Chapter 52 Retrieving Adrian
Morning arrived.
The sky was washed in a weak grey that carried none of the warmth of a new day.
Julian sat in the backseat of his black sport car, his gloved hand resting loosely against his thigh as his eyes remained fixed on the tablet Vincent held in the front passenger seat.
A small blinking dot moved slowly across the digital map—The kid’s movements.
The tracker pulsed steadily beneath Adrian’s skin, exactly where Vincent had placed it less than forty-eight hours ago.
The boy had been unconscious from the sedative Vincent gave him. Vincent had worked quickly based on Julian’s order, inserting the rice-sized device beneath the flesh near the upper arm where it would not be easily discovered unless someone knew precisely where to cut. And he had sealed it.
When the boy woke and felt pain, he had lied to him that he was bitten by a small scorpion and had helped treat it.
Vincent glanced back at Julian briefly. “They’re moving exactly on schedule.”
Julian did not respond immediately. His gaze remained on the blinking signal as his mind tightened.
Balto’s men believed they were in control by now. They were on their way to sell an innocent kid for the wrongest of reasons. His jaw clenched.
They believed Julian Thorne had surrendered.
That belief would cost them.
“Speed?” Julian asked finally.
“Moderate,” Vincent replied. “They are avoiding main highways.”
Of course they were.
Balto was not careless.
Human trafficking at his level did not involve recklessness. It involved invisibility.
Vincent adjusted their route, keeping distance without losing proximity.
The city slowly thinned around them. Buildings gave way to empty stretches of industrial land, abandoned warehouses standing like corpses of forgotten commerce.
Perfect. Fewer witnesses. Fewer complications.
Inside the transport vehicle ahead, Adrian would be static, feeling confused, frightened, and alone. Julian’s jaw tightened faintly at the thought.
He forced the it away.
Emotion had no place here. Emotion was what created mistakes.
And Julian Thorne did not make mistakes twice.
“Two guards minimum,” Vincent notified him. “Possibly three.”
Julian nodded once.
Vincent smirked faintly. “Predictable.” Then he accelerated slightly, overtaking the transport vehicle without drawing suspicion. He drove ahead, maintaining composure, waiting for the precise moment Julian had already calculated.
Three hundred meters.
Two hundred.
One hundred.
Vincent slowed suddenly and swerved, positioning their car sideways across the narrow industrial road to obstruct perfectly.
Behind them, the transport vehicle braked hard.
Rubber scraped asphalt before silence swallowed the space between them.
“Mask on. Now.” Julian commanded tightly, and Vincent brought out his mask, wearing it at the same time with Julian. It took no precious time.
Julian opened the door, cold air greeting him sharply as he stepped out. His black coat unmoving against his body, his presence calm and absolute. He could already feel the familiar feeling of adrenaline rising through his body.
He always enjoyed doing this- saving kids. And he couldn’t wait to cut short the lives of whoever dared to stop him. No matter who.
Behind him, Vincent exited as well.
Right on cue, the passenger door of the transport vehicle opened.
A man stepped out, clueless irritation already written across his face.
“What the hell are you—”
He stopped as he saw masked men approaching confidently. He quickly reached for his weapon.
Vincent shot him before his fingers could close around it.
The sound was deafening in the empty road.
His body lost balance and hit the ground.
The driver attempted to accelerate, but Julian was faster.
He raised his own weapon and fired once.
The tire exploded, causing the vehicle to lurch uselessly.
The driver stumbled out, panic overriding discipline.
He fired wildly, but unluckily for him, he was dealing with experts.
Vincent shot him cleanly through the chest.
The man dropped instantly. The last guard silently sneaked out of the car then shot at Julian, but he missed. Julian returned the shot. He never missed. He also fell dead.
Silence returned to the scene.
Finally, Julian approached the rear of the vehicle slowly.
Inside, Adrian sat restrained, his small wrists bound, his face pale with terror.
His wide eyes locked onto Julian’s masked face in fear.
Julian opened the door then removed his mask swiftly, strands of his dark-brown hair jerking forward fo frame his face like they were responding to his hand’s force.
Recognition flickered on Adrian’s face immediately, mixed with confusion.
For a moment, neither of them moved. It was as if he was giving the kid a moment to process him.
The boy’s lips trembled.
“You…” he whispered weakly.
Julian crouched in front of him.
His voice, when he spoke, was quieter than the aftermath of the violence that had just occurred.
“You’re safe. Come here.”
Adrian stared at him as if trying to understand whether those words could be trusted.
Julian reached forward and removed the restraints carefully, ensuring the boy felt no pain. He didn’t miss how the kid looked like he could pass out anytime soon, and that made his chest tighten, anger simmering beneath it. But he focused on the task at hand.
Adrian swayed slightly as he regained freedom.
Julian steadied him with a firm hand.
“You are safe now,” Julian said without further explanation.
He did not offer comfort he did not feel deserving of giving currently.
But he scooped the kid into his arms and held him tightly. And that was enough.
Vincent approached from behind.
“All clear.”
Julian nodded once.
He carried Adrian toward their vehicle.
The boy did not resist. “You…you killed them.” He sobbed silently. Julian hated that the kid had to see that, but it couldn’t have been avoided. It triggered his own childhood memory, but he quickly cleared it off his head. This wasn’t about him.
“They were bad people. They were going to hurt you.” Julian said to him softly as he placed him carefully into the backseat and closed the door.
Vincent disposed of the weapons efficiently, ensuring nothing tied the scene directly to them.
Within minutes, they were gone.
The road returned to emptiness as if nothing had happened.
Inside the car, Adrian leaned weakly against the seat.
Julian watched him through the rearview mirror, feeling much relieved now. He had not been okay since he gave the kid away. Waiting for forty-eight hours had felt like the hardest task he had had to endure in a while.
Julian had never intended to abandon him.
He had only needed Balto to believe it.
War required sacrifice.
But Julian decided who remained sacrificed.
And who did not.
After the high and adrenaline rush Julian got from killing the predators earlier, for the first time in his life, it wasn’t his cigarette he craved. He wanted- no- needed, to be balls deep inside a particular woman he couldn’t get out of his mind since forever- worse recently. Seraphina Moreau.
His chest pounded loudly, his cock jerking as blood rushed to it. Because even till now, the memory of Seraphina kissing him two nights before, and how he had held her while suppressing his urge to claim her- wouldn’t stop messing with his mind.
But now, the need was strangely getting out of control.