Ten | Reality Check

JADE.

"You've reached Pulsebit Inc. main office. How may I help you."

"Quinn? Get my husband on the phone. Tell him it's really urgent." I'd attempted to call his personal number the moment I left the hospital, but it was unreachable.

"Yes, Mrs. Price. Hold on." The phone beeped.

My stomach churned, replaying the scene I'd just escaped – tied to a chair to listen to veiled threats. They held my sister, offering "protection" with a twisted price tag. Sebastian could crush them with a phone call. He had to know. Fuck Marcus and his 'experienced' army. Sebastian would solve this work somehow.

Michael slammed on the brakes, the car lurching forward and throwing me against the seat. "What the hell, Michael?!" I roared at him through the rear view, my pulse hammering in my ears.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Price," Quinn's voice cut through the chaos, "but Mr. Price is in a meeting. He can't—"

"Whatever meeting he's in, I assure you mine is more important," I cut her off.

"But Mr. Price said-"

"Never mind, I'm on my way anyway." I hang up. "Pulsebit HQ, Michael."

A loud crack shattered the car, the windshield exploding inwards. Gravel pinged off the hood as the car screeched, tires losing their fight with asphalt. My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

"Michael, what's going on?!" I screamed, my voice ragged. My eyes darted to the side, catching a glimpse of a dark car closing the distance, tires screeching. Our car skidded to a stop, the stench of burning rubber stinging my nostrils.

Oliver's voice crackled over the comms. "BK 2, come in! BK 2, respond!" It was the emergency code, the one for the worst-case scenarios. "We're under attack! BK2, come in!"  My breath hitched in my throat.

Bullets pinged off the car, the sound echoing through the air. No one was outside firing, so the shooter had to be hiding nearby.

"I can't believe this," I muttered, finally grasping the reality of this situation.

I yelled at the two men in the car, "Don't just sit there! You're being paid for a damn reason!"

The bulletproof car continued to take fire and I wondered how much longer it could withstand the attack.

"BK2, we need backup now!"

Oliver's voice was cut short as a bullet finally shattered the windshield and struck him in the forehead. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling a scream. Another bullet hit Michael, and he slumped over. I crouched low in the car, paralyzed with fear. My body trembled uncontrollably as I fumbled for my phone, dialing the code for the backup unit, BK2. A bullet whizzed past, leaving a spider web of cracks on the window to my left. My phone slipped from my shaking hands, the screen flickering as I desperately tried to call for help. But there was no answer.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I roared, my voice ragged. Each breath was a desperate gasp, the air thick with the metallic tang of fear. Bullets pinged off the car and it was only a matter of time before the car gave up on me and I became a corpse.

My eyes darted to the armrest compartment – Oliver's usual stash of extra guns. Just as my fingers reached for it, another shot shattered the other window glass. I flinched back, frustration and terror bubbling into a toxic cocktail.

My heart hammered a frantic tattoo against my ribs as the door ripped open.

For a horrifying second, I thought I'd pissed myself – the sheer terror of it all.

But then, the familiar gruff voice of Gleb, Sebastian's Russian muscle, sliced through the panic.

"Gleb!" I rasped, voice thick with relief.

"We go! Now!" He grabbed my hand, his grip rough but reassuring. "More come. Not good."

I stumbled out, my legs shaky beneath me, as Gleb hustled me towards another car. Five other imposing figures materialized from the shadows, forming a protective wall around us. Briefly, my gaze snagged on the ravaged blue paint of the car I'd been in moments before – it looked like a macabre metal sculpture, riddled with bullet holes. A wave of nausea hit me, and I squeezed my eyes shut as we sped away.

Oliver. Michael. They were gone. Just like that. A choked sob escaped me. Right now, all I craved was the safety of Sebastian's arms.

We screeched to a halt at the mansion. But this wasn't the usual scene. Gone was the relaxed air of wealth and security. Now, the place bristled with activity. An army of men, far more than any I'd ever seen, patrolled the grounds, even flanking the ornate fountain like grim sentinels.

Sebastian materialized by my side the moment the car door opened. He swept me into a crushing embrace, the starched cotton of his shirt dampening with my tears.

His voice, rough with emotion, murmured reassurances into my hair. We stood there for a beat before he took my hand, his touch grounding.

Inside, the tears started anew. "They killed Oliver," I choked out, burying my face in his chest. He held me tight, his voice a low rumble against my ear, "I'll get to those bastards who did this, I promise."

I clung to him as my mind wondered.

It could be them.

Everything kept pointing straight back to the encounter at the hospital. My sister. My life. It added up too perfectly. Damn it!

"Go take a shower," Sebastian said, his voice clipped with a new urgency. He barked orders into the air, summoning four guards – three men and, for the first time, a woman. Tall, with fiery red hair that framed a face etched with steely resolve, she wore a black suit that looked ready for action. Beautiful, maybe, but her features were locked in a permanent scowl.

Sebastian's warning cut through the air, ice-cold, "One slip-up. One eye off her, and your careers are toast."

The guards nodded in unison, their expressions grim. A human shield. One on each side, I walked slowly towards my room in this gilded cage.

The trauma clung to me like a shroud. Oliver's lifeless face replayed on a loop behind my eyelids. I tossed restlessly in the cavernous bed.

A ginger mop of hair stood in the doorway. The woman didn't glance my way, her gaze fixed on some unseen threat beyond the threshold.

A knock.

She barked a curt question, her voice devoid of warmth.

"Sebastian requests her presence downstairs."

"I haven't received such an order," she countered, her stoicism unwavering. A tense silence stretched, punctuated only by the nervous shuffles of the guards. Finally, a flicker of something crossed her features, and she relayed the message through her earpiece.

As I descended, the four guards formed a tight circle around me with their watchful eyes.

Sebastian stood at the foot of the stairs, his usual warm smile replaced by a mask of concern.  But something was different in his eyes – a flicker of suspicion I couldn't decipher. 

His touch was gentle as he cupped my face, his voice soft. "Had a good shower?" he murmured.  No.

"It helped," I managed, my voice strained.

"Good," he said, a touch too quickly.  "This is Mr. Lamar Davis, FBI. He just has a few questions." 

We took a seat in the sofas in the foyer, my heart hammering against my ribs, as Lamar, a young man in his forties, took out his notebook. 

Sebastian checked the car's location history this morning," he said, his gaze flickering between me and Sebastian. "Turns out you visited his brother's company last week. Right?"

My heart pounded like a drum solo in my chest. I forced myself to breathe slowly, trying to appear calm. My face had to be a mask – no hint of the truth showing through.

Sebastian didn't know what happened to my sister or why. I trusted him, but after what I'd just witnessed, it made me realize he couldn't keep me safe all the time. Marcus was right - Sebastian's protection had its limits.

"Yes," I managed, my voice steady despite the tremor inside me. "I went to Hydrahub." I couldn't look at Sebastian, afraid to see the storm brewing in his eyes.

"And you know there's, well, bad blood between Sebastian and his brother?" Lamar pressed.

I shrugged, the movement feeling stiff and unnatural. "There's, like, tension, I guess. That's all I know."

"What were you even doing there?"

"The company had contacted my manager. They wanted me for their commercial launch. I didn't even know from the beginning that he owned that company."

"Personally, what do you think? Do you think he only reached out to get close to you, so he could hurt you and get revenge on Sebastian?"

"Of course not," I started, immediately remembering the terrifying moment when he sat in front of me, his face twisted with malice, while I was tied to a chair in the hospital. I hesitated for a moment, but quickly continued, "He literally threw me out the minute he saw me."

"He threw you out? Was he violent?" A skeptical look crossed his face.

"He just… told me to leave. And I did."

Lamar scribbled furiously in his notebook. The silence stretched on, thick and suffocating.

"Look," I finally blurted out, desperate to drive their attention away from Marcus at the moment. "If you think it was Sebastian's brother, you're way off base." I met Sebastian's gaze. "Besides, you don't have any tangible proof he's involved."

"With him, we'll get something eventually," Sebastian says, walking away and exiting through the entrance. Shortly after, Mr. Davis stands up, shakes my hand, and thanks me before heading outside.

"Shit!"