Chapter 442

Chapter 442:

“If I take it off,” he said, his voice low, “I can’t protect you. The contract is void p>

“Is that a threat p>

“It’s a fact p>

He turned and started walking back toward the safe house. “We’re done walking. Let’s go p>

Eliza watched him limp away.

She knew. She was ninety-nine percent sure.

But she needed that last one percent. She needed to see his face.

And tonight, she was going to rip that mask off — even if she had to drug him to do it.

The ride back to the safe house was suffocatingly silent.

𝖣𝘪sc𝗼𝗏е𝗿 𝗁𝘪𝘥𝘥𝖾𝗇 𝘨𝗲𝗆ѕ 𝗼𝗇 g𝖺𝘭ոo𝘷е𝘭s.c𝘰𝗆

As soon as they stepped through the front door, Kieran didn’t look at Eliza. He gave a stiff, mechanical nod and retreated toward the garage, the heavy steel door clicking shut behind him.

Eliza stood in the hallway, staring at the closed door. Her heart hammered against her ribs — a frantic rhythm of hope and heartbreak.

It was him.

She didn’t need to see his face. She knew the broad set of his shoulders, the way he carried his weight, that instinctive, protective pivot. He was hiding behind a silicone mask and a voice modulator, playing the role of a nameless bodyguard because he was too proud — and too broken — to face her as her husband.

“You stubborn idiot,” Eliza whispered to the empty hallway. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away. Crying wouldn’t get the mask off.

She walked to the kitchen and opened the medicine cabinet. She pulled out a small orange prescription bottle — heavy-duty muscle relaxants and sleep aids given to her for anxiety. Her hands trembled slightly as she tipped two pills onto the marble counter. Using the back of a heavy spoon, she crushed them into a fine white powder. A twinge of guilt moved through her — drugging the man sent to protect her was dangerous — but the desperation clawing at her chest overrode her logic. She needed to look into his eyes. She needed to tell him that his scars didn’t matter.

She brewed a pot of dark, bitter espresso to mask the chalky taste. She poured the steaming liquid into a stainless-steel thermos, swept the powder in after it, and screwed the lid on tight.

Just wait for the right moment.

In the garage, the atmosphere was thick with tension.

Dallas ripped the ballistic goggles from his face and threw them onto the workbench. He leaned heavily against the concrete wall, breathing ragged. The muscles in his bad leg were spasming violently, a fiery agony shooting from his knee to his hip. He grabbed a syringe of painkillers from his tactical med-kit and jammed it into his thigh, gritting his teeth as the cold liquid burned through his veins.

“You’re slipping, Boss,” Kane said quietly from the corner, watching the security feeds.

“I didn’t slip,” Dallas growled, though his chest was still heaving. “A car backfired. I moved p>

“You moved like Ghost,” Kane corrected. “Not like Kieran. She’s smart, Boss. She lived with you. She knows your shadows better than you do p>