Derick's POV
Weeks of searching ended when my informant confirmed it that she was here, on the Gold Coast.
My phone vibrated. "Hello boss," I answered, leaning against the cool glass of the window.
"The suspect is on the move," he said.
"He will be coming to her company soon. Watch him, he's ready to snap at any second."
Then he said something I wasn't expecting from him.
"Find a way to work with her. Don't leave her side.
"She's a criminal too, and we need the proof. Stay close, let her fall for you, and bring me the evidence to take her out."
My blood turned to fire at those words. I gripped the phone, my jaw tight as I stared at her silhouette in the distance, heat rising in my chest.
She's not a killer, I told myself.
"You know why you're there," the voice sharpened. "I won't tolerate mistakes."
"Yes, boss," I said, and the line went dead.
A hand dropped onto my shoulder. "What's up, man?".
I turned to see Reid. I called him the moment my boots hit the Gold Coast sand. We were locked into the same agenda; he'd already embedded himself within Vance Global Group and was the one who had finally leaked Helen's location to me.
"What's the situation inside?" I asked, nodding toward the glass towers.
Reid narrowed his eyes. "There's a spy.. Someone is clawing at the foundation, trying to bring the company down.
They aren't going to stop." He looked around the lobby, lowering his voice.
"I'm closing in on them. Every secret Vance Global has is being fed directly to Kane Industry.
"Do you have any idea who it might be?"
Reid shook his head. "No. Not yet."
After he walked away, I sat back and waited. I knew her patterns; she would call soon. She would come crawling back, desperate for me to save her just like before.
I counted under my breath. One. Two…. The phone vibrated in my hand.
Bingo!
"Derick, please help!" Her voice trembled, thin and panicked. "I'm in danger... I don't know who they are."
A smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth as I kept my voice like ice. "Stay there. I'm coming for you. Do not move."
I hung up, imagining the terror etched onto her face. This was perfect. She needed to understand that without me, she had nothing.
I drove to the exact spot, a place I had scouted long before she arrived. She was huddled beside her car, her head tucked against her knees. She didn't hear my footsteps or notice my shadow stretching over her until I reached down and brushed her hair. She jerked upward, her glossy, hazy eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that felt like it pierced my soul. My blood rushed, my body reacting instantly to the proximity I couldn't seem to master.
Suddenly, she threw her arms around me. I froze, caught off guard by the heat of the hug, as she began to sob into my chest. I didn't speak; I simply rhythmically tapped her back.
I swept her up in a bridal carry. She let out a soft gasp, her eyes wide with surprise. Her face held a fragile beauty when she cried, a sight that made a dark promise take root in my mind: anyone who caused these tears would never live to tell the story of their end.
I settled her into the passenger seat and clicked the seatbelt across her. I lingered, pressing a kiss to her forehead and then the bridge of her nose. She remained silent, her gaze fixed on me, paralyzed by the chaos she had thought she escaped.
I didn't mean to scare her that much, I only wanted her to understand that she can't live without me .
I reached into her boot to grab her things, but the sight of stacked suitcases stopped my breath. My grip tightened on the handle of her trunk until the plastic groaned. I stared at the luggage, a familiar, bitter knot tightening in my chest. I transferred the bags to my car, then slid into the driver's seat and pulled away.
She's trying to slip away again.
"My car," she whispered, her eyes drifting to the rearview mirror.
"I'll bring it to you after I've dropped you off," I replied, my eyes fixed on the road. I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
"Where are you going with all that luggage?"
"I'm moving to my new apartment," she said, her voice sounding thin and vulnerable.
"I need the address so I can take you there," I said, keeping my tone steady.
She shook her head as her shoulder pressing against the door as if trying to create distance.
"You don't need to. Just stop the car anywhere and drop me off."
"I won't allow that. You have two choices: give me the address, or I'm taking you to my apartment and locking the door behind us."
Her eyes flashed. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me." I leaned closer, voice low. "Now be a good girl and tell me where your apartment is."
For a moment, she held my gaze, stubborn to the end. Then, with shaking fingers, she reached out and punched the address into the dashboard GPS. A slow smirk spread across my face as the route mapped out in blue. I had her.
We drove in silence as the tension between us choked.
Then..
a dull boom sounded in the distance.
The car jolted slightly, and I steadied the wheel. A small burst of flame flickered about a mile away, a thin trail of smoke drifting upward.
I didn't think before I threw my body over Helen, pinning her against the seat to shield her. Her breath hitched against my neck. I had orchestrated the stalker, the fear, the chase all to drive her back to me, but this? This explosion wasn't mine. I would never destroy the leverage of her car.
"Derick..." her voice trembled. "My car..."
Her lips quivered, her face draining of all color. Before I could answer, her eyes fluttered shut, her head rolling back against the seat as her body went limp.