Even so,


    she kept whispering Chasel''s name, sobbing and begging him not to leave.


    How could any girl be this foolish?


    Evadne slumped against the man''s chest, her anguished cries muffled by his shirt, tears soaking the fabric.


    The warmth of her touch seemed to thaw the deep, icy emptiness inside him.


    “Evadne...” Hans''s lips parted, her name slipping out clearly and softly.


    But Evadne was already unconscious. She didn''t hear him.


    Hans held her battered body tighter, carrying her step by step toward his car.


    Evadne...


    He repeated her name in his mind. For some reason, a sharp pain stabbed through his head, and a surge of emotion crashed in his chest, wild and impossible to control.


    Hans clenched his jaw, staring down at the bloodied, broken girl in his arms.


    His heart felt like it might shatter, split wide open and bleeding.


    Just like he had back in Boston, Hans intercepted Evadne and rushed her to the nearest hospital.


    But this time, he didn''t disappear afterward. He stayed, lurking in the hospital''s shadows.


    It was just past midnight. Hans stood alone on the hospital''s rooftop.


    “Hans, good job. I''m heading to the hospital now. You can head out," Chad''s voice was asid-back and clear as ever, tinged with satisfaction.


    The winter wind whipped against Hans''s tall, rigid figure. He pulled up his coat cor, lit a cigarette, and turned his back to the gusts, pressing his phone to his ear. His voice came out low and rough.


    "Sir."


    "Yes?"


    "This time, Ms. Evadne almost didn''t make it."


    Hans gritted his teeth and said, "Wasn''t that a bit much? She''s just a woman, not exactly a threat."


    Chad''s tone was half-amused. "Hans, are you worried about her?"


    Hans''s pupils harrowed. He


    answered quickly, "No, but sometimes, I can''t control myself.


    I''m afraid one of these days I''ll too far and she''ll really get hurt. Afterall, Ms. Evadne matters to you, ?oesn''t she?”


    There was a pause on the other end. Only the wind howled between them.


    “I trust you. You know what you''re doing—especially when ites to her.”


    Hans frowned, uneasy. The way Sir said that was... strange.


    "Do you know why Evadne matters to me?" Chad asked suddenly.


    For as long as Hans had known Chad, their rtionship had always been boss and subordinate. Chad would check in, talk to him, but never, ever share anything personal.


    Chad''s heart was a locked vault-anyone who tried to get close was bound to be consumed by its darkness.


    “Because my brother loves her. And she loves Thaddeus."


    Chadughed, the sound as cold and biting as the winter wind. "Her love woke something in Thaddeusz She was the light that pulled him out of the shadows of his past. Because of her, his world finally had sunshine. Her brother became his friend, her family became his family.


    All because he had Evadne."


    Hans''s vision blurred for a moment.


    He saw faces-men and women-swirling around him. They all seemed so familiar, yet he couldn''t remember their names.


    "Thaddeus got something most people spend their whole lives searching for."


    Chad was stillughing, but the sound was turning icy, sharp as a de. “But what did he do to deserve it? Why shouldn''t it have been me?"


    "Sir..."


    “So I want Evadne gone from his life for good. I want him to be utterly,pletely alone.”