Chapter 17 - The King's Wrath
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The kiss broke, but Jack didn’t pull away entirely. He rested his forehead against hers, their breathing perfectly synchronized in the quiet room.
“I have to finish it,” Jack murmured, his voice heavy with reluctance. “Viktor’s top lieutenants are cornered at the shipyards. If I don’t end the Volkov syndicate tonight, they will regroup and come after you again tomorrow.”
Ellie nodded slowly, her hands resting against his chest. She finally understood the brutal math of his world. Mercy was just an invitation for a second attack.
“Come back to us,” she whispered.
Jack’s eyes darkened with a fierce promise. “Try and stop me.”
For the next six hours, Ellie sat by the massive living room window, watching the city lights of Chicago flicker in the dark. She kept Liam tucked against her side on the sofa, while Leo slept on the adjacent armchair.
She wasn’t afraid anymore. The fear had burned out, replaced by a strange, quiet certainty. Jack Callahan was a monster to his enemies, a criminal to the law, but to her and the boy sleeping against her shoulder, he was an absolute shield.
Just before dawn, the private elevator chimed.
Jack walked out. His suit coat was gone, his white shirt stained with grime and darker, more ominous spots, and his knuckles were split and bleeding. He looked completely drained.
He stopped in the middle of the living room, looking at Ellie and the children. The hard, lethal edge that always surrounded him completely dissolved.
“It’s done,” Jack said, his voice hoarse. “Viktor is gone. His network is dismantled. They surrendered the territories an hour ago.”
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Ellie stood up carefully, not waking Liam, and walked across the room. She didn’t ask for details. She didn’t want to know how the blood got on his shirt. She just wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.
Jack let out a long, shuddering breath, burying his face in her hair. The king of Chicago had won his war, but standing in his quiet penthouse, he looked like a man who had finally found home.
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