Sebastian caught the movement in his peripheral vision.
The man lunged.
Her scream split the air.
One of his security guards burst through the door, gun raised… but hesitated as Sebastian stood directly in the line of fire. There was no clean shot.
And then…
Something shifted inside him.
Sebastian Remington had always been a strategist. A commander. He gave orders. Others executed them. His body was maintained for appearance, for mental clarity; never for combat.
He had never fought, not even when he was bullied.
But in that instant…
Time fractured. He saw things he never saw before.
The attacker's stride was too long. There was a loose wire across the floor, nearly invisible. At that speed, he would trip.
And when he fell…
The blade would arc downward… and straight toward her.
Sebastian saw it with terrifying clarity. The trajectory. The angle. The inevitability.
What had just happened in seconds… What would happen in the next two… He knew.
