“Are you serious right now?” Diana asked, as she glared at Willow and the man standing behind her.After leaving Jasper’s place, Willow was quick to call Diana and asked her to meet at Carmen’s home address. Diana had asked what the hell she was trying to do, but Willow didn’t have time to explain, she was trying to put the pieces together herself, but for now, that was all she had.Willow brushed the back of her neck, looking around and noticing how late it was, how nothing seemed real anymore, and everything was just messed up. “I think I am?” She said, suddenly not so sure anymore. But then she shook her head. “Look, you have to trust me on this. This is the only explanation as to why I didn’t have the device on me after I returned. Ryan has to have it.”But Diana wasn’t so sure if Willow was making literally any sense at all. I mean, what were the chances? It felt so unreal and ridiculous. Their one mistake could cost the lives of the two people they held dear. But then again, Wil
While Diana paced the sidewalk, talking over the phone and doing her best to explain everything to (hopefully) Simon, Dan grabbed Willow’s arm and dragged her to the side. Once they were out of Diana’s earshot, a deep frown crossed his ruggedly handsome face. “Did you just lie to her?” Willow had no clue what he was talking about. “About what?” Dan grunted, but held himself from shaking her by the shoulders, telling her to not be so blissfully ignorant. “About the device. You told her that Carmen gave it to Alice—or her child—however you put it. But the truth is that you stole it, isn’t it? You stole it from Carmen. That’s at least what you told me.” Willow bit her lip and averted her eyes. Dan was right. She had stolen the device from Carmen. She had taken it because when Alice told her about the device, she had decided to humor herself and see if things like that could really exist. She was curious. She had to know. She shook her head, glancing over her shoulder and noticing Dia
Carmen wasn’t sure what was happening.One moment, Ronin and she were sleeping peacefully, and the next, their home was being invaded by men who looked anything but friendly. Two of them even held guns at their faces and forced them out of their bedroom.Now, it had been hours, and Ronin and she were still sitting on the couch, not allowed to move, not allowed to talk, not even allowed to check up on their son.It was killing Carmen.The thought that her baby boy was somewhere upstairs, all alone and scared. She needed to go to him, hug him, and assure him that everything was going to be okay. But she couldn’t. Those men had refused to let her do anything.Alas, she had no choice but to try. It was almost dawn, and if Ryan came downstairs looking for them, those men might hurt him. She couldn’t risk that. She had to make sure her child was safe.Carmen shot to her feet, startling Ronin beside her. “I need to see my son,” she declared.Ronin stood up too, but before he could say anythi
Hours passed but nothing new happened. Ronin, Carmen and Diana still sat in the living room, waiting.Diana sighed and rubbed her temples. She knew Simon would do something about the situation, mostly because he always kept his word, and he had said that he would take care it, then she had no other reason but to believe him.But as the time slipped by, and nothing changed, she was starting to have doubts.What if he didn't make it in time? What if Ryan woke up and came downstairs? What if these men lost their patience and decided to shoot someone? Diana shuddered. She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't be able to live with herself."How long, mom?" Carmen asked, and Diana almost winced at the question. She knew what her daughter was trying to ask, and if Diana were to be honest, she was beginning to believe that maybe handing over the device was the best choice they had. It was better than putting her family in danger.She sighed. "Soon."Carmen shook her head and leaned against
Diana couldn’t help but freak out at Ladder’s words. She knew he meant them, each one of them, and it clenched something inside her.“Lewis, please. You don’t have to be so difficult,” she said desperately, scooting over to the edge of her seat.She couldn’t let him do what he threatened—she knew he wouldn’t think twice before following through on his words. She knew better than to think there was any humor in his words—there wasn’t. The man was ruthless—if not for his stubbornness, the device wouldn’t have existed in the first place, especially when the government shut down the project decades ago. But Lewis Ladder never took a “no” for an answer, and when he set his mind to something, he went beyond his ways to satisfy his goddamn ego.This was the reason—the damn reason she tried to keep her family out of the mess she had unwittingly gotten herself into. The same reason she had to leave her family behind and keep them clueless over the past years.Lewis merely sneered. “You should
Willow sat on the side of the road and stared at the main gate of the Logan residence. It was still too far away for any of the men inside to spot them, but over the last few years, Willow had visited the place so many times, she remembered every single tree and bird along the way.Dawn had broken long ago, and now the sun glared down at them from the peak of the day. It was hot as hell outside, but no matter how many times Dan told her to get inside the car and take respite from the cruel heat, she couldn’t move. It was as if she wanted to punish herself for everything that led to this day. Perhaps if she hadn’t toyed with time, this day wouldn’t have arrived. But something had definitely alerted those men—the organization—and she couldn’t come up with any reason to blame other than herself. She was the one responsible for this. Then why wasn’t she the one to take the brunt of it too? How was any of this fair?“You do realize what you’re doing is not actually helpful, right?” Dan’s v
“Madam, dinner is ready!” Suzzy, the head maid, entered Carmen’s room to remind her. The maid, who was in her late forties, quietly tapped on the door with a concerned look on her face. Carmen nodded. She had just completed packing for her flight the next morning. Even so, there was nothing in the bag she had received from the Logans. Carmen’s mother-in-law may have accepted her and showered her with presents and affection, but Ronin’s indifferent attitude was a permanent reminder that she was only a substitute. Whatever anyone gave her as his wife, it wasn’t hers to claim. She wondered if Ronin would be there to see her off… She then shook her head. Why was she letting such irrational hopes to occupy her mind? If his reaction this morning was any indication, he was eager to see her leave. He just wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible. “I’ll be there in a minute. Have you spoken to Ronin? He’s got to be in his—” “Sir has already left, madam. He said he’ll have dinner o
“How could someone be that cold-hearted?” Molly Carter grumbled as she sat at a café near the airport with her best friend, Carmen Price.After the unpleasant encounter with Jenna in the kitchen, Carmen woke up the next morning and left for the airport as quietly as possible. She didn’t want to make any scene or give Ronin or Jenna a reason to believe she had no intention of leaving. The last thing she wanted was to give them another chance to humiliate her. Thus, as soon as the sun came up and the alarm on the nightstand went off, she was out of bed and out of Ronin’s hair in less than an hour.However, half an hour before her departure, Molly arrived with a furious scowl and literally dragged her out of the airport.“It doesn’t matter now.” Carmen attempted to placate her enraged friend, tracing the rim of the hot cup of coffee. “Let’s just forget about whatever happened.”“Are you sure you can forget about it?” Molly cocked her brow, knowing Carmen wasn’t the type of person who cou