I Told You To Run But You Didn't (Georgia) novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Georgia’s POV

Finished

I dropped to my knees in the wet grass, the timer on the device a red, screaming countdown in my face. Four minutes. My hands, surprisingly steady, got to work, prying open the casing with the multi-tool from my boot.

The wiring was complex, professional. A classic timed detonator, but there was a secondary trigger-a pressure plate underneath the explosive block. A trap. If I lifted the C4, it would blow. Clever bastard.

My head was pounding, but I pushed the pain away. I had to sever the connection to the timer before disarming the plate. I traced the wires, my breath held tight in my chest. Two minutes. My fingers were slick with sweat.

One minute. I found the primary wire, but it was bundled with a dummy. Cutting the wrong one would complete the circuit. A 50/50 chance. Not good enough

Thirty seconds. “Damn it.” It was too late. There was no time.

My training screamed one final order: survive. I shoved the box away from me, scrambled back as far as I could, and threw myself flat on the ground, my arms covering my head, bracing for the blast that would tear me apart.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Ten… nine… eight… My life didn’t flash before my eyes. There was only the sound of my own heart, counting down the final seconds. Three… two… one…

Silence.

Nothing. Just the wind rustling the tall grass and the distant chirping of a bird.

Slowly, cautiously, I lifted my head. The box was intact. crept towards it. The timer was frozen at 00:01. It was a dud. A warning.

Then the screen flashed. The red numbers vanished, replaced by a single line of text in stark, green letters.

WE CAN REACH YOU ANYTIME.

A screech of tires from the driveway tore my attention away. Estevan’s Mercedes had skidded to a halt. The driver’s door flew open, and he didn’t walk, he sprinted.

He ran across the field towards me, his usual mask of cold control completely gone, replaced by a look of unfiltered panic.

He didn’t stop to check the bomb; his eyes were only on me. He crashed into me, not with anger, but with a desperate, frantic energy, his arms wrapping around me in a crushing embrace.

He pulled me so tight against his chest I could barely breathe, his body trembling with adrenaline and relief.

He buried his face in my hair, his breath coming in ragged gasps against my ear.

“You’re okay,” he whispered, “It’s okay, You’re okay.”

I was still shaking, the phantom explosion echoing in my ears. What if he hadn’t disarmed it? What if the message was meant to be my death?

III

O

1/3

11:45 Sat, Mar / A M

Chapter 44

83%

Finished

I gently pushed away from Estevan’s chest, needing space to breathe. He let me go, his eyes searching my face, his own composure slowly returning.

Just then, his brothers came running across the lawn, their earlier bravado gone, replaced by genuine panic. They skidded to a halt when they saw Estevan’s intense focus on me.

“Estevan, what the hell happened?” Arman demanded, his voice shaky. “We heard the evacuation order!”

“Was it them again?” Matteo asked, his face pale. “Did they try to kill you?”

Leonardo, the quiet one, was staring back towards the gate. “The guards are dead,” he said, his voice grim. “Executed.”

Estevan’s face hardened into a mask of cold fury. He addressed his brothers, but his words felt like they were for me. “It was a bomb,” he said, his voice flat and dangerous. “It was delivered directly to Ms. Sinclair.”

All three of them turned to look at me with a new, shocked respect.

“This wasn’t a simple assassination attempt,” Estevan continued, his voice taking on the commanding tone of a general. “It was a message. They’ve proven they can get inside this estate. They are no longer just targeting me.” He looked at each of his brothers in turn. They are willing to accept collateral damage. That means all of you are now targets. The game has changed”

Then Estevan’s gaze then returned to me, his expression softening almost imperceptibly. “Come,” he said, his voice quiet again. “I want to show you something.”

He led me back to the mansion and into his private study, the door clicking shut behind us. The silence was heavy.

He turned to me, his face grim. “That bomb was a test, Georgia. Not for me. For you. They know your military background. They knew you would be the one to handle it.”

He paused, his eyes searching mine, forcing me to see the horrifying logic.

“Think about it. Your brother sent a live explosive to your door, counting on you to disarm it. He w to gamble with your life, just to prove he could reach me.” His voice dropped to a low, devastating

“He doesn’t care if you die, Georgia. All he cares about is his war with me.”

I took a step back, the pieces clicking together in a horrifying new picture. My eyes narrowed in suspic “So, where were you?” I challenged. “You leave me here lone for the first time, and a bomb shows up at h door. You don’t believe in coincidence, remember? So what was it?”

He gave a single, grim nod, acknowledging the brutal logic. “You’re right. It wasn’t a coincidence.”

“And where did you go that was so important?”

“I was at my corporate headquarters, dealing with a pest infestation,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt. “Your ex-husband was refusing to accept the ermination of our agreement. It seems his partner, Ms. Laurent, has been busy!”

He paused, his eyes turning to black ice. “She secured new funding for the Helios Project. From the Volkov family.”

My blood ran cold. Even I had heard whispers of the Volkovs-the Russian Bratva.

川

O

2/3

11:45 Sat, Mar 7 A MO

Chapter 44

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