Chapter 438
Chapter 438:
“Medic!” he shouted over his shoulder.
From the far end of the hallway, the sounds of a scuffle echoed. Skye lifted her head weakly.
“Liam…” she rasped.
Alistair looked back, his expression darkening with a mix of fury and grief.
“We have to go.” Felix appeared, his face streaked with soot. “The stairwell is compromised. Police are swarming the lower floors p>
“What about Liam?” Skye asked, panic rising.
“He’s pinned down,” Alistair said, his voice rough. “He held the line so we could get to you. But he can’t move, Skye. His chair is jammed in the debris, and they’ve cut off his exit p>
Skye felt a fresh wave of tears. Liam had bought her life with his freedom. He was sitting there, trapped in his broken body, waiting for the wolves to come.
“We can’t leave him p>
“If we go back, we all get taken,” Alistair said, the decision tearing him apart. “He knows the protocol. He surrendered to buy us the extraction window p>
Alistair stood, lifting Skye into his arms as if she weighed nothing. He held her tight against his chest, shielding her from the reality of their pyrrhic victory.
“Take us home,” he ordered.
He carried her down the back stairs, away from the sirens, away from the wreckage of the hotel room. Skye rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
The war was not over. Lucian was loose. And Liam… Liam had been left behind in the ruins.
But tonight, she had won the battle for her life.
The private jet hummed through the night sky, a sanctuary suspended at forty thousand feet. The cabin was dim, lit only by the soft amber glow of reading lights. Outside, the world was black and distant.
Skye sat curled up in a wide leather seat, wrapped in a cashmere blanket. She had showered in the plane’s bathroom, scrubbing the blood and soot from her skin until she was raw. She wore one of Alistair’s oversized shirts, the fabric smelling of cedar and him.
Alistair sat opposite her. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her for an hour. He had a first aid kit open on the table.
“Give me your arm,” he said softly.
Skye extended her left arm. The cut she had inflicted on herself was angry and red. Alistair cleaned it with gentle, precise movements. He applied antiseptic, blowing softly on the skin when she winced.
𝖨𝘧 𝘺𝘰u 𝘴𝖾𝗲 𝗍𝘩𝘪𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗏𝖾𝗹 𝗈𝗇 𝘢n𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘁𝘦 𝘰𝗍𝘩𝗲r 𝗍𝗵𝗮ո bе.𝖼om 𝘪𝘵 𝗶ѕ а 𝖼𝘰p𝘆
“He will pay for this,” Alistair said, his voice low. “Every drop of blood he made you shed, I will take a gallon in return p>
Skye watched him. “It wasn’t him,” she admitted quietly. “I did it p>
Alistair paused. He looked up, confusion clouding his gaze. “What p>
“I cut myself,” Skye said. “To make him believe I was attacked. To make him trust me again so I could steal the phone p>
Alistair stared at her. For a moment, she feared he would be horrified. But then a look of profound respect—and sorrow—filled his eyes. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.
“You are terrifying,” he whispered. “And magnificent p>
He finished bandaging her arm. He moved to sit next to her, pulling her into his side. Skye rested her head on his chest.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“My estate in the Hamptons,” Alistair said. “It’s off the grid. Secure. No one knows about it except Felix p>
“Lucian got away,” Skye said, the worry gnawing at her. “He’ll go to ground. He’ll regroup p>
“Let him,” Alistair said. “While he runs, I will dismantle everything he owns. His accounts, his properties, his reputation. By the time he surfaces, he will be a king of nothing p>