He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 335

Chapter 335

Hstraightened, his voice as hoarse as ever even without an ounce of aggression behind it. Apparently that was just how he sounded now, permanently.

“It’s a gesture we’ve always rendered to Volkov blood,” he said. “We gave it to him as our master. Now that you hold that position, it isn’t something that can

simply be undone.”

“That’s a big word,” I said. “Do you mean it’s demanded?”

“Demanded, he confirmed, like I’d completed a sentence for him rather than the other way around.

I nodded, unsatisfied but unwilling to fight that particular battle tonight.

“The perimeter’s secured,” he continued, shifting seamlessly into what I could only assume was some kind of formal report. “We’ve rotated patrols across l four compass points, two–hour intervals, overlapping coverage to eliminate blind spots, Casualties from tonight’s engagement have been logged and the wounded triaged according to severity. Supply inventory’s been consolidated – weapons, medical stock, transport – and we’ve begun asset accounting on anyone taken into custody during the extraction. Chain of custody’s being maintained on all of it. The men are resting in shifts and awaiting your next

directive.”

I stared at him.

I understood, roughly, four of those words in sequence.

That was a lot,” I said finally, but okay. I heard all of it.”

I gave him a thumbs up.

looked at my hand. I looked at my hand. Somewhere in the two seconds that followed, I fully registered how deeply strange that gesture had been to offer a man who’d just delivered what sounded like a military debrief, and I lowered it slowly, clearing my throat like that might retroactively make it less

awkward.

I did not.

Torres bowed again anyway – apparently irrevocable meant irrevocable – murmured, “Master, and withdrew.

I exhaled hard, overwhelmed in a way that had nothing to do with danger this time, and made a mental note to relay all of that to DeLuca the second he’d rested enough to translate it into something I could actually act on.

to check on my mother next, hovering nearby long enough to confirm she was still resting peacefully, her breathing steadier now than it had been gaze drifted across the rest of the room as I straightened. Mabel, glaring at me from her corner, not even bothering to disguise it. Nathan,

ading my eyes altogether. Deluca, still and quiet where I’d left him.

him but didn’t touch him, letting him rest, mostly because I could feel Mabel’s glare boring into the back of my skull the entire time. necest in him clear enough times that I didn’t need a reminder, and even though I knew, logically, that I owed her exactly nothing, I still Conscious about it, unwilling to stir up more tension than already existed in this room.

the men had gathered on the far side of the space, talking low among themselves. I let myself absorb the sheer contrast of it; a few months ago, my had contained approximately zero people who orbited me by choice, and now an entire building’s worth of them did, one way or another. DeLuca Included The future, I decided, had officially become unpredictable in every direction. I had no idea what came next. I wasn’t sure anyone did.

Ereturned to where I’d been standing before, intending to just exist quietly for a few more minutes before finally letting myself rest

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Chapter 335

The quiet didn’t last.

can be a lot to process.”

I startled slightly at the voice beside me, then settled once I registered Archer.

“Yeah, I said. “It is.”

‘For what it’s worth, you’re doing a good job so far.”

“Thanks. I paused, then added, “And thank you. For helping me and my mom back at the base.”

‘Don’t mention it.”

Something clicked into place a beat later, and I turned to him fully. “Oh my god, your teammate. I never saw him again after that. Is he okay?”

‘I don’t know,” Archer admitted. “Once our reinforcements arrived, he went with them to help against Volkov’s remaining men. I’m hoping he’s fine. I haven’t

heard otherwise.”

The air went quiet for a moment.

“I know you’re a police officer with actual responsibilities,” I said eventually. “But I need you to know we’re on the right side of this. There are gang members here, plenty of them, but nobody in this group is trying to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it. We’re just trying to end this.”

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