Tyler's POV
I stood frozen, right in front of Anne.
She was lying there on the floor—unmoving. Strips of her red hair clung to her face, streaked with sweat and smeared blood. Her body was bruised in places I couldn't bear to look at. I didn't know if they had beaten her or if the child inside her was still kicking. I could only hope. Hope that they were both still breathing. Still alive.
My hands trembled as I stared at her, my world tilting.
Alexander stepped in front of me, cool and calm as ever. I reached into my jacket and pulled out the chip, encased in the heavy lead-lined sieve that could scramble any signal, strong enough to make even HanTech's best trackers go blind.
I held it out to him, the weight of it nothing compared to what it had cost me.
He took it from me without hesitation, his fingers brushing mine.
"I see you're a man of your word, Tyler Lockwood," he said smoothly. "Thank you, very much."
