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Chapter 97

Her heart skipped a beat when something hard was pressed into her back. It was the unmistakable barrel of a gun.

“Don’t move,” a deep voice hissed behind her. It was the voice of a man. “You’re going to come with me without making a sound. Is that clear?”

Thalassa’s heart raced, but she forced herself to remain calm. “And if I don’t?”

The man made a choking sound in his throat, as if he hadn’t expected her to talk back. “Then you won’t see tomorrow. Isn’t that clear enough?”

Oh, it was quite clear, but Thalassa knew she couldn’t panic. She needed to keep her cool.

“You really don’t want to do this,” she said evenly, her voice betraying none of the fear she felt. “Think about what you’re trying to-”

“Shut up,” the man hissed, pushing the gun harder against her spine. “Just move. Right now.”

Thalassa took a slow step forward, her mind whirling. She needed to buy some time, to figure out a way to get out of this. The man’s hand was trembling slightly against her back, and she could feel his erratic breath on her neck.

Suddenly, a voice called out. “Hey! What the fuck? Let her go, now!”

Clark. Relief flooded her, but it was quickly replaced by a fresh wave of anxiety. If they weren’t careful, this could go very badly.

“Stay back!” the masked man shouted, his voice cracking with panic. “Stay back, or I swear I’ll shoot her!”

The gun moved from her spine, the barrel now resting on her temple. Just a pull of the trigger, and she would be dead. Still, Thalassa took a deep breath to calm herself.

Clark tried to step forward, but the man warned again, “I said stay back! Do you want her to die?”

“Clark, listen to him,” Thalassa said calmly. “Just stay back.”

Clark held his hands up cautiously. “Okay, okay. Easy. Look, man, I don’t know what this is about, but whatever you’re after, I can get it for you. Money, right? I can pay you–whatever you want.”

There was a brief silence, and then he laughed–a short, cold sound that sent a shiver down her spine. “What makes you think I want your money?”

it set off alarms in Thalassa’s mind, making her realize that this wasn’t a random mugging or a kidnapping for ransom like she’d initially assumed. This

realized the man was wearing a black mask that covered his face. Horrifying memories rushed through her mind: lying helplessly on the cold ground of that alley, which reeked so much of piss and other indescribable stenches, as she was pummeled in the abdomen over and

pain from those memories sent adrenaline surging through her veins. Without warning, she spun around, using her elbow to jab the man in the ribs.

of his hand. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, and before the man could react,

steady. The man grunted

“Speak!” Thalassa commanded.

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Chapter 97

darted to his belt, pulling

shouted, rushing

at her with the blade. But before he could strike, Clark

skin echoed through the

you’re good. I called you last night,

to talk to anyone. Before she could come up with an excuse,

it. I know

you call, Clark?” Thalassa asked calmly.

see if you were up for getting dinner together after

could sense the hope in his voice, and that was

like you said, I’m very busy with everything that has to do with the upcoming fashion

his voice. “No problem,

Clark,” she said noncommittally

asked, and Thalassa nodded. “He asked you out for

Didn’t you say last time that he was too straightforward and

spending some time with him always makes you a little less tense and more

don’t plan to ever love again, so I don’t want him getting his hopes

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