Chapter 22
Rylan inched forward. His hands were slightly raised. His voice was calm, but I could hear the strain in it. It was as if he was forcing himself to stay composed.
“Please… don’t hurt her,” he said. “Just tell me what you want. If it’s money, I can give you more than you
have ever dreamed of.”
The man holding me chuckled, but it wasn’t amused; it was dark and cold. The kind of laugh that crawled under your skin and made your blood freeze.
“No,” he said slowly, his breath brushing against my ear. “I don’t want money.” His grip tightened, and the blade pressed deeper into my skin. Pain flared through me. I gasped as warmth began to spread from the wound, trailing down my neck like a slow and sticky trickle.
“I want her,” he added.
What…?
What did he just say?
My heart skipped a beat. I could barely comprehend his words over the roaring in my ears.
Rylan froze. His face twisted in confusion, but beneath that, I could see the rage bubbling up behind his eyes. “What do you mean you want her? Who are you? What the hell do you want from her?”
The man didn’t answer. Instead, he angled the blade again, and I let out a soft cry as another sharp sting pierced my skin. His voice dropped to a growl. “She’s mine. If you don’t want to see her bleed out right here, I suggest you step back. Now.”
Rylan didn’t move.
Behind him, Alexandra was standing like a statue. Her hands were clutched to her chest, her mouth slightly parted in horror. She couldn’t look away from me. Her wide eyes were glued to the blood on my
shoulders, to the weapon at my throat.
All around us, people had stopped. Strangers stared from a distance; some with phones in their hands, some whispering in fear, but no one stepped forward. No one tried to help.
I was trembling now, though I didn’t know if it was from fear or fury. My wolf, Sierra, was pacing inside me. She was agitated and furious but I couldn’t let her out. Not with a blade pressed against my skin.
Then, like a shadow cutting through the haze, I heard a voice bark out behind Rylan.
“Let her go!”
It was Jared.
He came striding forward, his eyes blazing and a gun raised in both hands, aimed directly at the man who
held me.
“Let her go,” Jared repeated. His voice was as steady as steel. “Or I will shoot.”
The man didn’t flinch. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Jared’s finger moved.
Bang!
The shot rang out, splitting the air.
25 Paints
The man cried out in pain. His grip on me loosened as he stumbled back. Blood spurted from his thigh.
Jared had hit him dead-on. The moment he let go of me, I dropped to my knees, gasping for breath. I clutched my bleeding throat. Everything felt like it was spinning, but I could finally move. I was free.
Rylan lunged toward me, but before he could reach me, the wounded man staggered back a few steps,
reached into his coat and then flung a handful of powder into the air.
It burst like a grenade.
A thick, black cloud exploded around us. It was dense and gritty like ash. It was choking and blinding us. It wasn’t just smoke; it was heavier, pungent and unnatural. I coughed violently as it filled my lungs. My eyes
burned. I couldn’t see anything, not even my own hands. I dropped to the ground, trying to cover my face,
but it didn’t help. The air was thick and suffocating. Every breath was a struggle.
“Lisa!” I could barely hear Rylan through the haze.
Someone else, Alexandra maybe, was coughing beside me.
I reached out blindly. I was disoriented. I could feel my heart slamming in my chest. I felt helpless and
vulnerable. And I hated it.
Just as suddenly as it had come, the cloud began to fade. It was lifted away by the breeze.
When I opened my eyes again while blinking against the stinging in them, the man was gone.
He had escaped.
That bastard.
Rylan was at my side in a second. His eyes were scanning every inch of me. “Are you okay? Lisa, talk to
- Are you hurt?”
I nodded, but my body betrayed me. I was shaking like a leaf, my breaths still coming out in shallow gasps. “I… I’m okay,” I whispered, even though I wasn’t.
“No, you’re not,” he snapped. “You’re bleeding, and your skin is ice-cold. We’re taking you to the hospital.
Now.”
Jared approached us again. His expression was dark. “He is gone. No scent, no trail. But I’m not giving up. If there’s even a trace of him, I’ll find it.”
Rylan nodded. “I’ll send backup to help you search. Me, Lisa, and Alexandra are heading back. She needs a
doctor.”
Jared turned and vanished down the street. He was already on the hunt.
Rylan didn’t waste another second. He slipped his arms under me and lifted me effortlessly. “You
shouldn’t be walking in this condition.”
“I can walk,” I muttered. I felt embarrassed as people stared. “It’s not that bad, I swear…”
He didn’t listen.
“Stop arguing,” he said through gritted teeth. “You could’ve died.”
That silenced me.
Alexandra rushed to help. She pressed her scarf tightly over my wound as Rylan carried me toward the car. The pressure made me hiss in pain, but I knew she was trying to stop the bleeding. I leaned my head
against Rylan’s shoulder. My body felt heavier than it should, like all the energy had been drained from me.
By the time we reached the car, I was barely holding on.
Rylan placed me gently in the backseat while Alexandra climbed in beside me. She never stopped
pressing on the wound. The fabric of her scarf was already soaked in red.
Rylan slammed the driver’s door shut and tore off down the road. His hands gripped the steering wheel
tightly, his knuckles were turning white, and his jaw was clenched. He pressed hard on the accelerator.
He was driving like a madman. He was swerving past cars and speeding through yellow lights. The engine
was roaring beneath us.
My head was spinning. I could barely focus on anything but the rushing blur of city lights outside the
window and the throb of pain in my throat.
But underneath it all, one question echoed again and again in my mind:
Why did that man say I was his?
What did he want from me?
And how the hell had he disappeared without a trace?
