On His Knees
For a moment, he couldn’t breathe because deep down, he knew Owen was right.
Owen smirked at his silence, gave his shoulder a casual pat, and then strolled over to where Tessa sat by the water. Without a word, he sank down beside her and dipped his legs into the pool.
“What’s up? You okay?” Owen asked, his tone light. As he spoke, he caught Asher’s gaze fixed on them from across the way. A flicker of amusement crossed his face. Leaning close to Tessa’s ear, he whispered for her to stay still, then draped his arm over her shoulder in deliberate provocation.
Asher’s jaw tightened. Fury surged through him as he marched over, yanked Owen’s arm away, and pulled Tessa to her feet. Gasps rippled through those watching, but Owen only smiled calmly and tauntingly as if he’d expected the entire reaction.
“What is it, Asher?” Tessa asked, but he didn’t let go of her hand until they reached an isolated spot where no one could see them.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Tessa?” Asher snapped, his voice sharp with anger. “Can’t you see that guy is trying to take advantage of you? Are you seriously saying you can’t see the way he looks at you?”
Tessa only smiled, a calmness in her expression that contrasted his fury. “Owen is my friend, Asher. Why are you getting so mad about it?”
“Oh, he’s your friend? Wow, hallelujah!” Asher exclaimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I had no idea an ordinary male friend could wrap his arm around a lady’s shoulder when there’s supposedly nothing between them especially when they’re both practically naked.”
His gaze swept over her from head to toe, and he threw his hands up dramatically.
Tessa frowned, shaking her head in disbelief. “What’s wrong with you, Asher? You’re acting… strange.”
“Oh, now I’m strange because I’m trying to look out for you?” Asher scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “You’re unbelievable, Tessa.”
He turned abruptly and walked away, leaving Tessa standing there; silent and confused.
Tessa made her way back to where she had been sitting with Owen, her gaze flicking around the pool area in search of Asher. But he was nowhere in sight.
Owen tilted his head, studying her expression. “So… how did it go?” he asked, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.
“I honestly don’t know,” Tessa sighed. “But I think Asher’s completely overreacting. You should’ve seen how angry he got just because you put your arm around me.”
Owen chuckled under his breath, clearly amused. “Yeah, I did that on purpose.”
Her brows furrowed. “What? Why?”
“Of course to prove it to you,” he said simply, leaning back on his elbows. “That guy’s in love with you, Tessa. Anyone could see it from a mile away.”
For a moment, she just stared at him, speechless, then a slow grin curved her lips. “You’re joking, right?”
“Not even a little.” Owen’s smile softened. “Give it time. He’ll come to you… probably sooner than you think.”
Tessa couldn’t help but laugh, her earlier tension fading. With a playful glint in her eyes, she dove into the pool, sending water splashing everywhere.
Owen laughed quietly, shaking his head as he watched her. “Yeah,” he murmured to himself, “he’s got it bad.”
— — — — —
In the tech room, where Thorne could be seen typing on multiple computers while the others were standing there including a restless Damien.
He had been doing his best to track the location but it had been an impossible thing.
Damien heaved a deep exhale as he tugged his fingers in his hair.
“Just get the damn investigators who can do this. I'm running out of patience already,” Damien said coldly.
“Unless we get the telecom investigators, boss. And that will involve the police,” Rex enunciated and Damien face-palmed his face and began pacing and forth.
“Then what should we do?” Graves muttered.
Blade turned toward Damien swiftly as if he had just remembered something. “How about we get the intel guy from Silvano, boss?”
Damien’s eyes lit up with sudden realization. He pulled out his phone, dialed Silvano’s number, and stepped out into the hallway.
“I need your help, boss,” Blade’s quiet voice came through as soon as the call connected, straight to the point.
Within thirty minutes, Silvano’s intel guy was in the tech room, seated behind the monitors. His fingers flew over multiple keyboards, screens flickering with streams of data and shifting coordinates.
“How far?” Damien asked, standing beside him, his gaze sharp and unrelenting.
The intel specialist exhaled, shaking his head. “This is going to be more difficult than I thought, boss. The signal keeps vanishing.”
Damien’s brow furrowed. “What the hell do you mean, vanish?”
“It’s not a weak feed,” the man explained quickly. “Every time I try to lock onto it, it cuts out clean. Someone’s scrambling the trace. They know we’re tracking them.”
A heavy silence followed, broken only by the soft hum of the servers.
“So they’ve got anti-surveillance tech,” Thorne muttered under his breath.
The guy gave a tight nod. “Advanced stuff. Any attempt to trace them triggers an automatic signal jam. We’re dealing with professionals.”
Damien’s jaw flexed, his patience straining. “Then find me a way around it,” he said coldly, voice low and dangerous. “I don’t care how.”
Just then, Damien’s phone began to ring — the same restricted number flashing on the screen.
“I can see you’re trying to get your way here, Wolfe,” the voice drawled, amusement lacing each word. “But it seems it’s been proven… futile.”
Damien’s jaw clenched, rage simmering beneath the surface.
“All I need you to do is simple,” the voice continued lightly. “Then I’ll send you the location.”
“Just tell me what I need to do, you bastard!” Damien snarled into the phone.
The man on the other end only laughed; a cruel, taunting sound that echoed through the tense silence.
“I’ll switch to a video call now,” the voice said at last. “And I want you to go down on your knees and plead for the location. That’s all.”
The room fell utterly still. Every man turned toward Damien, tension crackling in the air as they watched their boss; the man they’d never seen bow to anyone.
Damien’s jaw kept clenching, the muscles in his face ticking as he stayed silent.
“So simple, right?” the voice taunted, the mockery clear in his tone.
“Are you kidding me?” Damien muttered under his breath, fury barely contained.
The call suddenly shifted to video, and his heart stopped.
Lila appeared on the screen. Her face was looking pale, and her eyes glistening with tears.
“No, Wolfe. Don’t come here, please. They want to kill you. Just leave me, I’ll be fine—”
Her words were cut off by a sharp crack.
A man stepped into frame and struck her hard across the face.
Damien’s entire body went rigid. His jaw locked, his hands curled into fists so tight his knuckles turned white. His eyes blazed with unfiltered rage, the kind that promised death.
“Let her go,” he ground out through his teeth.
The unseen man only laughed, his voice dripping with satisfaction. The camera stayed fixed on a brave-looking Lila, trying so hard not to let him see her fear.
“Go on your knees, Wolfe,” the voice ordered coldly.
For a long moment, no one in the room breathed. Then, slowly, Damien obeyed.
He dropped to his knees, the weight of the moment heavier than the air itself.
Not a single man dared to look directly at him. Their undefeatable boss, kneeling before the enemy.
Their eyes burned, their throats tightened. They’d never seen him fall before.