Chapter 28 The Night Returns
Turn on, turn on, turn on.
I hit the power button on my phone repeatedly, but no luck. Phone’s dead. I hope Ren heard me.
Sofia was dragging me through the labyrinth of the siheyuan when chaos hit us head on. Gunfire. Women screaming. Bodies crumpled in the courtyard as people poured into the building, the bloodshed spilling indoors.
Then three men burst from a hidden entrance, trapping us in a narrow hallway.
A chair flies above my head, and I duck just in time. It crashes and splinters against the wall next to me.
Grunts fill the air. Sofia, with twin knives in her hands, stabs a masked assailant as another grabs her by the leg and yanks hard.
“Watch out!” I cry.
She lands on her side with a painful grunt. Her knives spin across the floor and slide under a dresser.
Another man advances toward me as Sofia fights off his partners. Fear ices my spine as I snatch one of the broken chair legs and wave it in front of me.
“D-Don’t come any closer.”
The man only yanks off his mask, his neck tattoos writhing with the movement.
“I see why Si Shen is obsessed,” he murmurs, his eyes leering over my body, tongue darting out to lick his lips.
I gasp. I recognize him. The sneer, the slithery voice.
He’s the man in the alley. The Triad member who warned me to “give it up” before I knew what he meant.
“Ah, I’ve made an impression…Aria.”
“I-I don’t have it. The key.” I back away. But there’s nowhere to go.
“I don’t care.” His smile widens. “I’m going to have fun with you just to drive him crazy.”
The bastard dashes forward as I swing. But he’s too quick, too nimble. He ducks, grabs my arm in a death grip, and twists.
Pain scorches through me. My fingers drop the chair leg as he spins me around and plasters my back against him.
“Nurses save people.” He licks my earlobe. “Can’t fight for shit.”
Fear and revulsion roil in my stomach. I struggle as he pushes me toward the hidden door in the paneling.
I can’t go in there. I’ll never make it back out if he takes me.
Screaming, I head-butt him. A sharp crack and a muttered curse tell me I’ve hit his nose.
But he doesn’t loosen his hold. If anything, he grips me tighter, wrenching my wrist at an unnatural angle.
Agony blinds my vision. My feet buckle as he twists harder—he’s going to break it. I know it.
Then the pressure suddenly releases.
Blood rushes to my fingers as dots blink out of my vision. Air rushes into my lungs.
I make out a flash of black as someone drags my assailant back through the hidden door. Hollers and grunts echo through the entryway.
More footsteps thunder our way—more men in ski masks. But this time, they have company.
A woman in a crimson gown fires, the bullet punching dead center through one of the newcomers’ foreheads. She’s from one of the ruling families I saw in the courtyard before. Her white-blond ponytail arcs through the air as she pivots toward the other masked men.
Shots crack in rapid succession. Sofia, in the far corner, snaps someone’s neck. I plaster myself against the wall, edging away from the madness, not knowing where to go.
This place is a maze.
My foot kicks against something hard.
A gun.
Quickly, I snatch it up and point it in front of me. I don’t even know how to use this thing.
“Go. Take her,” the blond lady shouts. “I got this.”
Sofia grabs my uninjured arm, and we dash down the corridor. Yells and screams bellow in my eardrums.
We bank a right at the end.
Someone darts in front of us—another jackass with a gun. But before he lunges, a dark-haired man in a tux steps out from a doorway and shoots him.
A single shot to the back of the head, and he crashes to the floor.
Sofia thrusts me behind her.
“Don’t test me, Gabriel Caruso,” she rasps.
The debonair man arches a sardonic brow. “Test you? My sister just saved you two. You should thank me.”
I was right. The blond-haired woman was from his family.
Gabriel stares at Sofia. “You have me at a disadvantage. I’d love to know who made a mess of our Benefaction.”
Rumbling footsteps pound behind us. My heart jolts into my throat.
His eyes narrow, his smirk vanishing. He waves us forward with his gun. “Guess I’ll get my answer later. Go. Down the hall, two lefts, first door to the right. That’s how you get out.”
We take off running.
Moments later, true to Gabriel’s directions, a nondescript door opens to a side exit. Sofia hurries me along, her breaths harsh under her veil.
A black sedan idles at the curb, and the passenger window rolls down as we approach.
Tristan’s face is barely visible under the lone lamplight.
“Hurry. I knocked out the guards. Don’t know how long they’ll be out for.”
“Seriously,” Sofia huffs as we slide into the backseat. “If you’d just killed them, they’d be out forever.”
“Unlike you, I have morals.”
Tires screech as the car speeds away.
Sofia hisses and doubles over.
“You’re bleeding!” A crimson stain blooms on her navy gown.
“Hospital?” Tristan asks.
“No. It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Another hiss escapes her lips as Sofia yanks up her dress, exposing a nasty gash on her upper thigh.
“I got this.” Moving in front of her, I snatch off her veil and cinch the wound tightly. “Keep pressure on it.”
“Is she okay?”
My gaze cuts to the rearview mirror, catching Tristan staring at Sofia’s leg. A muscle twitches in his temple. He quickly averts his gaze.
“She’s fine,” I say. “Looks worse than it actually is.”
Towering shadows blur past the windows, fog swallowing the surroundings in a sea of black. I think of Gabriel and his sister. Why would they save us?
“Do you know what the Carusos want?” I ask Sofia.
She grimaces and shakes her head. “Slimy bastards. They’d done something similar last year with Elias—interfering but not hurting his plans. They’re playing a game and I’m sure they’ll collect. Not today, but definitely someday.”
Soon, the car comes to a stop.
“Coast is clear. Apartment 301. My safe house. No one should find you here.” Tristan presses a key into my palm.
“The others?” Sofia asks and readjusts her dress.
“Ren’s with Celia. Elias and Lana are back at their house.
Sebastian and Rafe have also checked in,” he says, then turns to me.
“I’ll sweep your place to ensure it’s safe before you go back.
But Ren said Plan A worked, and the bounty was frozen.
I think you guys got caught in the crossfire before I called off the raids. ”
“And that’s why we can’t rely on the feds. Incompetent. Useless.” Sofia exits the car. “And frozen doesn’t mean gone. Just means no open hunt, but the vultures can still come after you quietly.”
A smothered growl rumbles out of Tristan. His eyes meet mine in the mirror. “You don’t go back to your place until I clear it. After that, keep your routine but be vigilant. Don’t panic.”
Great. So real life resumes while danger still lurks in the corner. And panic is a bad strategy.
Sofia shakes her head. “Come on, Aria. Ignore him. Let’s get you settled in the fed’s dump.”
“This woman,” Tristan mutters.
An inappropriate snort tumbles out of me. My hands shake and teeth chatter.
Crap. Deep breaths. Don’t go into shock.
“Aria?” The fed narrows his eyes. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for your help.”
Quickly, I dash after Sofia, who’s surprisingly fast for someone injured, and we climb the stairs to the empty apartment.
Sofia isn’t very far off in her prediction about Tristan’s place. It’s nondescript and bare-bones: a pull-out bed, one window, a kitchenette stocked with bottled water, granola bars, and other dried goods.
The first thing I do is plug my phone into a power bank on the counter.
Messages ping my screen.
Lana
Want me to come over? Elias has me locked down, but screw him.
You okay?
Why aren’t you answering? Elias said you guys were fine. That you’re at some safe house?
I swear to God, Aria Elizabeth Connors, text me, call me, send a carrier pigeon or something.
A smile tilts my lips as I quickly respond. I need some time to think and process everything that happened.
Aria
I’m fine. Listen to Elias and stay put. We’ll talk when I get back.
I scroll to the main message menu, then to my TellNo1 app.
Nothing from Ren or Reaper.
Something tightens in my chest, and I force myself not to analyze it. I shared a dance with a man on a rooftop. I had sex with someone other than Blake.
Different men. Different forms of impossible comfort. Maybe that’s the problem—I’m not falling for one bad decision but several.
I tell myself that just because my relationships with both men feel deeper doesn’t mean they actually should be.
Clenching my hands, I breathe through it.
Either way, I deserve more. Much more.
And with everything going on, I definitely shouldn’t focus on them.
Ignoring the searing pain, I walk into the dingy bathroom and dig around in the medicine cabinet, thankfully finding a first-aid kit that’s not expired.
“Sofia! Let me take care of your cut,” I holler.
Deep breaths in. Then out. Nurse brain on.
After I fix Sofia’s wound with simple sutures and a butterfly bandage, she insists on getting me to rest.
“Stop fussing, I’m fine, really,” I say from the bed. “I work at the ER. We see shit all the time. And you’re the one who’s actually hurt.”
She waves me off and hands me a bottle of water.
“It’s the adrenaline talking,” she says. “It’s one thing to treat the injured and another thing to see the violence that put them there. You’ll probably crash soon.”
As if on cue, I yawn, and the femme fatale smiles.
“See?” She leans down, eases me onto the pillow, then folds the covers over my shoulders.
Like she’s tucking me in.
The gentleness of it catches me off guard.
“You know,” I yawn again and add, “you’d make a good mom one day.”
She freezes, and her nostrils flare. Pain, so briefly I’d almost miss it if I weren’t a nurse, flashes across her eyes.
“Sofia?”
The comforter rustles as she smooths her hands over it, like she can’t stop moving.
Her heels clack on the floor as she turns off the light. “I left some painkillers on the counter. You’re banged up pretty hard, so it’ll probably hurt tomorrow. You should be safe here. I need to meet Elias to discuss the next steps. Call me if you need anything.”
Not waiting for my answer, she slips out of the apartment, leaving me in unsettling silence.
The quiet hits harder than the chaos did. Before, I was moving, keeping my mind and body busy. Unease claws at me.
My wrist throbs now, so I know Sofia’s right. Tomorrow, I’ll probably feel like I got hit by a semi.
The bounty is off for now. That’s good news, but I don’t buy that these bad guys will sit around and wait for long. I shove the worries away, knowing I can’t do a damn thing about them.
Compartmentalize and focus on what I can control. On days like these, I’m glad I’m a seasoned ER nurse. I know how to keep my wits about me when things go sideways.
Then Ren’s striking figure appears in my mind, a dark angel against the moonlight. I couldn’t fully make out his voice on the rooftop, but the pain in those bottomless eyes was clear—like it truly hurt him to see me upset. Like he never wanted me to learn the truth this way.
I should’ve been scared he was sent after me, to get this mysterious key I don’t have.
But I’m obviously deranged because instead of fear, I still felt safe in his arms. My heart still skipped a damn beat when he twirled me around to distract me.
Sofia said he was with Celia, which should’ve helped. Instead, I can’t seem to take a full breath.
Is he okay? Did he get hurt in the scuffle? Why didn’t he at least text me?
Then there’s Reaper, the man who set my body on fire, who taught me sex could be an out-of-body experience.
We shared secrets. I didn’t have to hide with him, didn’t have to put on a brave face or filter my words.
But when I asked for more, for anything beyond the dark, he made it clear he couldn’t give it.
And I want more.
I groan and smash my face against the lumpy pillow.
“What the hell, Aria,” I mutter.
I toss and turn for who knows how long, my mind refusing to settle. I should put all of it behind me. Focus on surviving.
I shouldn’t hope for anything else.
And then I hear it.
A click.
Someone’s opening the door.