Chapter 5 - The Syndicate’s RetaliationPeace, however, in Matteo’s world was never absolute.
My heart hammered with sudden, terrifying flashbacks to the night on the jet ski and the restaurant table, but this time, I didn't freeze. Remembering the self-defense drills Marcus had quietly insisted I practice during my weeks at the estate, I elbowed my primary captor in the ribs and kicked out the tail-light wiring harness before they could zip-tie my wrists. By the time Petrov’s men subdued me and tied a blindfold over my eyes, Marcus’s tactical tracking detail—tipped off by my smart-watch emergency beacon—was already tailing their vehicle through the Loop. Within twenty minutes, the van was violently box-canyon intercepted on an industrial pier by three armored SUVs carrying Matteo and his elite enforcers. The ensuing shootout was brief, thunderous, and entirely one-sided; Matteo personally wrenched open the back doors of the van, pulled off my blindfold, and gathered me into his arms with a fierce, trembling protective fury that proved I was more than just a rescued stranger—I was his absolute world.
