AMY POV
I sat tied to a rusted metal chair in the middle of this freezing warehouse, the smell of salt and rotting wood filling my nose. My wrists were raw from fighting the zip-ties, but I didn't care about the pain. My only focus was the tiny life inside me. I had to stay calm. For the baby.
"You really want to die, don't you?" I asked, my voice echoing against the high ceilings. I looked at Yuri—really looked at him. He looked ragged, obsessed, like a man who had lost his mind a long time ago.
He paced in front of me, checking his watch every five seconds. "Look, I don't really need you, Amy. You're just the bait. I just want Jay-Jay," Yuri said, his eyes darting toward the warehouse entrance.
I rolled my eyes at him, a scoff escaping my lips despite the situation. "Right. Because Keifer and the boys will just allow you to take her," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Have you met them? Or did you hit your head since the last time they kicked your ass?"
Yuri stopped pacing and turned to me, his face contorting. "They're distracted! Ella is bringing her here. By the time Keifer realizes what's happened, I'll be gone with Jay-Jay, and you'll be… collateral damage."
I let out a dry laugh. "You really underestimated Ella if you think she can outsmart Keifer for more than five minutes. And you definitely underestimated my husband."
I felt the ropes loosen just a fraction more. My fingers were numb, but the adrenaline was keeping me focused. Every time the cord shifted, I felt a tiny bit more of my strength returning.
"Aries is coming, Yuri," I said, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper. I watched him flinch, his eyes darting toward the shadows.
Deep down, I was praying that Yuri hadn't actually realized I was pregnant yet. He'd mentioned that I was 'leverage,' but he looked more obsessed with Jay-Jay than anything else. If he knew I was carrying Aries' child, he wouldn't just keep me as bait—he'd use it against them in the most twisted way possible. He'd make Aries choose.
I was also thinking about Jay-Jay. That stubborn, brave woman. If she actually fell for Ella's bait and walked through those doors, I would never forgive myself. If Yuri even laid a finger on her while she was four months away from delivery, I would find a way to kill him myself, even if I was still zip-tied to this chair.
"Shut up!" Yuri snapped, pointing his gun toward the door as the headlights of the SUV flooded the warehouse. "If any of them step out of that car, you're the first one to go!"
"Then you better make it a headshot, Yuri," I hissed, finally feeling the knot slip completely. My hands were free behind my back, but I kept them tucked away, waiting for the perfect moment. "Because if you miss, my husband is going to tear your heart out through your throat."
The driver's side door of the SUV swung open. Through the blinding bright lights, the silhouette of a man stepped out. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and radiating a level of violence that made the air in the warehouse feel heavy.
"Let. Her. Go."
Aries' voice wasn't his usual playful tone. It was a cold, vibrating growl that echoed off the corrugated metal walls.
"Stay back, Aries!" Yuri yelled, grabbing me by the hair and pulling my head back, pressing the barrel of the gun against my temple. "Where is Jay-Jay? I told Ella to bring Jay-Jay!"
I winced as my scalp stung, but I gripped the edges of the chair with my free hands. I looked past the lights, trying to see if Keifer and Jare were in position.
"Jay-Jay isn't coming, Yuri," Aries said, stepping forward into the light. His eyes were red-rimmed and fierce. "But I am. And since you're touching my wife... you've just signed your own death warrant."
I felt Yuri's hand trembling against my hair. He was terrified. Good. A terrified man makes mistakes, and I was just waiting for the one mistake that would let me lung for his throat.
The pressure of the gun against my temple was cold, but the fire in Aries' eyes was hotter. I could feel Yuri's pulse racing through his hand as he gripped my hair. He was unraveling.
"I mean it, Aries! One more step and I'll pull the trigger!" Yuri screamed, his voice cracking. "Where is Keifer? Where is the girl?!"
"They aren't coming, Yuri," Aries said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he continued to walk forward, his boots crunching on the glass. "Because unlike you, I don't need a team to handle a coward who hides behind women."
I saw a movement in the rafters—a flash of silver. Keifer. He was already above us. And Jare? I knew he was in the shadows to the left, waiting for the clear shot. They weren't leaving my life to chance, but Aries was the distraction. He was the one keeping Yuri's eyes locked on him.
"You're lying!" Yuri shrieked. "Ella wouldn't fail!"
"Ella is in a basement, crying for mercy she doesn't deserve," Aries countered. He was only ten feet away now. He stopped, his gaze dropping to the hand Yuri had tangled in my hair. "You're hurting her, Yuri. That's a mistake. But if you even think about the life she's carrying... if you even suspect what it's like to lose everything... you'll drop that gun now."
Yuri froze. His eyes widened, his gaze flickering down to my stomach for the first time. "The life she's... she's pregnant?"
That was the mistake I needed. The moment his focus shifted, the moment the gun barrel wavered just an inch from my head.
Now.
I slammed my head back into Yuri's face with everything I had. I heard his nose crunch, a satisfying crack that echoed. As he stumbled back, yelping in pain and clutching his face, I didn't wait. I lunged forward, throwing the rusted chair toward him to create a barrier.
"AMY, DOWN!" Aries roared.
I hit the cold, oil-slicked floor and rolled.
BANG!
A single gunshot rang out, but it didn't come from Yuri. It came from the shadows. Yuri's gun flew out of his hand as a bullet clipped his wrist. He screamed, collapsing to his knees.
In a heartbeat, Aries was over me, his heavy body shielding mine, his heart hammering against my back as he checked me over.
"Did he hit you? Are you okay? The baby?" he gasped, his hands shaking as they cupped my face.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," I choked out, grabbing his wrists to steady him. "We're okay, Aries. I've got you."
Above us, Keifer dropped from the rafters like a shadow, landing right in front of the groveling Yuri. He didn't say a word. He just backhanded Yuri with enough force to send him spinning across the floor.
"You chose the wrong day to mess with our families," Keifer said, his voice like the grave.
I leaned into Aries' chest, finally letting out the breath I'd been holding. At the entrance, Jare walked in, lowering his sniper rifle. It was over. But as I looked at Aries' face—filled with a mix of relief and pure, unadulterated protective fury
"Let's go," I whispered, my voice finally trembling now that the adrenaline was fading. I just wanted to be away from this smell, this warehouse, and the sight of Yuri.
Aries didn't need to be told twice. He nodded, pressing a long, lingering kiss to my forehead that felt like he was trying to ground himself. "We will take care of him. Go," Jare said, his voice cold as he looked down at Yuri. Keifer stood beside him, cracks of his knuckles sounding like small gunshots in the quiet room. They weren't going to be gentle.
Aries helped me up and practically carried me to the car. The second the door clicked shut, isolating us from the violence outside, he pulled me into a fierce embrace and kissed me properly—a kiss full of relief, terror, and love.
"I told you not to go anywhere," he murmured against my lips, his hands still shaking slightly as they rested on my waist.
I leaned my head back against the leather seat, a small, sheepish smile tugging at my lips despite everything. "I'm sorry, Aries. I just went to the mini-market because I wanted some ice cream."
"Ice cream?" Aries let out a sudden, dry laugh that sounded halfway between amusement and a sob. He kissed me again, shaking his head. "You went outside for ice cream and got kidnapped? Only you, Amy. Only you could turn a snack run into a city-wide manhunt."
"I was really craving mint chocolate chip!" I defended myself, though I was leaning into his warmth. "I didn't think Yuri's goons would be staking out the convenience store."
"Next time, you tell me. I don't care if it's 3 AM, I'll buy the whole damn store and bring it to our bedroom," he growled, pulling me closer so my head was on his chest. He placed one hand gently over my stomach. "And you... little one. You're already causing as much trouble as your mom. We haven't even met you yet and you're already leading us into a battle"
I laughed softly, feeling the tension finally leave my limbs. "They're definitely your child, Aries. They got the timing for the drama down perfectly."
Aries started the engine, but he didn't put it in gear yet. He just looked at me, his eyes soft and incredibly blue in the dim light of the dashboard. "I mean it, Amy. No more solo missions. Not for ice cream, not for anything. I can't lose you. I won't lose either of you."
"I know," I promised, taking his hand and squeezing it. "Now take us home. I think I'm done with 'outside' for at least the next five months."
"Deal," he said, finally pulling away from the docks and heading toward the safety of the mansion, where I knew Jay-Jay and Mia were waiting
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KEIFER POV
The drive back from the docks was silent and heavy. Aries had dropped Amy off with Jay-Jay and Mia under Percy's watchful eye before circling back to us with the SUV. He and Jare unloaded a battered, shivering Ella and a bloodied Yuri into the center of the warehouse floor.
I stood over them, the shadows of the warehouse making me look even larger,
I looked at Ella, who couldn't even meet my eyes, and Yuri, who was clutching his mangled wrist.
"This is your final warning," I said, my voice dropping into that low, vibrating tone that usually preceded a funeral. "If you come anywhere near our family again—if you so much as breathe the same air as our wives or our children—we will definitely kill you. Take this as a threat or a warning; I don't care which. Just know that next time, there won't be a conversation."
Jare stepped up beside me, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade, his eyes cold and unsatisfied. "Are you really gonna leave them, Keifer? After what they put Jay and Amy through?"
I looked at Yuri. He looked pathetic. Not like a rival, but like a petulant child who had burnt his own world down. I thought about the phone calls I'd received from his family's connections—the desperate pleas for his life.
"One more chance, Jare," I said firmly. I leaned down, grabbing Yuri by the collar and forcing him to look at me. "Yuri, your mother is having a lot of hopes on you. She's the only reason you're still breathing. Don't break her heart by making me put a bullet in yours."
I shoved him back onto the concrete.
"Get them out of my sight," I ordered the guards. "Dump them at the border of Japan If they cross back into my territory, it's open season."
As they dragged the two of them away, the tension in my shoulders finally began to crack. I turned to Jare and Aries. Aries looked like he wanted to punch a wall, his adrenaline still high.
"Go home, Aries," I said, softened. "Go be with Amy. She needs you."
"And Jay?" Aries asked.
"I'm going to her now," I said, already walking toward my car.
Everything—the power, the territory it all felt like background noise. The only thing that mattered was getting back to that mansion and making sure my wife and my unborn child were tucked safely into bed.
When I arrived at the house, the security was tighter than a drum. I bypassed the guards and headed straight for our suite. I pushed the door open to find Jay-Jay sitting on the bed, her face pale but her eyes sharp.
"Keifer," she breathed, standing up.
I didn't say a word. I just crossed the room in two strides and pulled her into my arms, burying my face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her hair. I felt her small hands grip my shirt, and for the first time since I left the park for that damn ice cream, I felt like I could finally breathe again.
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Hey lovies 🤍✨🌸
Just a quick check‑in! I know the story is getting a bit boring right now, and I really don't want to drag it out any longer 😭🌿💫 So I've decided I'll be ending it soon — just a few more chapters and then we'll wrap it up beautifully ✨🌙🤍