A bone-deep chill shot through Thaddeus. In that split second, only one thought, one unshakeable conviction, filled his mind: *No matter what, I have to get to


    Evadne.*


    His usual car had a gun hidden beneath the seat, but in his haste, he had taken this one. He was unarmed. After a fleeting moment of panic, his military training kicked in. He yanked the wheel, ramming the side of his car into Hans''s.


    The ck sports car skidded on the icy road, one of its headlights shattering. A flicker of rage crossed Hans''s face, and he pulled the trigger.


    BANG!


    A bullet shattered the passenger-side window. Hans hadn''t been aiming to kill- his orders were only to stop Thaddeus from meeting Evadne-but the bullet tore through Thaddeus''s right arm. Blood sprayed across the dashboard.


    He let out a choked cry of pain but kept his hands firmly on the wheel, his foot pressed to the floor. Nothing, not even this, would stop him from getting to her. The familiar, exhrating rush of adrenaline, the single-minded focus he hadn''t felt in so long, flooded his veins.


    Seeing his relentless determination, Hans''s expression hardened. He extended his arm out the window and fired three more shots, this time at the tires.


    With a screech of tortured metal, the sports car spun out of control, finally crashing into the mountainside with a deafening roar. In the eerie silence that followed, smoke billowed from the crumpled hood.


    Hans stepped out of his car, his boots crunching on the shattered ss, and approached the wreck. Suddenly, the driver''s side door flew open. Hans instinctively raised his gun.


    Thaddeus stumbled out, his face a mask of blood. He was held together by sheer, unadulterated willpower.


    "Stop," Hansmanded, his voice as cold as the wind.


    But Thaddeus ignored him, taking a step forward. His eyes, though clouded with pain, burned with a fierce, unyielding determination.


    "Thaddeus, didn''t you hear me?” Hans snarled. "I said, stop!"


    "I''m going to find Evadne," Thaddeus said, his voice raspy. "You can''t stop me."


    "I can''t?" Hans cocked the gun. "What about this?"


    "Are you going to kill me?"


    "What do you think?"


    "You won''t."


    Hans let out a coldugh. "What makes you so sure?"


    "You had plenty of chances to shoot me in the head back there, but you didn''t," Thaddeus said, blinking against the blood that dripped into his eyes. "Your goal is just to stop me from getting to Evadne, isn''t it?"


    "Since you''ve figured that out, don''t force my hand," Hans said.


    "On Rose Ind, you were working for Avery... but Avery''s dead. Who are you working for now?" Thaddeus


    asked, his voice strained weus


    par


    pain


    "No one. I just don''t think you


    deserve to be near her anymore


    Hans sneered. There are better men for her. You two are over Shett


    doesn''t need you." fo FindNovel


    "Better men?" Thaddeus''s voice was low. "You mean Chad?"