Chapter 4 - Blood and RainCornered against a brick wall in the alley, Nia held her breath, her back pressed hard against the cold wet stone. The three Russian mercenaries stepped forward, their silenced pistols raised.
"End her," the lead gunman barked in a thick accent.
Before he could pull the trigger, a sleek black armored sedan tore into the alley at eighty miles an hour.
Without slowing down, the sedan slammed straight into the side of the Russian SUV, crushing the metal and sending two of the gunmen flying across the pavement.
The driver's side door of the sedan flew open.
Kang Min Jae stepped out into the pouring rain. His coat was gone, his white dress shirt stained with dark blood on his left shoulder, a heavy tactical pistol in his right hand. His eyes were ablaze with a terrifying, demonic fury.
He fired three rapid shots with deadly precision, dropping the remaining gunman before he could raise his weapon.
"Min Jae!" Nia cried out, rushing forward through the rain.
Min Jae grabbed her, pulling her fiercely into his arms, crushing her against his chest as if to verify she was real and unhurt. "Are you hit? Did they touch you?"
"I'm fine! I'm okay!" Nia gasped, burying her face in his neck, smelling the sharp scent of gunpowder and blood. "You're hurt!"
"It's just a graze," Min Jae growled, turning her toward the car. "Get in!"
They scrambled into the back seat of the armored sedan as Leo—Min Jae’s primary bodyguard, who had survived the Newark ambush—punched the gas, tearing out of the alley toward the West Side Highway.
Inside the quiet, bulletproof interior of the car, Min Jae pulled a emergency medical kit from under the seat. Nia immediately grabbed the gauze, her hands working quickly to press down on the bleeding wound on his shoulder.
"You came for me," Nia whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at his pale, blood-stained face. "You came back to Manhattan in the middle of an ambush."
Min Jae looked at her, his hand reaching up to wipe a strand of wet dark hair from her face. "I would burn this entire city to the ground before I let anyone hurt you, Nia."
She looked into his eyes—no longer seeing a mob boss, no longer seeing a ruthless chairman, but seeing the man who had protected her family, trusted her with his empire, and risked his life to save hers.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.
The kiss was desperate, fiery, and filled with a raw, electric passion that had been building between them for weeks. Min Jae groaned softly against her mouth, his good arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her flush against his body as the rain beat violently against the dark windows of the speeding car.
When they finally broke apart, both gasping for air, Min Jae held her face gently between his hands.
"Kwan Woo thinks he has won," Min Jae said softly, his voice returning to that cold, lethal register. "He thinks he has taken my empire."
Nia reached into her pocket and pulled out the silver USB drive. "Not yet. I have every transaction, every bank account, and every offshore code Kwan Woo used to pay the Volkovs. You don't just have him for treason, Min Jae. You have the key to bankrupting the entire Volkov family overnight."
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Min Jae looked at the USB drive, then up at Nia, a cold, dangerous smile spreading across his face.
"My brilliant, terrifying little accountant," Min Jae whispered, kissing her forehead gently. "Let's go end this war."
