Chapter 70
Chapter 70 – Alex’s POV
“Sir, she’s gone.”
The words barely reached me through the static crackle of my earpiece. I was mid-call with Damian when the guard’s voice cut in—urgent, breathless.
“What did you say?” I asked sharply, standing from the leather armchair in my study, nearly knocking over the crystal tumbler on the desk.
“Nell… she left. We’ve checked the perimeter cameras. She snuck past the guards twenty minutes ago in a black sedan. The car’s registered under a false name.”
My chest tightened. For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
“Ping her burner,” I ordered instantly. “Now.”
I didn’t wait for the guard’s reply.
I was already moving.
\---
By the time I stormed into the command room, the team was scrambling. Footage played on multiple monitors. There she was—slipping out of the west wing, moving fast, staying in the shadows like she knew exactly how to avoid detection.
She had planned this.
She had lied to me.
“Where’s Rick?” I snapped.
“Upstairs,” one of the security men replied.
“Get him down here now. And wake Lena.”
“Yes, sir.”
My eyes burned as I watched the video again. She was wearing a hoodie, head down, slipping into the driver’s seat of a black car.
That wasn’t fear on her face.
It was resolve.
“Tell me you’ve got a location,” I said tightly.
A second later, a tech spoke up. “Ping just came back. She stopped somewhere near Eastbridge. That’s the industrial quarter. Right near the abandoned train depot.”
My stomach dropped.
Reed.
It had to be.
I grabbed my phone and hit redial on Damian’s number.
He picked up immediately. “Tell me you’re on your way.”
“She’s gone,” I said. “Reed has her brother. She went alone.”
There was a pause. “She went alone?”
“Yeah. And I’m going to kill him for it.”
I was already walking fast down the hall. The front entrance opened before I even reached it—my driver and four armed men were waiting by the convoy.
I nodded at them. “We leave now.”
\---
The car ride was too quiet.
Even with Rick beside me, even with four armed men in the SUV behind us, it felt too still. Too slow. My thoughts spun in every direction.
What if we were too late?
What if she didn’t make it?
What if—
“Stop,” Rick said quietly, reading me like a damn book. “You’re no good to her if you’re a mess when we get there.”
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I stared at the GPS tracking on the screen in front of me.
“Her phone stopped moving ten minutes ago,” I said. “But it’s still powered on.”
“That’s something.”
“It’s not enough.”
\---
Every red light we ran made my heart pound harder. I could see her face—her hair, the fear in her eyes. The way she looked at me right before she left. She knew she was going to do this.
She knew I’d try to stop her.
And she still went.
For Chris.
Because she always puts everyone else first.
I couldn’t let that be the reason she died.
\---
Fifteen minutes later, we neared the old train depot.
The streets here were darker. Dirtier. Empty.
We passed rows of abandoned buildings—graffiti-tagged walls, broken windows, rusted fences.
“She’s close,” the driver said. “Maybe one or two blocks out.”
I leaned forward, eyes scanning the streets.
And then I heard it.
A scream.
It was distant, but unmistakable.
My pulse stopped. Then surged.
“Nell,” I whispered.
“Faster!” I barked.
We rounded the corner just in time to see it.
A pair of headlights.
A black car.
And in front of it—
A figure.
She was in the road.
Frozen.
Too late to move.
\---
I was out of the car before it even fully stopped.
Sprinting.
Heart pounding like a drum in my chest.
My voice cracked as I screamed, “NELL!”
The car didn’t slow.
Tires screeched.
I saw her twist around.
A flash of terror.
A second too slow.
The impact threw her sideways.
She hit the ground hard.
Rolled once.
Then lay still.
\---
I ran faster.
Faster than I ever had in my life.
Behind me, I heard my men shouting. Rick’s voice barked orders.
But all I could see was her.
Lying in the street.
Not moving.
\---
I dropped to my knees beside her, hands trembling. My voice broke.
“Nell…?”
Her face was pale.
Blood at her temple.
Her hoodie torn.
She was breathing—but barely.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“A-Alex…?”
“I’m here,” I said instantly, gripping her hand. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, baby.”
Her fingers twitched. “Chris… he—he’s still with them…”
“I know,” I whispered. “We’ll get him. But first, you need to stay with me.”
Her eyes started to close.
“No, no—Nell—stay awake,” I begged. “Stay with me, please—”
“Sir,” one of the guards said urgently. “That car—it's circling back.”
I looked up just in time to see the same black car speeding toward us again.
Closer.
Faster.
Not stopping.
This time, it was aiming for both of us.