The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 179

Chapter 97-1

The heavy brass doors of the private elevator slide open with a long, metallic exhale, cutting through the suffocating silence of the penthouse.

My heart leaps into my throat, hammering wildly against my ribs as I take a sudden step forward, my hands instinctively clenching into fists at my sides. Beside me, Jade stands frozen, her breath caught in her chest, her eyes wide and fixed on the opening frame.

Three figures step out onto the polished hardwood floor.

They’re soaked in rain, mud caked up to their knees, the dark, unbadged tactical shirts clinging to their broad frames. The sharp, acrid scent of damp pine and smoke rolls off them in heavy waves, filling the warm air of the living room with the unmistakable smell of the wild woods.

Dad comes out first, his face drawn and pale under the dim foyer lights, a streak of black grease smeared across his jawline. Mayhem follows half a step behind, his jaw set like iron, his dark eyes instantly locking

onto Jade.

And then Locke steps into the light.

A quiet, shuddering gasp breaks from my lips. They’re whole, they’re breathing. Locke’s broad chest heaves beneath his tactical harness, sweat and rainwater slicking the dirty-blond hair at his forehead, but his gray eyes burn with a fierce, blinding intensity the second they sweep the room and land on me.

Before anyone can speak, I cross the floor in a dead sprint.

I throw myself at Locke first, my arms wrapping almost violently around his neck, burying my face in the crook of his collarbone.

He catches me effortlessly, his massive arms hauling me around my waist and pulling me up until my feet leave the floor, pinning me flush against his hard, rain-chilled body. He buries his face in my hair, his breath coming in hot, ragged rasps against my skin.

“I’m here,” Locke growls low into my ear, his large hands pressing hard against my back, holding me so tight I can barely expand my lungs. “I’m right here, baby. I told you I’d come back.”

“You’re okay,” I say softly, pulling back just enough to look at his mud-splattered jaw, checking every inch of his face, his neck, his shoulders for blood. “You’re not hurt? Tell me you’re not hurt.”

“I’m fine, Zara,” he rasps, leaning down to press a hard, frantic kiss against my mouth, tasting of salt, rain, and raw adrenaline. “Not a scratch.”

The moment my feet touch the hardwood floor, I turn straight toward my father and my brother.

I step up to Mayhem, throwing my arms tightly around his neck. My big brother – the man who spent my entire childhood keeping me safe and annoying me to death, putting himself between me and every dark thing in the world – wraps his massive arms around me in a brief, fiercely tight squeeze.

“I told you I wasn’t going anywhere, Zarabug,” Mayhem mutters low into my hair, his rough voice thick with quiet emotion before he sets me down, stepping past me to gather a tearful Jade into his arms.

Then I turn to Dad.

Chapter 924-

don’t care about the mud, the grease, or the cold rainwater soaking through his tactical gear. I collide with his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist as tightly as I can.

Dad lets out a heavy, weary breath, his massive arms folding completely around me, pulling me flush against his chest and burying his face in my hair just like he used to when I was a little girl waiting up for him.

“Dad,” I whisper, my eyes stinging with hot tears as I squeeze him tight, feeling the steady, thundering rhythm of his heart beating against my cheek. “Thank God.”

“I’m here, sweetheart,” Dad rasps. He presses a hard kiss to the crown of my head before slowly letting me go, keeping his hands resting on my shoulders for a long second as he looks down into my face. “I’m okay. We all are.”

He unbuckles his tactical harness with heavy, weary hands, letting the gear drop to the floor with a loud metallic crash. Locke steps back to my side, his arm sliding around my waist to keep me anchored against him, his large hand resting securely on my hip.

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