Dear Ex Wife Please take me back by The Every Woman

ATHENA

"No killing, Luca!" | give him a side glance as he drives to whatever is our destination.

"This is why | wanted you to go to the hospital! You'll just get in the way." He complains.

Hospital.

One word.

But has the power to make my heart stop.

| don't want to go there hopelessly. | can't face Alex like that. | want to go there with hope and a solution. My

only prayer is we get there on tbecause Rayen will never forgive me.

"Do you know what caused his heart attack? Could it have been induced by something or someone?" | ask with a

pounding heart.

Truth is, guilt has been eatingand a part ofis afraid that | may have been the reason behind this.

Luca shakes his head.

"No. He knew it was coming. He even prepared a will and put sof his assets in a trust." He turns to look at

me, "With you as the trustee."

"What?"

Luca doesn't repeat himself. He just keeps his eyes on the road, both hands tight on the wheel, his jaw clenched

like saying those words physically hurt him.

| know he's hurting and panicking just like | am. Maybe even more. Having made a will and put things in order

doesn't make any of us feel better, it scares the shit out of us.

"I'm the trustee?" My voice is barely above a whisper.

"You heard me."

"But... why?" | ask, completely stunned. "After everything? | don't understand."

He exhales sharply, a bitter kind of laugh slipping through. "Because Alex never stopped loving you. Not for a

second. Doesn't matter how mad or betrayed you felt, Athena. You're it for him. Always have been."

| shake my head, my thoughts spiraling.

He madethe trustee.

Me.

| hold power over things he spent his whole life building... and | don't even know a thing about running a

business.

He was telling the truth about not having usedfor the formula. | should have listened to him.

Tears sting my eyes again, but | push them back this time. I've cried enough. What Alex needs isn't my guilt. It's

action. It's strength.

And | won't let him down again.

"Why didn't you tellearlier?" | murmur after a long pause.

"Would you have believed me?" Luca glances at me. "You hated him. Hated me. You were running on pain and

anger. | had to wait until you saw the truth for

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yourself. Besides, | was mad at you too. Angry even."

| look away, biting down hard on my bottom lip.

"I don't hate him," | whisper. "I never really did."

Luca doesn't reply.

The silence between us isn't awkward. It's heavy, loaded with everything we've seen, heard, done in the past

twenty-four hours.

Eventually, | speak again.

"He didn't write a stupid order asking us not to use the formula did he?" | ask with a shiver in my voice.

Luca sighs, "Using the formula will put you in danger. So he must have done something to stop you from using

it."

"And you'll do what he wants?"

"The fuck | am." He clicks his tongue. "The fucker doesn't get to die on me. Not in a million years."

Relief floods my insides as a small smile slips past my lips.

"You're a good friend, Luca."

He chuckles, "Make sure to tell him that when he tries to kill me."

Leaning back against the headrest, | turn my head to look at him,

"So what's the plan? Where does lan's brother live?"

"Downtown. He has a private lab. He's been hiding out there ever since he realized | was sniffing around."

"How do we get in?"

Luca smirks, his eyes gleaming with mischief that borders on dangerous.

"Oh, sweetheart. We don't get in. | break in."

| frown. "And what am | supposed to do? Just stand and cheer from the sidewalk?"

"You'll cover me."

"With what? My stethoscope and a sad little ponytail?"

Luca bursts out laughing, and it's the first real laugh I've heard from him in days.

It's short-lived, though, as his expression sobers again.

"This guy isn't just greedy. He's

unstable. Violent. He's not like Alex. There's nolin Nine he won't cross. Especially with you. He has had eyes on

you for many years now. I've always wondered why, but | thought it was to just provoke Alex. Now | know better."

s

"It's the formula." | Finish the sentence for him.

"Do you regret it? Getting the formula | mean."

| shake my head. "No. | actually

didn't know what to do with it, but now I do. won't let sick bastards ruin what my parents sacrificed their hives

for! | will launch it and use it t6 save lives. Danger be damned. Let them come. I'll be ready!" s

Luca stares at me, something raw flickering in his eyes. Maybe admiration. Maybe disbelief. The man is so hard

to read.

He finally lets out a breath like he's been holding it for hours. "Then let's make

sure we get to that bastard before he sells it."

"Who do you think he wants to sell it too? Isn't Elias also looking for it?" | ask, remembering the Med center lan

launched months back.

Luca shakes his head, "I don't think

he's aware of Arnold's recent

behavior. Elias loves lan more than life itself, messing with you indirectly messes with him. t

on't think he's

that stupid." s

| digest Luca's words.

Then who is his buyer?

The road ahead stretches into the city, the streetlights growing denser, the

buildings taller.

"Does he know we're coming?" | ask, breaking the silence.

"| doubt it. He probably thinks I've given up. Or that I'm too busy to move now that

Alex is in the hospital."

"Then we catch him off guard."

Luca gives a small nod. "Exactly."

We pull into an underground parking lot beneath a run-down building. Luca kills

the engine and reaches into the backseat, pulling out a small duffel bag.

"What's in there?" | ask.

He unzips it, revealing a mess of wires, tools, and a sleek black handgun.

"Everything we need," he says, handinga small device. "Here. Earpiece. Stay

in touch while I'm inside."

"| thought | was covering you."

"You are. From outside. If anything goes wrong, you call backup."

"Luca-"

"No arguments, Athena. I'm not risking you in there."

His voice is low and firm. No room for negotiation. | grit my teeth but take the

earpiece anyway.

"Fine. But if something happens to you, I'm coming in."

"It's such a reassurance knowing you have my back, Doc." He responds with a

tone full of sarcasm.

"I'm serious!"

"I'm an army general, in case you forgot. If there is anyone you should be worried

about, it's them." He cockily clocks the gun makingroll my eyes.

His Ego is as high as the damn sky and | just stroked it.

We slip out of the car and head for the service elevator. Luca scans the walls like

he's memorizing every camera and every blind spot.

| keep my eyes sharp, as my heart pounds so loud it makes my ears ring.

We're not just fighting for Alex anymore. We're fighting for everyone this formula

could help and for the people who died protecting it.

When the elevator dings open, Luca steps inside, then turns to me.

"Stay by the loading docks. You'll have visual through the window. Keep your

head down."

"I'm not helpless, you know."

"I know," he says. "That's what scares me."

Then the doors slide shut between us.

| exhale slowly, then take my position behind a stack of crates by the dock. I fit the

earpiece in and scan the windows of the building.

Lights are dim but something unsettles me.

It was too easy and too quiet

"Luca?" | whisper.

"I'm in," he replies. "Going dark for now. I'll check in soon."

And just like that, I'm alone with nothing but shadows, the echo of footsteps

overhead... and the terrifying silence that usually comes before everything goes

to hell.

A heart beat later, my ear piece muffles before a voice comes through.

"Athena." Luca callsand the tone of his voice tellsall I need to know.

Something is wrong.

"You haven't found it have you?" | ask.

"No. But you have to see this."