Chapter 71
Chapter 71 – Alex’s POV
The headlights came fast—blinding, too bright in the dark.
I didn’t think.
I just moved.
One second, I was on my knees beside her.
The next, I was over her body—shielding her with mine.
The black car didn’t stop.
My guards shouted.
Gunshots cracked.
I felt the wind of the vehicle as it swerved past, tires screeching. I held Nell tighter, heart slamming against my ribs. The car clipped a corner of the building and crashed into a concrete barrier with a violent crunch.
Silence.
Then shouting. Feet pounding. One of my men ran after someone who bolted from the wreck.
I didn’t move.
Nell was still breathing.
That was all that mattered.
“Nell,” I whispered, brushing the hair from her face. “Stay with me.”
Her eyelids fluttered. A faint sound left her lips—my name, maybe. Her fingers twitched against my chest.
I pressed a hand against her head gently, checking the cut near her temple. The blood was drying, but she looked pale. Too pale.
Rick dropped beside me. “We’ve got an ambulance on the way. Less than two minutes.”
“I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
“You won’t have to.”
I looked down at her again. “You’re okay. You’re okay, Nell. You hear me?”
But her eyes drifted closed again.
\---
The sirens were loud when they arrived.
Red and white lights painted the street as the EMTs rushed toward us. I backed away just enough to let them work, but I never left her side.
“She’s got a strong pulse,” one of them said, checking her vitals. “Possible concussion. Internal bleeding, maybe.”
I climbed into the ambulance with her.
No one tried to stop me.
They knew better.
\---
I called ahead.
Pulled every favor I had.
By the time we arrived at the private hospital, the trauma team was already waiting—five doctors, multiple nurses, and a neurologist.
They whisked her away behind double doors.
I stood there, blood on my shirt, on my hands, my heart still racing.
A nurse touched my arm. “We’ll keep you updated.”
I barely heard her.
Rick showed up ten minutes later, breathless, carrying a tablet and wearing the expression of someone with bad news.
“They caught the driver,” he said. “One of Reed’s men. No ID. Nothing on him. Disposable.”
“And the one who ran?”
“Gone.”
I clenched my fists.
Rick looked at me. “Alex… Reed escalated. This wasn’t a warning. This was a hit.”
“She went out there for her brother,” I said, voice rough. “She did it to protect him.”
Rick didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. We both knew what that meant.
Reed had leverage now.
And he wasn’t done.
\---
I waited outside her room for what felt like hours.
No one told me anything.
Every time a nurse walked past, I looked up, hoping, needing something—anything.
But no news came.
I stood in the hallway, arms crossed, staring at the closed doors.
I could still hear the sound of her scream in my head.
Still feel the moment she left my arms on that pavement.
I should’ve stopped her.
I should’ve never let her out of my sight.
But I didn’t.
Because I thought I could keep her safe.
Because I believed the guards, the walls, the money would be enough.
It wasn’t.
I was failing her.
\---
My phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
“You still don’t get it, Alex. She’s not just a memory. She’s the reason we created this project in the first place. You just haven’t remembered why yet.”
I stared at the words, a chill running down my spine.
Not just a memory?
I didn’t understand.
But I would.
I would tear the truth out of Reed if I had to.
\---
The doors to the emergency room swung open suddenly.
I straightened.
A nurse stepped out. Her scrubs were stained. Her face tight.
She didn’t say anything right away.
She just looked at me.
And then she said—
“You need to come with me. Now.”