Chapter 106

Kai POV

The hotel security dragged the last photographer out of the hallway, their protests fading as the elevator doors closed. I slammed Nova’s door and locked every deadbolt, my hands shaking with barely controlled rage.

“They’re gone,” I said, my voice rough.

Nova stood frozen where I’d left her, her back against the wall, her chest rising and falling with sharp breaths. Her hair was wild from my hands, her lips swollen from our kiss, and she looked at me like I was both her salvation and her destruction.

Maybe I was both.

“This is insane,” she whispered. “They found us. They actually found us.”

“I’ll handle it. I’ll have my lawyers—”

“Your lawyers can’t fix this!” Her voice cracked. “Don’t you see? Every time we’re together, it gets worse. Every moment we steal just gives him more ammunition.”

“So what do you want me to do? Walk away? Let him win?”

“I want you to—” She stopped, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “