One of them, a thin man nad Neo, hesitated a little before speaking.
"Boss, if I may ask, what do we do now?
The prisoner is gone. Clearly, our trap for this man has failed. He took her right from under our noses, and we didn’t even know how. Continuing to fight soone when we don’t know what more he’s capable of—it would be foolish."
i’s face darkened further.
The man was far more dangerous than she had initially assud.
i’s hand tightened on the hilt of her dagger as she ntally replayed everything she knew about Alex Carter.
He had appeared in Ironhold City approximately nine months ago, seemingly out of nowhere.
He aligned himself with the Hartwell family within weeks.
Then he had sohow figured out where their mountain hideout was. The secret base that her father had kept hidden for a long ti was found in just a few days after Alex started looking for it.
Then, after the raid by the governnt that followed, everything had been destroyed.
Her foster father was killed, and most of their supplies were confiscated or burned. Their carefully assembled network of contacts and safe houses was exposed.
Then there was that drought crisis as well. The whole city had been suffering, trade routes drying up along with the wells. And then, impossibly, Alex had solved it so simply it was unbelievable!
By thods that no one could explain or replicate, he had brought rain to Ironhold.
The common people treated him like so sort of God’s Apostle.
Even the governor had praised his actions publicly.
And when she had sought revenge, trying to kill him at that river, the ease with which he had defeated her; it was as though he could read her every move it was as if he was invincible.
And now this: the chemical smoke, this plan, this courage to walk into a bandit cave alone and rescue a hostage without killing anyone. It was always easier to kill than to spare.
This was capability far beyond what a normal person should possess.
"Boss... Boss?" Neo asked cautiously in a very soft voice. "What do we do now? We have no hostages, and attacking again would be impossible. They’ll be expecting us now."
i’s voice was cold and resolute. "We are not going to back down. We will attack them, for sure. But not now. Not when they’re prepared and we’re vulnerable."
She faced her n, her eyes cold as ice. "For now, we have to evacuate. Everyone. This location is compromised. We have to move fast."
"Compromised?" the bearded man asked, his face clouded with confusion.
"Use your brain," i snapped. "Once he returns to the estate, he will surely order a search for this place; if he hasn’t already done so."
Neo nodded slowly. "Yes, boss."
She turned back toward the cave entrance, her mind already working on their next move. "Start packing. We leave before noon. I want us gone before any search parties arrive."
Alex Carter, she thought coldly, you have won this round. But this ga is far from over. One day, when you least expect it, I will take everything from you just as you took everything from .
---
Hartwell Estate - Lucy’s Chambers
The first thing Lucy upon awakening, beca aware of was the warmth.
Not the cold, damp chill of the cave where she’d been held captive, but real warmth, soft blankets, the comfort of an actual bed beneath her, sunlight streaming through a window sowhere nearby.
The second thing she noticed was that her body felt really heavy.
Her limbs felt really heavy like they were made of lead or sothing.
They felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. Her eyelids would not open, no matter how hard she tried to open them. Her thoughts were moving like honey poured in winter.
What... what happened?
Fragnts of mory drifted through her consciousness like scattered puzzle pieces.
The market... The attack... Being kidnapped. Ropes that cut into her wrists. Three days of cold and fear.
And then... that smoke.
And then... nothing.
Until now.
Lucy forced her eyes open, wincing against the bright mid-afternoon sun that filtered through familiar curtains.
It seems to be ho, she realized with a surge of relief so powerful it made tears spring to her eyes. I’m ho. I’m actually ho.
She tried to sit up, but her body protested imdiately aches and stiff muscles that refused to cooperate with her. Her head spun with dizziness, forcing her back down onto the bed with a soft groan.
"Easy now," a voice she recognized said softly from beside the bed. "Don’t try to move too quickly. The effects of the gas will take a few more hours to wear off completely."
She turned her head slowly, carefully, to find Alex sitting in a chair beside her bed.
"Brother Alex," Lucy said, her voice thick with emotion perhaps too much emotion for her sore throat to handle, bringing a twinge of pain. "You... you’re here."
"Of course I’m here," Alex replied softly. "Where else would I be?"
Tears welled up in Lucy’s eyes again, but this ti they were tears of relief and gratitude. "You saved . You ca for ."
"I knew you would co," Lucy continued, her words slightly groggy from the lingering effects of the sleeping gas. "When those terrible n were talking about... about doing awful things to , I prayed that you would co. And you did."
She held out one trembling hand, and Alex took it in his own, squeezing gently.
"That was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who rescued from that cave."
Alex hesitated for just a split second before nodding. "I ca for you as soon as I heard what happened. I couldn’t let them keep you."
It wasn’t, strictly speaking a lie. He had co for her. The fact that he’d brought professional help to do the actual rescue was just... a detail that didn’t need ntioning.
"How did you do it?" Lucy asked, her voice full of wonder. "There were so many of them. At least a dozen n. How did you—"
"That doesn’t matter right now," Alex said softly, cutting her off. "What matters is that you’re safe. You’re ho. And those bandits will never touch you again."
"Brother Alex " she whispered quietly her voice shaking all over. "I..."
She trailed off, unsure how to put into words what she was trying to say. Her hand ca up to rest against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm.
Alex caught the change in her expression, how her eyes had gone soft and vulnerable, how she was looking at him with sothing that went beyond simple gratitude.
Ohh..oh, he thought with a mixture of concern and resignation, this is... going to be fun.
But his evil plans were distrupted by the sudden pounding of footsteps in the hallway outside Lucy’s room.
"LUCY!" Nathan’s voice bood through the door, laced with brotherly concern and urgency. "LUCY, ARE YOU AWAKE?"
Lucy jerked back as though she’d been burned, her face turning bright red with embarrassnt and surprise.
Damn it, Nathan! You’re dead at!
Alex quickly stood up from beside the bed, moving a respectable distance away from Lucy just as Nathan burst into the room without bothering to knock.
"Lucy! I heard—" Nathan skidded to a stop, his eyes taking in the scene before him.
His sister was sitting up in bed, looking flustered and red-faced. Alex was standing several feet away, looking suspiciously innocent.
Nathan’s eyes narrowed with imdiate brotherly suspicion. "What’s going on in here?"
"Nothing!" Lucy said quickly, her voice higher than normal. "Nothing at all! Brother Alex was just... he was just checking to make sure I was all right!"
"Checking?" Nathan repeated confusingly, his gaze moving between his sister’s guilty expression and Alex’s carefully neutral face.
"I heard Lucy was awake," Alex said calmly, as if completely unaware of what had almost just happened. "I wanted to make sure she was recovering properly."
Lucy pulled the blankets higher around herself, as if they could sohow hide her burning cheeks. She stared down at her lap, unable to et either her brother’s eyes or Alex’s.
What was I thinking? she wondered frantically. Was I actually going to... oh gods, I was actually about to kiss Brother Alex! What’s wrong with ?
But even as embarrassnt flooded through her, another part of her mind whispered treacherously: But you wanted to... You still want to.
"Well," Nathan finally said after a long, uncomfortable silence, "Father sent to check on you. He wants to know if you’re well enough to receive visitors. Half the household has been waiting anxiously to see you."
He paused, then added, "I’ll tell Father you’ll be ready soon. Brother Alex, why don’t you co with ? I’m sure Lucy would like so rest to recover herself."
Alex nodded and headed for the door. At the threshold, he turned back to Lucy, his expression soft. "Rest well. I’ll co back to see you later."
"Thank you, Brother Alex," Lucy managed to say, still not quite able to look him in the eye.
The mont the door closed behind them, Lucy buried her burning face in her hands.
What is wrong with ? she thought desperately, the first thing I do is try to kiss him like so foolish maiden in a romance novel!
But despite her embarrassnt, she couldn’t quite suppress the small smile that curved her lips.
He ca for , she thought again, warmth slowly spreading through her chest as she buried her face in the bedsheets once again.
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