The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 472

Chapter 472 Moonlit Standoff

Chapter 472 Moonlit Standoff

39

+30 Free Coins

The modified cruise liner sat at the pier like a sleek beast held on a leash. Its steel hull drank in moonlight, gleaming silver along the waterline. A few yards away, Joaquin stood barefoot on the cool sand. His eyes never left the night sky.

A crescent moon hung low, stars sprinkled across the velvet dome. For a man who rarely paused, he almost admired the beauty.

He lifted his wrist and checked the time, the glow of his watch face reflecting against his narrowed eyes.

According to the plan, the team he had dispatched to seize Quinn should already be on their way back, her hands bound, her spirit broken.

Once she arrived, he would force her onto that ship, slip out of Celosia, and keep her close as leverage. With Quinn in his grasp, Julius would have no choice but to bend.

Headlights slashed across the dunes. A convoy of black sedans rolled toward him and stopped just shy of where the tide kissed the shore.

He had cleared this beach hours ago. No tourists, no fishermen, no idle wanderers–only the night, his plan, and now these uninvited engines growling in the dark.

Joaquin’s brows knit when the first car’s passenger door lamp flicked on. Sitting in the front seat, behind bullet–smudged glass, was Quinn herself. Their gazes locked through the windshield–her calm, his sharp, the air between them crackling even through layers of glass and darkness.

So my men failed.

His phone vibrated. It was an unknown number.

Inside the sedan, Quinn raised her device and gave it a small wag, almost playful.

“Brave of you to appear in front of me,” Joaquin said, his thumb grazing the pistol at his belt. “Are you really not afraid I’ll kill you on the spot?”

“I know you can kill me,” Quinn answered, voice steady as the tide, “and I can just as lawfully defend myself and kill you.”

“You?” Joaquin’s laugh was low and cruel. “You are not worthy of ending me.”

“Then who is?” she asked. “Julius?”

1/3

17:44 Sat, Oct 11 N

Chapter 472 Moonlit Standoff

Joaquin fell silent, the name striking like a hidden blade. The waves filled the pause.

39

+30 Free Coins

“Mr. Whitethorn, you have targeted me from the start. You orchestrated that fire at the gala and almost burned me alive. Why? Because you cannot bear the thought of me and Julius together, you choose murder? Have you also considered that if you succeed and I die, the man’s devotion may drag you into the grave right after me?”

“That is my business,” Joaquin snapped. “You’re just a reckless girl. Too bad you came here on your own. Do you really think a bulletproof sedan and a handful of guards can protect you?”

“Every one of these vehicles is armored,” Quinn said. “You sent men after me tonight, so I called the police. They will arrive any minute.”

“Hah, the police?” Joaquin’s grin stretched thin. “You won’t live long enough to greet them. I stationed snipers all around. Every barrel is pointed at you. How many shots can your precious glass really stop?”

He spoke as if the world still lay obedient beneath his fingertips.

“I already removed seven snipers in the area, Mr. Whitethorn. Tell me, does that match your roster?”

For the first time tonight, Joaquin’s expression cracked. How could that be?

Joaquin had wired the entire perimeter with motion beacons, sensors so sensitive a falling leaf could have tripped them. The moment any sniper was exposed, a shrill ping was supposed to vibrate against his wrist.

Yet now–silence. No warning lights, no tremor of sound. The night pressed in, mocking the fail–safe he had sworn would never fail.

“It seems I truly underestimated you,” Joaquin said. His low chuckle rolled into a booming laugh that rattled the pier. “But tell me–do you honestly think this little trick puts you in control?”

Quinn’s brow tightened, a single line cutting across her cool composure as her gaze drifted toward the docked cruise liner. From the ship’s flank, a telescoping steel barrel slid forward- an honest–to–God cannon muzzle, long, black, and hungry–locking onto the exact coordinates of her idling car.

D*mn it, Joaquin is out of his mind, audacious enough to outfit a pleasure vessel with artillery!

“Quinn, taking your life would be child’s play,” Joaquin called out, the cannon’s servo whirring in agreement. “What do you think moves faster–your car or my shell finding that pretty little

car?”

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify