Chapter 9 - The Unbroken Thread
Adrian sat on the cold concrete floor, his arms still wrapped tightly around Evelyn.
Her body was shaking violently, heavy, ragged sobs tearing through her chest as the sheer, overwhelming wave of relief washed over her exhausted frame.
"It... it wasn't real..." she sobbed into his collar, her wet face smudging dirt across his grey wool coat. "Adrian... it wasn't a bomb..."
"I know," Adrian whispered softly, his hands moving up to cup the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her loose brown hair. "I know, Evelyn. It's over."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his silver knife once more, and sliced cleanly through the heavy plastic zip-ties binding her wrists behind her back.
SNAP.
Evelyn brought her raw, purple-marked hands forward, clutching at Adrian’s lapels like a drowning swimmer reaching a life raft.
Adrian didn't hesitate. He slid his broad arms beneath her knees and back, lifting her slender, exhausted frame effortlessly off the cold concrete floor into his arms.
He stood up in the dark room, holding her against his chest as if she weighed nothing at all.
"Mason!" Adrian called out toward the open steel door.
Within three seconds, Mason and four tactical guards rushed down the concrete stairs, weapons raised, their boots making loud, heavy thuds against the ground.
"Boss?!" Mason gasped, stopping in shock as he saw Adrian standing in the center of the room, holding Evelyn in his arms, the pelican case sitting open and harmless on the floor. "What happened?! The timer—"
"It was a transmitter package," Adrian said, his voice entirely flat, cold, and razor-sharp as he walked past the guards toward the stairs. "Have the technical team analyze the radio frequency logs. I want Mercer’s location pinpointed within thirty minutes."
"Mercer?" Mason blinked, falling into step beside him. "Victor Mercer's son?"
"He's operating out of a local relay station in the borough," Adrian commanded smoothly as he carried Evelyn up the concrete steps into the gray autumn rain. "Put two teams on the bridge exits. Nobody leaves Kings County."
"Right away, boss!" Mason shouted, turning to his men to issue orders.
Adrian walked across the muddy gravel yard of the abandoned foundry, the cool rain falling softly against his face and Evelyn’s wet hair.
He placed her gently into the leather rear seat of his armored sedan, climbing in beside her, pulling a heavy cashmere blanket from the side shelf and wrapping it around her shivering shoulders.
Evelyn leaned her head against his shoulder, her eyes closing as the warmth of the car heater washed over her exhausted body.
She looked down at her lap.
Lying on top of the cashmere blanket was her shattered silver Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, its broken mesh bracelet twisted into a quiet knot.
She touched the shattered crystal casing with her bruised thumb.
"It's broken, Adrian..." she whispered softly, her voice still thin and weak.
May you like
Adrian reached over, taking her small hand in his broad palm, closing his fingers gently over hers and the broken silver timepiece.
"We can fix the glass, Evelyn," Adrian whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead with a gentle, fierce devotion. "We can fix everything."
