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Adding a new feature to every chapter so I can be more engaged with my readers: One reply to the best comment! <3

DAMON'S POV:

I tore through the mansion, my boots echoing off the marble floors as I checked every corner, every room where she might have gone to hide. But there was nothing—just the empty hallways and the sinking feeling that I was already too late.

I pushed open the door to our shared room, half expecting to see her curled up in bed, still ignoring me like she had been for days.

But the room was empty, cold, like she hadn't been there in hours.

My chest tightened. Laufy's words replayed in my head, and it felt like every step I took was another second wasted. The thought of Astrid being out there, alone, vulnerable, sent a wave of panic through me that I couldn't shake.

I grabbed my phone, dialing her number, but it went straight to voicemail. Again.

"Damn it, Astrid," I muttered, shoving the phone back into my pocket.

I needed a plan, something to go on, but all I had was Laufy's cryptic warning and my gut screaming that she was in trouble.

I turned back down the hallway, scanning every face I passed, looking for anything out of place. Finally, I spotted Laufy leaning against a wall, watching me with that same infuriating calm that always drove me insane.

"What aren't you telling me?" I demanded, storming over to him. "Where the hell is she?"

Laufy straightened, crossing his arms. "You've been so wrapped up in your own shit that you didn't even see it, did you? There's been a bounty on her head since the night you took out Delgado, the family of that traitor. Someone wants to hurt you, and they're going through her to do it."

I froze, the weight of his words sinking in. This was my fault. My past, my decisions, my damn ego had put a target on Astrid's back, and now she was paying the price.

"Who's got her?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, every ounce of rage and fear I'd been holding back threatening to spill over.

"Some local scumbags looking to make a quick payday. Somehow, they know she means something to you," Laufy said, his tone serious. "And they're not just holding her for ransom. They want to make an example."

I felt the blood drain from my face. The thought of Astrid in the hands of people who wanted to use her against me made my blood run cold. I had to get to her before they did anything worse.

"Where?" I demanded, my fists clenched at my sides. He didn't answer fast enough for my temper. "LAUFY I FUCKING ASKED YOU WHERE!" This urgency wasn't at all like me but I didn't have time for games or half-answers. I needed to find her, and I needed to do it now.

Laufy handed me a scrap of paper with an address scrawled on it. "If I'm right, they've probably got her in that old warehouse by the docks. But Damon, I can't send you backup on this mission... you know very well why." I bit my bottom lip back as I rested his hand on my shoulder. "If you go in guns blazing, they'll kill her before you even get close. I'm telling you this not as your right hand man, but as the man you called your friend." He paused, "There is too many of them— even for you. You will die if you go after her. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

A smirk curled onto my lips. "Die? If it's me or her Laufy, you already know the answer to that question." He let out a chuckle before his expression darkened and he lowered his head, as if bidding me farewell for the last time. "Boss."

For some reason that name took me by surprise. I crumpled the paper in my hand, my mind already racing with a dozen different plans, that all led to the same answer.

To kill.

"Go," he continued, "and I heard about everything from the maids. This is your fucking chance to make things right with her."

My eyes narrowed further determined. I didn't care about the risk. I didn't care about anything but getting Astrid back home safe.

"I'm not letting them touch her," I growled, turning on my heel. "And if anyone stands in my way, I'll burn the whole damn place down."

This time, Laufy didn't try to stop me as I stormed out. I could feel his eyes on my back, silently judging, silently weighing the man I'd become all for a stupid girl. But right now, none of it mattered. All that mattered was Astrid.

And nothing was going to stop me from getting her back.

Absolutely nothing.