Chapter 4
Roman leaned forward.
“What do you want?”
“I want him to suffer. I want to destroy the only thing making him happy.”
Roman smiled.
“You help me take the woman, and I allow you to watch Dominic Wolfe collapse.”
Serena extended her hand.
“Agreed.”
For 3 days, Alora tried to adjust to bodyguards.
Jax remained respectful and professional. He maintained distance without allowing her to become unprotected.
During a quiet afternoon at the library, Alora noticed a man enter who clearly had no interest in books.
His eyes searched the room with purpose.
Jax sat near the entrance pretending to read a newspaper. The moment he noticed the man, he stood and made a discreet signal toward someone outside.
The stranger increased his pace and moved directly toward Alora.
She stepped back, knocking several books from a shelf.
Jax reached her first.
“Leave.”
His voice carried a lethal warning.
“I only want to speak with her.”
The stranger moved a hand inside his coat.
Jax acted immediately.
He seized the wrist and twisted until something cracked. When the man attempted to resist, Jax struck him in the stomach and then the jaw.
The stranger collapsed unconscious.
“What was that?” Alora asked.
Her body had begun shaking.
“Protection.”
Jax took her arm.
“Come with me.”
Another Wolfe man entered to deal with the unconscious attacker while Jax led Alora to an armored vehicle waiting outside.
“What happened?”
“A kidnapping attempt.”
Jax typed rapidly on his phone.
“Dominic must know.”
Twenty minutes later, Dominic waited at the entrance of the penthouse.
He pulled Alora into his arms the moment the elevator opened.
“Are you injured? Did he touch you?”
“I am fine. Jax stopped him.”
Dominic held her again before turning toward Jax.
“Who sent him?”
“The tattoo identified him as Cross.”
Cold fury entered Dominic’s expression.
“He sent someone after her.”
His voice became quiet.
“He will pay.”
“Dominic, wait.”
“No.”
He looked at Alora.
“He crossed a boundary. No one touches you and survives the consequence.”
Her fear made some of the violence leave his face.
“You will remain here until this ends.”
“I have work.”
“I will manage it.”
He breathed deeply.
“Please stay where I can protect you. I cannot lose you after finally getting you back.”
Alora saw genuine desperation.
“All right.”
He kissed her forehead.
“Thank you.”
An hour later, she sat in the living room with tea while Dominic and Jax spoke inside the office.
The door remained partly open.
“I want Roman alive,” Dominic said. “He will answer personally.”
“What about Serena?”
“Her too.”
Dominic’s voice became ice.
“First, send a message to every contact. Alora is under complete Wolfe protection. Anyone accepting a contract involving her will deal directly with me.”
He paused.
“Tell Cross he declared war.”
Alora shivered.
This was the man from the gallery—the one capable of controlled violence without remorse.
He frightened and fascinated her in equal measure.
He was also doing it to protect her.
“She changed you,” Jax observed.
“In every possible way.”
A smile entered Dominic’s voice.
“Before her, I did not care whether I lived. Now I have someone worth living for and someone worth becoming better for.”
“She is fortunate to have you.”
“No. I am fortunate.”
Dominic’s answer was gentle.
“She gave me something I believed was gone forever.”
“What?”
“Hope.”
Tears burned Alora’s eyes.
She entered the office.
“I heard you.”
Dominic looked up.
“Alora—”
She kissed him.
“I love you. We will survive this together.”
He held her tightly.
“Together.”
A week after the attempted abduction, confinement inside the penthouse began to feel unbearable.
Alora approached Dominic for the 3rd time that morning.
“I need to leave for several hours.”
“It remains unsafe.”
“You placed protection around me. Jax and his men are competent.”
She stepped closer.
“I only want to collect books from the library and speak with my colleagues.”
Dominic studied her.
“Two hours. Jax accompanies you with 2 additional men. At the 1st indication of danger, you return.”
“Thank you.”
She kissed him and went to prepare.
Forty minutes later, she entered the library with Jax at her side and 2 men positioned near the entrance.
Her colleagues welcomed her and asked about the absence. Alora told them vaguely that family problems required attention.
She entered the literature section to collect books.
An explosion struck the building.
Windows shattered. Shelves moved, and smoke entered the room.
“Alora!”
Jax ran toward her.
Masked men entered through the rear doors with military coordination.
The explosion had been a diversion.
Before Jax reached her, strong arms seized Alora from behind.
She fought and screamed.
Jax drew a weapon, but 1 attacker struck him hard enough to make him collapse.
A chemical-soaked cloth covered Alora’s mouth and nose.
The room blurred.
She continued struggling until darkness took her.
Her final thought was that Dominic had warned her, and she had insisted upon leaving.
Dominic was examining contracts when Jax called.
The time and Jax’s condition placed him immediately on alert.
“Boss.”
Jax sounded weak.
“I lost her.”
Dominic’s world stopped.
“What?”
“It was Roman. The explosion was a distraction.”
Pain and guilt broke through Jax’s voice.
“They took her while I was unconscious. I am sorry.”
Dominic remained still for approximately 3 seconds.
Then something inside him ended.
“Mobilize everyone.”
His voice became low and deadly.
“Use every informant, every contact, and every man in the city. Burn Boston if necessary.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Jax.”
“Yes?”
“I want her returned. I do not care what it costs or how many bodies remain afterward.”
“I understand.”
Dominic ended the call, punched his desk hard enough to crack the wood, and began preparing for war.
Alora woke with a severe headache and dry mouth.
She sat tied to a chair inside an abandoned warehouse. Rope cut into her wrists, and her ankles were secured.
She forced herself to breathe and examine the room.
Panic would not help.
High heels sounded against concrete.
Serena emerged from the darkness wearing a red dress and a cruel smile.
“Hello, sweetheart. Are you comfortable?”
“Go to hell.”
Serena laughed.
“Good. You possess some fire.”
Her expression changed, and she struck Alora across the face.
“You also require respect.”
Alora tasted blood but refused to cry.
“He will not surrender.”
“Oh, he will.”
Serena crouched before her.
“You matter to him. That makes you the ideal weapon.”
Roman Cross entered.
He was tall and impeccably dressed. His danger differed from Dominic’s. Dominic resembled controlled fire. Roman was calculating ice.
“Enough.”
He addressed Serena.
“Prepare for the call. Wolfe will require proof that she lives.”
Two hours later, Dominic answered an unknown number on the 1st ring.
“Wolfe.”
“I possess something that belongs to you,” Roman said.
Alora’s voice sounded in the background.
“Dominic, do not come. It is a—”
A slap interrupted her, followed by a cry.
“If you touch her again—”
“You will kill me?”
Roman sounded amused.
“Perhaps. First, we negotiate.”
He demanded the Wolfe family’s property documents, accounts, and complete transfer of power.
“Choose the woman or the organization.”
Dominic did not hesitate.
“Where?”
“Pier 19. Midnight. Alone.”
Roman’s voice hardened.
“If I see your men, she dies before you reach her.”
After the call, Jax entered Dominic’s office with a bandage around his head.
“It is an obvious trap.”
“I know.”
Dominic looked at him.
“I have no alternative.”
He instructed Jax to assemble the entire team. Dominic would enter alone as ordered, while Wolfe men took hidden positions around the pier and waited for his signal.
“We will bring her home,” Jax said.
At midnight, Dominic entered Pier 19 carrying a black folder containing forged transfer documents convincing enough to withstand an initial inspection.
His men remained hidden throughout the surrounding area.
Inside the warehouse, Roman stood near Serena.
Alora sat tied between them. Her face was bruised, and dried blood remained near her mouth.
Her eyes met Dominic’s.
“Give me the documents,” Roman said.
Dominic threw the folder across the floor.
“Release her.”
Roman passed the folder to Serena, then pulled Alora from the chair.
He placed a knife against her throat and used her body as a shield.
“I may kill her anyway,” Roman said. “Only to observe your face.”
The movement that followed lasted seconds.
Dominic drew a concealed firearm and shot Roman’s knife hand with precise accuracy.
Roman screamed and released Alora.
“Now.”
Wolfe men entered from every direction.
Gunfire filled the building.
Dominic reached Alora while Roman attempted to retrieve another weapon. He cut the ropes and moved her behind him.
“I have you.”
He spoke near her ear.
“You are safe.”
Roman ran toward the rear exit.
Dominic turned and fired 3 times.
Roman fell and did not rise.
Serena attempted to escape through a side door.
Jax appeared, blocked her path, and placed her in handcuffs.
“You will regret this,” Serena screamed.
“No.”
Dominic looked at her without emotion.
“You will spend the remainder of your life regretting what you did.”
Two hours later, paramedics examined Alora inside an ambulance.
Dominic remained beside her, holding her hand continuously.
“She has cuts and bruises,” the paramedic said. “Nothing appears immediately life-threatening, but she requires follow-up care.”
When they were alone, Alora saw tears moving silently across Dominic’s face.
“You chose me instead of your entire organization.”
“I will always choose you.”
He kissed her hand repeatedly.
“Without you, the organization means nothing. You are my life.”
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
May you like
He held her with careful strength.
“No one will ever take you from me again.”
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