While My Husband Cheated I Married His Powerful Brother novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Cold to the Bone

"Lily," she said. "Come to me. Slowly."

Lily did not need to be told twice. She slipped out of the kidnapper’s slack grip and walked toward Veyra. Her legs were shaking. Her face was wet with tears.

But she was smiling.

Veyra wrapped her free arm around the little girl and pulled her close.

"You’re okay," Veyra whispered. "You’re okay. I’ve got you."

Behind her, she heard footsteps. Dorian’s voice. Li Wei’s shouts. The bodyguards swarming.

But she did not turn around.

She held Lily and pressed the pistol against the kidnapper’s head and waited.

The situation was under control.

The pistol was still pressed against the kidnapper’s head.

Veyra’s arm was shaking. The cold had seeped into her bones. Her fingers felt numb around the trigger. But she did not lower the gun. She could not. Not yet.

Then she heard Lily’s voice.

"Veyra."

The sound was small. Broken. Wet with tears.

Veyra looked down. Lily was standing beside her, her small body trembling, her face streaked with tears. The brave front had crumbled. The daughter of the Thorne family was gone. In her place was a frightened little girl who had been held at knifepoint and locked in a dog cage.

"Lily," Veyra said.

Lily’s face crumpled. A sob tore out of her chest. She rushed forward and threw herself into Veyra’s arms.

The pistol wobbled. Veyra almost dropped it. But she held on. She wrapped her free arm around Lily and pulled her close. The little girl was shaking. Her whole body was shaking.

"I’ve got you," Veyra whispered. "I’ve got you. You’re safe now."

Lily sobbed into her shoulder. Her small fingers clutched at Veyra’s wet shirt. She was crying so hard she could not speak.

Veyra held her tighter. She pressed her cheek against the top of Lily’s head and closed her eyes.

The kidnapper was still kneeling in front of her. His hands were still raised. His whole body was trembling.

But Veyra was not looking at him anymore. She was holding Lily and whispering soft, meaningless words and trying not to cry herself.

Dorian’s voice cut through the night.

"Secure him."

The words were cold. Sharp and commanding.

No one moved.

Veyra opened her eyes. The bodyguards were frozen in place. Li Wei was staring at her with his mouth open. The other guards looked like they had seen a ghost.

They had been so focused on the kidnapper, on the knife, on the countdown. None of them had noticed Veyra swimming across the lake. None of them had expected a pregnant woman in a wet dress to emerge from the darkness and put a gun to the kidnapper’s head.

"I said secure him!" Dorian’s voice was louder now. Impatient.

Li Wei snapped out of it. He gestured to the other bodyguards. Two of them rushed forward. They grabbed the kidnapper’s arms and wrenched them behind his back. He did not resist. His whole body had gone limp.

Li Wei pulled out zip ties and secured his wrists. Then he looked at Veyra. His eyes were wide with something that looked like awe.

"Mrs. Thorne," he said. "That was... I’ve never seen anything like that."

Veyra said nothing. Her arm was still shaking. She was still holding Lily. The pistol was still in her hand.

"How did you—" Li Wei shook his head. "You swam across the lake. In the dark. With a gun. While he had a knife to the young miss’s throat."

"Someone had to do something," Veyra said.

Li Wei nodded slowly. "You’re braver than anyone I know."

He turned and walked away, shouting orders at the other bodyguards. The kidnapper was being dragged toward a car. Another bodyguard was reading him his rights.

But Veyra did not move.

Her body was stiff.

She could not lower her arm. The pistol was still in her hand. Her fingers were locked around the grip. Her muscles had frozen.

She tried to move. Nothing happened. She tried to lower the gun. Her arm would not obey.

Lily was still crying against her shoulder. The little girl’s tears were warm on Veyra’s cold skin.

Footsteps approached. Slow.

Dorian.

He stopped in front of her. His gray eyes moved from her face to the pistol in her hand and back again.

"You can put the gun down now," he said.

"I know."

"Then put it down."

"I can’t."

He looked at her for a moment. Then he reached out. His hands closed around hers. They were warm. So warm.

He pried her fingers open. One by one. Her thumb. Her index finger. Her middle finger. Her ring finger. Her pinky.

The pistol came loose. He took it from her. He checked the safety. He tucked it into his waistband.

Then he looked at her again.

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