The bedroom door swung open.
Jackson stood at the door, his expression carved into something colder than she had ever seen before.
A gun was clenched in his hand.
Before the intruder could even register what was happening, Jackson raised the weapon and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot exploded through the room like a clap of thunder, deafening in the enclosed space.
The man’s body jerked violently from the impact.
A fraction of a second passed.
Then he collapsed backward, the gun slipping from his hand and hitting the floor uselessly beside him.
Mariam didn’t move.
Her eyes remained fixed on the scene, her mind unable to process what had just happened.
Her ears rang from the gunshot, drowning out everything else.
The man lay motionless.
Blood pooled slowly beneath him, spreading across the floor in dark, widening patterns.
Jackson didn’t lower the gun right away.
He remained where he was for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the room as if confirming there were no other threats.
He wasn’t taking any chances.
Only after satisfying himself that there were no other threats did he finally stepped forward.
His dark brown eyes met her trembling green ones.
Shock was written all over her face and she was holding her breath, saving every last bit of air for what she believed might be her final moments.
“I…” she tried to speak, but no sound properly came out.
She had believed Jackson wanted to kill her because she had tried to escape recently.
But she had never expected such an unexpected turn of events—he turned out to be her savior.
Jackson crossed the distance quickly, holstering his weapon in a single smooth motion.
He stood in front of her, his gaze dropping to her throat.
There were clear marks on her neck.
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
“Stay still.”
His voice wasn’t harsh but there was no room left for argument.
Mariam tried to obey, but her body betrayed her.
Her chest rose unevenly, her breathing still shallow.
His movements were bizarrely gentle.
“Did he hurt you anywhere else?” he asked.
“He…He was trying to suffocate me to death…I thought…” she paused, swallowing hard.
“I thought I was going to die.”
Jackson didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, his eyes shifted briefly to the body on the floor, then back to her.
“You’re not.”
If it had been possible, he would have dragged that man back from the dead just to torture him all over again.
But in that moment, there had been no time for such thoughts.
The man had been only a heartbeat away from taking her life and Jackson had been forced to act immediately.
Still trembling like a leaf in the wind, Mariam asked in a shaky voice, “Is he dead?”
“Yes,” he replied flatly as if it was not a big deal.
She tried to steady herself.
“Who is he?”
Jackson frowned as he stared down at the body, his brows drawing together in apparent confusion.
There was no flicker of recognition in his eyes, no sign that he knew who the man was.
Mariam watched him carefully, and from his expression alone, she could tell he was being genuine.
Jackson truly had no idea who the intruder was.
“He said something…He said the Doyle family offended someone powerful,” she continued.
“If he’s not your man… then who sent him?”
Jackson gave a vague answer.
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
The vein near his forehead was visibly throbbing.
Someone had infiltrated property, bypassing guards, security cameras and patrol routes without being detected even when he had increased the security after Mariam’s escape attempt.
Worse still, that person had managed to walk straight into her bedroom and come within seconds of killing her.
The thought alone was enough to make his blood boil.
Jackson’s gaze shifted toward the large window.
The curtains fluttered from the cold wind still entering through the opening.
The bastard must have entered through the window.
He had to do something about the damned window!
“How did you find me…?” Mariam asked.
“I heard you screaming.” Jackson had heard Mariam’s terrified scream and immediately knew something was wrong.
He rushed over as fast as he could.
Anticipating the worst, he had brought, prepared to face the worst-case scenario.
If he had been even a second too late…
He didn’t dare let his mind wander any further down that path.
Before Mariam could ask more questions, Jackson pulled out his phone.
The call connected immediately.
“Boss?” Sheikh’s voice answered.
“What exactly do I pay you for?”
Sheikh thought that his boss had finally realized just how overworked and underpaid he was.
For a glorious moment, he wondered if a pay raise was coming his way.
He said with complete sincerity, “You pay me because I work diligently by your side.”
“You work diligently?” Jackson repeated dangerously.
“Someone infiltrated the property, entered Mariam’s room, and almost killed her.”
Only then did Sheikh realize just how furious his boss was.
The coldness in his voice make him wonder whether he was about to be blasted by a bazooka next.
“What?” he said quickly.
“Nothing suspicious showed up on the surveillance system, and I even increased security. Something like this should never have happened…”
“I want every second of the camera footage reviewed,” Jackson ordered.
“Yes, boss.”
“Every guard questioned.”
“Yes.”
“Every weakness in the perimeter fixed.”
“Yes…”
“If this happens again, I’ll kill you before I kill the assassin!”
Sheikh involuntarily shivered.
“Understood…”
“Now get your ass here and clean this mess!” Jackson thundered before hanging up.