The Billionaire Jock's Game of Love (Taylor and Aiden) novel Chapter 129

Taylor POV

My phone, face down on the kitchen counter, became a live thing, buzzing and shuddering like it was trying to crawl away. The sound was a physical invasion, scratching at the raw edges of my nerves.

Aiden’s phone lit up a second later, a cold blue flash in the dim morning light. He didn’t even look at it. His gaze was locked on me, his expression hardening into something impenetrable. The calm from earlier was gone, burned away by a sudden, focused intensity.

“Don’t touch it,” he said, his voice a low command.

But I already knew. The air in the room had changed, thickening with a sickening dread. I could feel it in the hollow pit of my stomach. Dylan’s move.

“Aiden…”

“Get your bag. The small one. Now.” He was already moving, snatching up his keys and a plain black cap from a hook. “We’re leaving.”

“Leaving? I can’t just run- “

“We’re not running.” He stopped in front of me, his hands coming down on my shoulders, heavy and grounding. “We’re stepping out of the line of fire. Right now, this apartment is a target. You are a target. I’m getting you somewhere quiet. Somewhere safe.”

His eyes were dark, unreadable, but the pressure of his fingers told me everything. This wasn’t a debate.

“My family-”

“Are not the ones being torn apart online right now.” The words were blunt, almost cruel in their truth. “I need you focused. I need you with me. Not scattered, trying to put out fires from every direction.” His thumb brushed my collarbone, a fleeting, softer touch. “Please, Taylor. Trust me.”

Trust me. After everything. After Ruby, after the trap, after the world thinking the worst. I looked at him, at the stark lines of worry around his mouth, and the fight drained out of me, replaced by a cold, weary understanding. He was right. I was a liability here.

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