The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 433

They didn't even wait for Hans to pull the trigger.

“Put the gun down.” Petty’s face had gone pale as she stared straight at Franco. “Tell your men to lower their guns. Don’t point those at Hans.”

In that heartbeat, she darted out from behind Hans, moving in front of him with arms thrown wide like a living shield.

Franco caught a flashback—Petty in the forest, risking everything to cover for him with wild gunfire. So she could protect someone else too.

“He wants to take you away from Cabinda.” Franco’s eyes were dark, stormy, full of things he wasn’t saying. “Away from me.”

His throat worked and his voice sounded rough, strained. “Is that what you want?”

The bodyguards with him shifted, on edge.

Petty didn’t know that after Franco figured out she hadn’t been kidnapped but had left on her own, he ran into the woods almost instantly. His men barely had time to react; even with their military training, they couldn’t keep up with him. He was just…gone.

They had no idea what was pushing Franco so hard. All they could do was chase after him, just close enough to see him finally stop. Through a tangle of branches, they found a group edging down a mountain pass—and right there among them was Petty.

Someone started to ask if they should cut the group off, but Franco just said, “Wait till they’re on flat ground.”

It took a few beats to realize why. The slope was steep. Someone like Petty could easily fall if anything scared her.

Franco was worried she’d get hurt.

Now, though, all he offered was a threat. “If you walk out of here with him, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”

Petty’s voice shot up, shaky but fierce. “Don’t you dare.”

She didn’t even try to deny that she was leaving Cabinda. Or that she was leaving him.

Hans gritted his teeth, glancing back.

Behind the black barrel, Franco’s eyes looked almost bottomless, cold and sharp enough to cut.

“Don’t touch her.”

A vein stood out along Hans’s temple. He met Franco’s stare, then suddenly smiled, defiant. Without a word, he brushed away Petty’s tear with the back of his gun hand, and took her hand tightly with the other.

Suddenly, guns clicked and cocked all around them.

Out of the trees moved a whole team, hidden till now. A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped into the light. As his face came into view, there was something about his features—he looked just a bit like Hans.

“Franco, that’s enough. Stop shooting at Hans.”