Chapter 118\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig took one step toward the exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
as vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a small movement, almost casual, but I caught it instantly. My eyes stayed on him while everything inside me went on high alert. My wolves felt my sentiment. One by one, they moved without a word, spreading out and closing the space between Craig and the doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig also saw them moving. He froze again, his breathing turning shallow and fast as he realized there was nowhere to go. For a second, I thought he would surrender. Instead, he did something unpredictable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ght the light. A small d her roughly, yanking\u00a0<\/p>\n
He twisted suddenly, and before anyone could react, his hand shot into his pocket. A flash of Swiss knife. In the same motion, he lunged sideways and in two steps he was close to Bella. I her back against his chest. His arm locked around her neck as the blade pressed dangerously close to her throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBella!\u201d I shouted, my heart slamming violently against my ribs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She screamed as she struggled, her hands clawing at his arm, her body shaking. Craig leaned close to her ear, his voice low and shaking with panic and rage. \u201cStay quiet,\u201d he snarled. \u201cDon\u2019t move, or I\u2019ll cut you. I swear I will.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bella froze instantly. Through the bond I felt the terror, the shock, the effort it took for her to stop fighting. Her breath came in shallow, uneven gasps. A thin line of red appeared where the blade had nicked her skin. Storm roared inside me. \u2018Kill him!\u2018 he snarled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m leaving,\u201d Craig shouted, his voice breaking. \u201cShe comes with me. And if you come one step closer, she dies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every instinct in me screamed to tear him apart. I lifted my hand sharply, stopping my wolves in place. They growled, restless and furious, but they obeyed. Around us, several men who had blended into the crowd all evening stepped forward calmly. They moved forward, drawing guns from under jackets, from waistbands, from places no one had noticed before. They had been there the entire time, looking like guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded toward them without taking my eyes off Craig.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re surrounded,\u201d I told him. \u201cYou can\u2019t leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s eyes flicked wildly from one gun to another. His grip on Bella tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho the hell are they?\u201d he demanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice,\u201d I answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face, and then rage replaced it. He dragged Bella back another step, the knife pressing harder against her skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will kill her,\u201d he yelled. \u201cRight here. Let me walk out, or she dies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panic clawed at my chest. \u201cLook, everything you\u2019ve done is recorded,\u201d I said. \u201cAudio. Video. Witness statements. And your attempt to send that video out. There\u2019s no escaping this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His mouth opened and closed like he couldn\u2019t find words. \u201cDon\u2019t test my patience, Scott!\u201d he shouted. He took a step toward\u00a0<\/p>\n
the exit at the back of the hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you realize?\u201d I said. \u201cYou committed blackmail. Extortion. You tried to distribute manipulated explicit content. You threatened my business and my wife. And you chose to do it in front of witnesses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face flushed red, his breathing ragged. \u201cLet me go,\u201d he repeated hoarsely. \u201cLet me go!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:04 Mon, Dec 29\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 118\u00a0<\/p>\n
35 voucher\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind him, I heard my children crying. Ryan was calling out for his mother, his small voice breaking. Cindy and Millie held them tightly, trying to shield them from the sight, trying to soothe them, but fear filled the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My chest tightened painfully. \u201cIf you kill her,\u201d I said, my voice dropping low, \u201cyou\u2019re looking at a death sentence. There\u2019s no bargaining after that. But if you let her go right now, I will drop the charges and let you walk out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig hesitated. I saw it. The flicker of doubt. His arted, his grip faltered for just a fraction of a second as his mind\u00a0<\/p>\n
scrambled to decide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That moment was all I needed. I moved faster than thought. In a blur, I surged forward, my hand slamming into his wrist, twisting hard. The knife flew from his grip. My fist connected with his face in the same instant. Craig was thrown backward. skidding across the floor. A sharp crack followed his scream as his jaw broke under the force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before anyone else could move, I was already at Bella\u2019s side. I pulled her into my chest, wr She clung to me, shaking uncontrollably. My hands framed her face as I checked her quic. throat, blood seeping down her skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
nightly in my arms. was a small cut on her\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rage unlike anything I had ever felt tore through me. I so wanted to kill Craig for doing this to my mate. Storm was pressing hard inside me to finish the task.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lowered my head and pressed my mouth gently to her neck, licking the wound carefully. My saliva warmed her skin. Bella gasped softly, her fingers gripping my jacket as the pain eased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d I murmured into her hair. \u201cI\u2019ve got you. You\u2019re safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded against my chest, too shaken to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Behind us, officers swarmed Craig, pinning him to the floor, snapping cuffs around his wrists as he howled in pain and fury. They dragged him upright, his face swollen, blood dripping from his mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A movement caught my eye. Maya suddenly turned and bolted toward a side exit. But she didn\u2019t make it. An officer intercepted her and blocked her path. She screamed, struggling as they restrained her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tightened my hold on Bella, feeling her gaze on Maya.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swear I didn\u2019t know!\u201d She pleaded with me or As she struggled against her cuffs, Maya\u2019s panicky voice rose. \u201cI didn\u2019t know! I swear I didn\u2019t know!\u201d She pleaded with me or Bella. \u201cHe trapped me in this!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s eyes went wide. Through his pain, he said in a garbled voice. \u201cOh, now you\u2019re a victim? You fucking bitch! You are the mastermind of this crime!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She accused him in return. \u201cYou were the one blackmailing along with Jos\u00e9! You were the one threatening to send it! I have nothing to do with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig snapped back, \u201cYou gave me the idea of the video!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown 118 Chapter 118\u00a0 Scott\u00a0 Craig took one step toward the exit.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-new-world-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}