Chapter 19 #2
June finally glanced at him, eyes tight with frustration—but her attention snapped back to Dannie instantly, softening again the moment she looked at him.
“You’re not supposed to come,” she whispered, brushing a thumb across his temple in a way that made my jaw clench. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
Dannie huffed a laugh—weak, breathless, but still infuriatingly smug. “You are so bossy.”
There it was again.
That flare of jealousy twisting deeper, sharp as a hooked blade, mixing with confusion, fear, and something far too close to actual hurt.
“Grab me an ice bucket and a towel,” June barked, her voice sharp with command. “Go—don’t just stand there.”
Lincoln let out a heavy sigh before he turned away.
The sound wasn’t irritation—it was surrender.
He did what she asked.
Lincoln Young.
A billionaire alpha who built empires.
Reduced to an errand boy at a single command from his little sister.
Maybe that was her plan—to keep him busy, to keep him from exploding with questions… with rage… with whatever storm he was holding back for my sake.
She turned back to him.
“When I lost contact with Nurse Anu, I had to send my friend to check on you.” Her tone was still sharp, still scolding—but the fear beneath it clinging to her voice with static tension. “Do you have any idea how dangerous your condition is? You’re supposed to be monitored.”
“I had to come,” he said.
“Why?”
It was half anger, half worry.
“This…” Dannie drew a shallow, unsteady breath, a fray edging his voice. “This is what I do best.”
Even while he was sick and trembling, with a sheen of sweat on his brow—those eyes still gleamed with quiet defiance.
And something else flickered when his gaze found her.
Something softer.
Something close to devotion.
“I’m used to the dirty work,” Dannie added, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “But you—your hands are for saving lives.”
It hit me as if someone punched the breath from me.
That gentleness.
That familiarity.
That confidence he had when talking to her.
And suddenly—it was as if I’d become a third wheel in my own damn life.
The connection—the magnetism that hit me like a truck the second she ran into my arms—gone.
Snuffed out like a candle.
When he told me to leave June alone, when he said it wasn’t safe for her to be with me…
I never agreed.
Not out loud.
Not in my head.
Not in my heart.
Who was he to decide anything for me?
If he wanted to settle the score from our childhood, fine.
There were a hundred ways I could repay him.
But surrendering June?
That would never be one of them.
Lincoln came back with the ice bucket.
A billionaire carrying ice like hotel staff.
I could hardly process it.
He handed June a damp towel without a word—like he understood instinctively that she wasn’t going to ask twice.
“Let’s cool you down,” she murmured, pressing the cloth to Dannie’s forehead. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?” Dannie muttered, fighting a smirk—a soft, playful smile that was meant for just her.
“Just five minutes.” June said, gentle but firm.
“Alright,” he whispered.
He complied without hesitation.
Had things really changed that fast?
Just weeks ago, she’d been falling for me—hot, fast, and real.
I knew what that looked like.
What it felt like.
What it sounded like in a woman’s breath and eyes and silence.
That used to be my superpower.
Sensing the moment their guard dropped, the second their walls softened.
And that was when I always pulled back.
Walked away.
Before it meant something.
But with June…
I never wanted to pull back.
I wanted to dive in.
Sink.
Drown.
And now, watching her fuss over him, watching those fingertips glide over Dannie’s skin with a tenderness… I couldn’t tell if I’d misread her entirely.
Or if she’d found a way to turn off what I still couldn’t stop feeling.
I wanted to hate Dannie.
For standing in the place where I wanted to stand.
For taking care of June the way I wished I’d been able to.
For catching her heart in the seconds where mine had slipped.
But the emotion refused to come.
Not after what he’d done.
Not after what we’d lived through.
Not after what he’d risked—for her, for me.
How do you hate the man who saved your life… even when he might be stealing everything else?
“So… you’re the famous Dannie Wu?” Lincoln finally said, breaking the tense silence.
His voice had that edge—sharp, assessing, dangerous.
The edge he used when he was deciding whether someone needed to be negotiated with… or eliminated.
Lincoln wasn’t just curious.
He was calculating.
And I suddenly realized, his next questions wouldn’t be about Dannie.
They would be about June.
About me.
About what the hell happened between us—and whether he had to burn the world down to find out.
“I don’t know about famous,” Dannie replied, tone calm, maybe even amused. “And it’s Dannie, not Daniel. People keep mixing us up.”
“Whoever the fuck that was,” Lincoln muttered under his breath.
Of course.
Lincoln never cared about names. Or faces.
Especially not Asian ones—he never kept track. I doubted he could name a single actor if someone held a gun to his head.
“Link,” June hissed, sharp enough to slice the air.
Lincoln blinked, actually startled.
She never used that tone with him—at least, not before today.
Then, just as quickly, she softened again. “Close your eyes and rest, Dannie,” she murmured, voice gentle, steady, warm enough to melt steel.
Before Lincoln could deliver another blow, verbal or otherwise, she grabbed him by the sleeve and dragging him off like he was an unruly teenager.
“A word,” she said over her shoulder.
My stomach twisted—pathetic reaction, but real. Just because she spoke—and not to me. Even one syllable pulled at something inside me like a hook.
The moment the door shut behind us, Lincoln rounded on me.
“Someone needs to explain what the hell is going on.” he demanded, voice booming off the walls. “How did you end up here?”
“Dannie saved me. I already said that,” I snapped back.
More irritation in my voice than I intended.
He wasn’t listening—not really.
He wasn’t asking about the events.
He wanted something deeper, something I didn’t even know how to give him.
“I heard,” my best friend said, sharp, clipped. “But I want the truth, Kai. Tell me what really happened.”
Behind him, June stayed quiet.
Her fingers brushed her lips—nervous tic—her eyes locked on mine like she was waiting.
Waiting for me to come clean.
But the truth was… there wasn’t a secret to confess.
“Dannie and I—we were best friends when we were kids.”
June frowned. “That’s not possible. You didn’t even recognize him in Hong Kong.”
“No, that was true. I…”
The heels of my hands dug into my temples.
The memories came in jagged shards—the filthy hut, the ropes cutting into my wrists, the sour smell of damp wood and fear, my own voice cracking until it wasn’t a voice anymore.
“I forgot,” I whispered.
“How?” Lincoln snapped. “You don’t just forget a face. I know you, Kai. What are you not telling me?”
There it was… the interrogation tone.
The one that made June shrink when he wanted answers from her.
Only now I understood why.
“We were kidnapped together when we were kids, okay?” I ground out.
Lincoln’s expression shattered. “No.”