The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Eleanor’s horrified gasp fueled something dark and protective inside me. The attacker’s eyes widened slightly, perhaps recognizing

his miscalculation. He’d assumed I was just another soft, wealthy businessman. He was wrong.

I feinted left, then drove my right fist into his solar plexus. As he doubled over, I struck his temple with precision. He staggered but recovered quickly, grabbing a crystal champagne bottle from an ice bucket. Glass shattered against my back, champagne soaking

through my shirt. The pain barely registered.

The attacker grew desperate, his movements increasingly erratic. I waited for my opening, then struck-a clean blow to his knee that produced a sickening crack. As he faltered, I seized his arm, leveraging my weight to snap the bone.

His scream of pain echoed off the wood-paneled walls as I drove him headfirst into a glass coffee table. The tempered glass didn’ shatter completely, but spiderwebbed with cracks. I held him there, pressed against the fractured surface, until his struggles ceased

and he lay still, unconscious but breathing.

Silence descended, broken only by my harsh breathing and Eleanor’s quiet sobs. The room’s destruction-shattered glass, spilled alcohol, overturned furniture-seemed a fitting metaphor for what remained of our relationship. Broken, damaged, yet somehow not

completely destroyed.

I turned back to Eleanor, who remained huddled on the sofa, clutching my jacket around her body like armor. Her eyes were huge in her pale face, pupils dilated with shock. She hadn’t moved from where I’d placed her, as if frozen in time.

Carefully, I knelt before her, ignoring the glass crunching beneath my knees and the warm blood seeping from my shoulder wound. “Eleanor.” I kept my voice gentle, so different from the cold fury I’d just unleashed. “Can you hear me?”

She nodded almost imperceptibly, her gaze unfocused. Shock.

I slowly reached out, telegraphing my movements, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She flinched slightly at first, then leaned into my touch, seeking comfort despite herself. Her skin felt clammy beneath my fingers, her pulse visible at her throat,

fluttering like a trapped bird.

“It’s over now.” I pressed my forehead against hers, our breaths mingling. “I swear to you, Eleanor. No one will hurt you again.”

She didn’t respond verbally, just closed her eyes and exhaled shakily. A single tear tracked down her cheek, and I caught it with my

thumb. The simple intimacy of the gesture struck me with unexpected force.

I slipped an arm beneath her knees and another around her back, lifting her as I stood. She weighed almost nothing, a fact that

stirred an unexpected pang of concern.

Her head naturally found the crook of my neck, her breath warm against my skin. The familiar scent of her perfume-jasmine and

vanilla-now mingled with fear-sweat and the metallic tang of blood. I held her closer, a surge of protectiveness washing over me.

The club’s security personnel and manager hovered anxiously in the doorway, eyes widening at the destruction and the unconscious

man on the floor. They’d been useless in preventing this, and my expression must have conveyed exactly what I thought of their

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Chapter 99

negligence.

“Mr. Wells- the manager began, his voice strained.

“Not now I cut him off with the practiced authority that came with the Wells name. “Arrange the most discreet exit possible. And

prepare a complete damage report-my lawyer will contact you tomorrow.”

The manager swallowed visibly. “Of course, sir. And the, um- He gestured vaguely toward the unconscious attacker.

“Call the police. I want him arrested and charged with assault, kidnapping, and attempted rape.” My voice remained steady, but

Eleanor trembled at the words. I tightened my hold reassuringly. ‘And let me be perfectly clear-if a word of this reaches the press

or circulates as gossip, I will personally ensure that everyone involved never works in Boston again.”

The manager nodded frantically, already reaching for his phone. “This way, Mr. Wells. We have a service entrance.

I followed him through the labyrinthine back corridors of the Windsor Club, away from the main areas where Boston’s elite

continued their evening, oblivious to what had transpired just rooms away. Eleanor remained silent in my arms, occasionally

shuddering with aftershocks of fear. Each time, I would pause, adjusting my hold to run my thumb soothingly across her shoulder

until the trembling subsided.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love