I placed my little Flame gently on the couch and kneeled in front of her. My hands,shaking slightly from the emotions jarring in my chest right now despite my usual calm demeanour.

I lifted her chin gently and assessed the damage caused by that fucker. "Does it hurt a lot when you talk?"

"A little" Celine responded and judging by the raspy edge to her voice. That piece of shit choked her badly.

I had been extensively trained by my father in the medical department due to my lifestyle and dangerous future. Father taught me how to treat any possible injuries from bullet wounds to knife ones. I knew her vocal cords were inflamed right now. So I methodically started taking care of her.

Offering her lukewarm water to sip to ensure her trachea wasn't severely hurt, I wrapped a soft, clean cloth around a crushed ice pack. "Don't speak too much for now ok? Title your head up for me, love"I said gently before holding the cloth against her neck for 15-minute intervals to stop the swelling and deep tissue bleeding.

"I know you have a lot of questions, Little Flame," I said softly after some time, pulling out an untraceable, high-potency topical cream from my family's pharmaceutical business to speed up the healing of the soft tissue. Something I always kept with me.

Little Flame stared at me quietly while I applied the cream, her eyes searching mine."I do,"Celine whispered in a barely audible voice once I released her throat and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with reverence.

"I will answer them but for now, you need rest. You just escaped the grip of a dangerous man. Rest yourself a bit and then we will talk tomorrow?"I said calmly lifting her back in my arms, bridal style.

Celine remained quiet staring at me as if she didn't know me and I didn't like the look in her eyes. It was my fault, my instincts kicked into overdrive when I got her call and I immediately grabbed my gun and left my mansion.

My first thought was to protect her. Get her to safety. But the sight of me with the gun coupled with certainly a dark look in my eyes, I knew I looked like a ghost of the Eli she knew.

"You are hiding things from me.. Aren't you?"Celine said once we reached her room.

"I have kept things from you. Yes but you're my little Flame and I'm truly your Eli. That has never been a lie" I replied softly, heart aching at the hurt in her voice.

I placed her gently on the bed, arranging the pillows so her head was elevated and pressure was not put on her throat. I stayed by her side afterwards. Leaning against the headboard, I ran my fingers through her hair gently. "Sleep, we will speak tomorrow"

"And you will tell me the truth?" She asked in response, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"As much as I can, yes. I'll never lie to you but I can't promise you I'll be able to reveal everything to you" I whispered softly.

She remained quiet after that. And I couldn't blame her. My little Flame was strong but nearly being choked to death by a psychotic killer would overwhelm anyone. Add to that the sight of me with that gun and it's clear it was more than overwhelming to her heart today. So I remained here, gently running my fingers through her soft silky hair until she closed her eyes falling asleep.

Only once I was certain she was asleep did I walk downstairs, sitting at the couch. Silence filled the room but it wasn't a comforting one. There was a quiet terrifying fury thrumming in my veins at the knowledge that my little Flame, my heart, my everything nearly got killed by the Silver Strangler.

How did he find out this quickly? I only recently started working on him. Only my father and Landon knew about it. And other close members of the inner circle. But still it didn't make sense. Yes I knew the killer would find out eventually but not this soon. If there's one thing the guild was very strict about, it was secrecy. You couldn't take out a target if they knew you were coming and word of mouth spread easily.

How did the killer manage to make the dot between me, a hunter from a highly organised assassin guild tracking him to Celine? My mind raced with possibilities. Was it someone inside the organisation that tipped him off?

Landon was out of the question. He's had my back for years now. He was my brother. He would never betray me. But what about father? At the end of the day, the killer didn't target me. He could have. He was methodical to a fault and never got caught. He could have come after me but when he went straight after Celine.

Add to that, the recent call with mom where I was overwhelmed by everything. What if mom talked to Dad? And Landon undoubtedly reported back to mom too after our conversation. I couldn't blame him. Mom always worried a lot but this could have easily led to a confrontation between mom and dad. With the risk of me - his heir potentially thinking of leaving with Celine, could father really have tipped off the killer to go after Celine just to get rid of what he always thought was a nuisance, a distraction that was preventing me from embracing my role as his heir fully?

He knew if that happened, blinded by fury I would track the killer effectively eliminating him like the contract asked and there would be nothing in my life left holding me back from stepping to the throne one day. Father knew I loved her. For me, she was my lifeline. Without her, I had no purpose. I would only become a killing machine blinded by wrath, loss and sorrow.

Would father go that far? It wasn't above him. But still.. I was his son for God's sake. I sighed heavily, rubbing my face. It was clear I wouldn't get a whim of sleep tonight, might as well arrange everything for tomorrow.

Celine was definitely not staying here. I texted Landon quickly, updating him on everything and asking him to make Agnus my tech guy check the cameras in the parking lot of the ballet company. I then contacted my housekeeper at the safe house to ensure everything was ready for her. Tomorrow we would go there with Elysium and they would both stay there until I get my hands on that piece of shit.

I knew I had quite a lot of explaining to do to my little Flame as well but her safety and Elysium's was my priority. I also knew once we went to my safe house and she saw the walk-in closet with stacks of clothes that were exactly her size she would have even more questions and I would answer them. But not now. Not yet.

Sending myself and Landon the picture that Celine took from her phone, I stared at the face of the famous killer that's been terrorising Mexico for so long.

Dark brown hair, hazel eyes, sharp jawline and fair skin. It was startling how much he looked like a regular person who could be your neighbour.

Still, the Silver Strangler was clearly fuming right now. It was his very first failed attempt. And if there's one thing I learned over the years was that killers never liked being defeated by their prey. It made them furious. Vengeful and more murderous. And I would be damned if I let him touch a single strand on her head again.

I would find him.

Hunt him.

And ensured he regrets what he did.

That was a vow.

No one touched what was mine.