in the next room. Oh, and by the way, I managed to take down four attackers who came running down the hallway—"

"You left him alone?! There may be more!"

What the fuck? Mr. Ragu could really be obnoxious. "Sorry, but I can’t be in two places at once! I wanted to check on you! "

After a deep breath, he seemed to come to his senses. "They were shooting! Are you hurt?"

"They didn’t get through my bone plates. I’m fine. My regeneration’s pretty fast."

"For fuck’s sake, you really are an alien."

"And one you’ll hire."

Ragu snickered, but then coughed. "No question about it—you’ve got the job. The important thing is that Lowen is alive."

"I’m not sure he’ll be too happy. The building wasn’t secured like he requested, and now there’s been another attack. That’s a pretty big breach of contract."

"Hey, I almost died too!" He pouted his lips. "I can’t predict everything. He’s the one who brought trouble here; why should I be punished? It was my bodyguard who saved him—his own were useless!"

I chuckled. "You don’t need to justify it to me. But I wouldn’t bet on him signing a deal with you after this. Still, isn’t it more important that you’re alive? Business is secondary."

Suddenly, a noise from the distance caught my attention.

"Some people are approaching fast!" I hissed, leaping to my feet.

"Fuck!" Ragu cursed, scrambling deeper under the damaged table.

Footsteps thundered closer, growing louder and more chaotic by the second. I rushed out of the conference room door, heart hammering in my chest. What the hell was this? Did they bring a whole SWAT team? My mind raced, half-expecting one of them to roll in with a bazooka or some other high-powered weapon. If that happened, I’d be in serious trouble.

The sheer number of them was unnerving. I darted into the room where Blue and Damien were huddled and yelled, "There are more of them—brace yourselves!"

Then, I turned to face the doorway, planting myself there like a human shield. Whatever was coming, I wanted to stop it from reaching Damien and Blue.

My adrenaline surged as shadows moved into view down the corridor. About ten of them appeared, their heavy armor glinting under the flickering lights. This wasn’t just another ragtag group—they were better equipped and clearly trained. Some kind of rescue team sent to help their colleagues?

Some of them indeed paused by their fallen comrades, checking something. But six of them pushed forward, charging straight at me.

I realized if I stayed in the doorway, they’d see Damien and Blue behind me. There was no way I was going to let that happen. Gritting my teeth, I made the split-second decision to draw their attention away.

It was going to hurt like hell. I dove into the hallway, fully exposing myself as a target. A deafening burst of gunfire erupted instantly. Bullets slammed into my chest and stomach, the force staggering me. One round grazed the side of my head, just above the temple—a searing, disorienting pain that nearly knocked me out. I staggered, blood running hot down my cheek, but I couldn’t stop.

Through the haze, my gaze flicked back toward the room behind the broken door. Damien’s eyes locked onto mine, wide with sheer panic as he saw the blood pouring from my head.

But I didn’t have time to reassure him. Another volley of bullets tore into me, the impacts nearly toppling me. My body screamed in pain, but I clenched my jaw, got my shit together, and prepared to charge. If I didn’t act now, we were done for.

I leaned forward, coiling myself in preparation for a leap, ready to launch myself into their formation—and then something extraordinary happened.

A blinding light burst from the center of the room behind me, so bright it seared through my vision. I froze mid-step, stunned, as a massive sphere of electrical energy expanded outward, crackling and humming with raw power. The bubble surged through the corridor, engulfing everything in its path.

The attackers never stood a chance.

They were thrown off their feet, weapons clattering to the ground as the discharge rolled over them like a tidal wave. Even I staggered, the force pushing me back a step.

In shock, I turned toward the source of the explosion. Damien stood at the center of the bubble, arms outstretched and eyes closed, long arcs of electricity radiating from his chest like living tendrils.

Blue lay crumpled on the floor nearby, unconscious but otherwise unharmed.

The attackers shared his fate. They were all sprawled out on the ground, motionless.

The lights throughout the building flickered, and darkness fell. My night vision, however, allowed me to see what was happening.

I stared at Damien, my heart pounding with disbelief. Slowly, he opened his eyes, their sapphire glow shimmering faintly in the dim light.

And then he smiled. I couldn’t help but grin back.

"And now we have an answer," I said, still grinning. "No man can be YOUR equal! You just knocked down the whole quasi-SWAT team!"

Damien winked.

Just as relief washed over me, a new sound filled the air—the distant wail of sirens.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. "The cops."

He cursed too and groaned, "This could take hours, and my heat…"

He was right. This whole mess could seriously disrupt our plans. My eyes landed on Blue Lowen.

"Maybe Blue can help us? He can vouch for us or something? They might let us go… Is he going to be all right?"

Damien knelt beside his uncle, checking his pulse. "Yeah. Everyone’s just knocked out. They’ll wake up soon, unless one of them has a pacemaker—but I doubt it. Guys like that wouldn’t be part of an assault unit."

"Wait—Mr. Ragu mentioned heart problems! We should check on him."

We hurried back to the destroyed conference room, leaving Blue still unconscious on the floor, but it was safe to say that there was no more danger.

The boss of Fate’s Choice lay unconscious, just like the others.

Damien dropped to his knees beside him, shaking the man lightly. When that didn’t work, he shook him harder, but Ragu didn’t stir.

"Try zapping him a little," I suggested with a grim smirk.

Damien let out a short laugh and did exactly that. A small jolt, and Mr. Ragu jerked violently, his eyes flying open.

"What the hell?!" he groaned.

His gaze darted to me, and his eyes widened even more.

"You’re covered in blood…"

"They’re just grazes—bullet wounds. I’ll heal. But we have a problem," I said, nodding toward Damien.

"I’m in heat," Damien muttered, his cheeks coloring slightly. "I need to get out of here. And the police are coming."

"That could mean hours of interrogations," I added.

"Relax," Ragu said, sitting up with a wince. "They’ll understand. You can probably give your statement later, but they’re definitely going to want to talk to you. You’ve done a hell of a job here."

"I only did half the job. Damien took care of the rest," I said, glancing at my perfect omega.

Damien flushed deeper. "We were a team!"

Ragu stared at him in shock. "That electric thing that hit us… was that you?"

Damien nodded hesitantly. "Are you a rose omega?"

"Hey!" I interjected sharply. "That’s not exactly a tactful question!"

It was rude to ask something like that, especially since rose omegas weren’t as instantly recognizable as purple alphas. Prying into their private traits was considered highly inappropriate.

"Sorry," Ragu muttered, rolling his eyes. "Just curious."

I gave him a long look. He didn’t seem seriously injured, but I asked anyway. "How are you feeling? The blast from the bomb wasn’t exactly gentle."

Ragu exhaled heavily. "Like I got hit by a train. Luckily, when I saw you running, I dove under the table. Jordan followed right after me."

We all looked at the lawyer. Damien zapped Jordan as well, and the guy groaned before almost immediately letting out an ugly curse.

Mr. Ragu snorted. "Well, and the others… let’s just say they didn’t trust the purple alpha." He gestured toward Lowen’s lawyer and the dead guard nearby.

"That’s on them," I said grimly. "But tell me—who’s trying to kill Lowen? This wasn’t just a random hit. A full-on attack like this? They were prepared. There must be serious leaks among Lowen's people. And those bodyguards who conveniently disappeared? They had to be in on it."

"Yeah, those fuckers," Ragu spat. "They’ll pay for it. I’ll sue them into oblivion and make sure they rot in prison. As for Lowen’s enemies…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I’ve heard it’s the local mafia. This’ll be all over the papers tomorrow."

Then, unexpectedly, Jordan groaned and hissed, "I read about Lowen’s trouble with assassination attempts before we set up a meeting with him. Supposedly, the capo of the local mafia is a big enemy of the Malden company. Anzo Ferro. The guy’s a legit psychopath. He’s a deeply insecure beta, obsessed with this Beta Empowerment ideology. He takes it as a personal insult whenever someone brings up the Beta Activation program. Suggesting that betas should be ‘changed’ in any way? That’s like declaring war on him."

Damien nodded and muttered quietly to me, "Yeah, I heard that from my uncle too."

Ragu snorted grimly. "That program’s set to launch this month. Beta activists are losing their minds. And if this guy’s as sick as they say, yeah, I could see him pulling off something this insane. Ideologically motivated people are always the craziest." He shook his head in disapproval. "But anyway… now our collaboration with Blue Lowen is going public—the last thing he wanted. I need to call Jun ASAP. This whole thing is a disaster. A catastrophe! It was supposed to be discreet, not turn into this… mayhem!"

Then we heard voices in the corridor—police, loud and authoritative. Damien shot me a panicked look.

"It’s going to start soon, Storm. The next wave," he whispered, almost ashamed. "The police will be here any second. It’s going to be chaos."

"There’s another room that’s still intact," I said, remembering the second lounge room.

Damien’s hand grasped mine as if seeking reassurance, and at that exact moment, I felt my spikes retract. It was also a good time to grab my clothes, abandoned in the corner of the room, as his touch had a certain effect on me.

My eyes flicked to Ragu, and I let out a huff. "I came here with Damien as a favor to you. You promised us accommodations in case of a wave. We need your help."

Ragu coughed, trying to sound more confident than he looked. "Well, that was before the whole floor exploded, but I’ll do my best. When they come, I’ll ask them to let you move to the other room. But, uh… I’d recommend using the bathroom first." His gaze dropped pointedly to the blood splattered across me.

"They’re here," I murmured, hearing the heavy stomp of boots drawing closer.

Damien cursed softly under his breath, his cheeks reddening deeply. I understood perfectly—being exposed like this wasn’t ideal, but there was no time to fix it…

We were surrounded by police a few seconds later.

***