The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 640

3/3

Chapter 640 I Will Never Regret Loving You

No matter how many times he tried to defeat her, he always ended up losing to her.

“If she had dared to bet like you did back then… maybe some things would have been different,” Joaqu murmured, his eyes distant, as if he was lost in some memory.

And the “she” he spoke of was naturally his wife, the person he loved most.

Quinn ignored Joaquin and spoke into her communicator with her team, her tone calm. “How’s it going on your end? I’ve already got Joaquin.”

“Everything’s fine on our side-”

Boom!

The explosion drowned out the sound of the radio.

Quinn saw that the other side of the villa was being rocked by explosions, collapsing bit by bit. The blasts were spreading from far to near, moving toward them.

“You didn’t think that just because you grabbed the switch, the explosion wouldn’t happen, did you? Whether you have it or not, it’s going to blow!” Joaquin laughed triumphantly. “Quinn, everyone who came to help you today is going to die because of you. But if you hadn’t fallen for Julius, none of this would’ve happened! None of these people would’ve died. Do you regret loving Julius?”

Julius‘ face turned pale in an instant.

His father always knew how to strike at his weakness.

If Quinn really regretted it… If her teammates died because of me… Then what would happen to us? Would she… really regret it?

“I won’t regret it. My teammates aren’t that fragile!” Quinn replied sharply, then turneu pack to the other side of the radio. “Report your status now! Team One?”

“All safe, we’ve joined up with the police.”

“Team Two?”

“All safe, currently retreating.”

“Team Three?”

“Safe. Captain, how’s it going on your side?”

“Under control for now. Execute Plan Three!” Quinn gave her orders calmly.

Meanwhile, the sound of explosions grew closer and closer.

“Julius!” Quinn’s shout ripped through the ringing in his ears, fierce and full of desperate love. She grabbed

M

O

nis lorearmis, Shaking 111

happens, I will never regret falling in love with you.”

A shudder rippled through Julius‘ frame. He stared at her, eyes wide, as though the single spark of ho she offered was the only light in the night.

“So here’s the plan,” Quinn pressed on, voice low but steady. “We take your father, and we leave–right now. Once he’s safely in police custody, everything will start to heal. I swear it.”

Julius drew a breath, and at last the corner of his mouth lifted into a fragile smile. “Yes. It will.”

But the earth itself answered with a new roar; the ground only yards away erupted in a plume of fire and shattered stone.

Bleeding from a dozen wounds, Joaquin pushed himself upright, every movement impossibly fast for a man losing so much blood. “I waited here just for you. Every exit is wired. You’re not getting out.” He spun and sprinted toward the villa, a red trail following him like a broken ribbon.

Instinct jerked Quinn forward, her hand shooting out to grab Joaquin. But a blast detonated at her feet. Julius threw himself across her, rolling them behind a half–collapsed column as debris rained down.

Julius searched her face, panic flickering behind the pale blue of his eyes. “Quinn, are you okay?”

Quinn drew a shaky breath. “I’m fine. You’re bleeding,” she added, her gaze darting to the crimson now seeping from his hairline.

Blood seeped from a cut on his forehead, trickling down the side of his face. When she pressed a hand to his back, her palm came away slick and wet; the shockwave had slammed into him, and he had taken every shard meant for her.

Julius pressed a blood–smeared hand to his side, forcing steadiness into his voice. “I’m fine,” he insisted, though the tremor said otherwise. “But my father-”

Quinn followed Julius‘ gaze. Far ahead, Joaquin fled, his figure shrinking into the cl knit, a flicker of calculation in her eyes, sharp as glass catching what little light rema

inn’s brows

The villa behind them had become a blazing mausoleum. Walls/collapsed in sheets of concrete; secondary blasts punched through the inferno until the whole estate resembled a volcano. Why would Joaquin run back there? Did he have another exit buried in the rubble?

But chasing Joaquin now was impossible; every instinct screamed at them to pull out before the ground itself detonated beneath their feet. Survival, not pursuit, had to be the priority.

Explosions rippled underfoot more frequently, subterranean charges turning the soil into a minefield. They dodged blast after blast, yet shrapnel still sliced Julius‘ jacket; each near miss added another crimson bloom to the injuries already slowing him.

Quinn knew they couldn’t keep dancing with death much longer.

Suddenly, a glint of metal caught her eye, and hope flared like a match in gasoline–thick air.

2/3

Chapter 640 I Will Never Regret Loving You

A helicopter sat on a scorched clearing not far away, rotors motionless yet intact. If the craft was operational, it could lift them clear of the carnage in seconds.

Julius spotted it the same instant. Their eyes met–silent agreement–and they sprinted toward the machine, boots skidding over debris.

“Looks like Joaquin prepped this bird for his own getaway,” Quinn muttered, fingers already dancing over latches and panels. In less than a heartbeat, she had the access panel open, tracing fuel lines and hydraulic gauges with the speed of muscle memory.

All systems green–the aircraft was flyable.

“Captain, during withdrawal, we were ambushed. Ray disappeared with Ms. Wentworth. We’ve lost contact -last sighting put them inside the villa!”

“I hear you. Keep moving to the extraction point–I’ll locate them myself.”

“But the villa’s a furnace–you can’t get anywhere near it!”

“I’m taking the helicopter. If anyone can reach them, it’s from the air.”

Laura was still under the influence of the hypnotic drug; without a direct command, she would remain passive. Raymond’s priority would be shielding her, which meant both of them were likely trapped within the expanding blast zone.

3/3