Samantha’s POV — Waking Up
The world came back in pieces.
Cold stone beneath me.
Flickering torchlight.
A metallic taste in my mouth.
A pounding ache behind my eyes.
I tried to move, but my arms wouldn’t budge.
My wrists were chained above me — not painfully, but tight enough to keep me in place.
My legs were free, but the room spun when I shifted.
Warm blood trickled down the side of my face from a cut near my temple.
Not deep.
Not dangerous.
But enough to blur my vision.
Three masked figures stood nearby — silent, watching.
And in front of me stood the man behind everything.
Elias Thorne.
Tall. Calm. Eyes too bright.
A ceremonial staff rested in his hand — heavy, carved, symbolic.
“You bleed,” he said softly. “The heart always bleeds.”
I glared. “You’re delusional.”
He smiled. “No. I’m chosen.”
Before I could respond—
A distant crash echoed through the corridor.
Then shouting.
Then footsteps.
Fast.
Determined.
Familiar.
Voight.
The chamber doors exploded open.
Voight came in first — bruised, bleeding, furious.
Ruzek and Atwater followed, both limping but ready.
Kim Burgess held her bleeding arm tight but still raised her weapon.
Alejandro and Mateo stormed in behind them, scraped and exhausted but unbroken.
Her parents stayed close behind, shaken but refusing to leave.
Elias’s followers stepped forward:
Jonas — tall, broad‑shouldered, carrying a metal rod.
Marek — wiry, fast, holding a chain.
Silas — quiet, masked, moving like he’d done this before.
Voight didn’t slow.
“SAMANTHA!”
She lifted her head weakly. “Voight…”
He froze when he saw the blood on her face.
Something inside him snapped — not rage, not panic, but a fierce, protective instinct he didn’t understand yet.
“Get her down,” he ordered.
Elias raised a hand. “She stays.”
Voight stepped forward. “Not a chance.”
Jonas charged first.
Atwater intercepted him, blocking the metal rod with his forearm and shoving Jonas back with a controlled takedown.
Marek swung the chain at Ruzek, who ducked and countered with a shoulder strike that sent Marek stumbling.
Kim, despite her bleeding arm, tackled Silas to the ground and pinned him with her knee.
Alejandro grabbed a fallen torch stand and swung it like a staff, knocking another follower off balance.
Mateo shielded their parents, pushing them behind a stone pillar.
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Dust.
Shouts.
Footsteps pounding.
Bodies colliding.
Everyone was hurt.
Everyone was tired.
But no one backed down.
Voight pushed through the fight, heading straight for Samantha.
Elias stepped in his path.
“You can’t protect her forever,” Elias said.
Voight’s voice dropped. “Watch me.”
Voight reached her.
His hands shook — not from fear, but from adrenaline — as he worked the chain loose.
“You hurt?” he asked, voice low.
“Head hurts,” she whispered. “But I’m fine.”
He didn’t believe her.
He freed her wrists and caught her as she stumbled.
“You’re safe,” he said. “I’ve got you.”
But Elias wasn’t done.
Elias grabbed his ceremonial staff.
He swung.
Voight blocked with his arm, grunting as the impact rattled through him.
He shoved Samantha behind him.
“Stay back.”
Elias swung again — a wide arc meant to knock Voight off balance.
Voight ducked, grabbed the staff mid‑swing, and twisted.
Elias countered with a knee to Voight’s side — not graphic, but enough to stagger him.
Voight stumbled.
Elias advanced.
“You’re slowing down,” Elias taunted.
Voight lunged, grabbing Elias by the collar and slamming him into a pillar — controlled, non‑graphic.
Elias shoved him off and swung again.
The staff grazed Voight’s shoulder, tearing his shirt.
Voight winced but didn’t stop.
He grabbed Elias’s wrist, twisted, and sent the staff clattering across the floor.
Elias dove for it—
But Samantha moved first.
She grabbed the staff and swung it like a bat — not to injure, but to knock Elias off balance.
The staff hit Elias’s arm with a loud crack.
He stumbled forward, losing his footing.
Voight rolled away and got to his feet.
He stared at Samantha — blood on her face, staff in her hands — and something in his expression softened.
“You saved me,” he said quietly.
She smirked. “We’re even.”
Ruzek cuffed Jonas.
Atwater pinned Marek.
Kim secured Silas despite her injury.
Alejandro and Mateo helped their parents to safety.
Voight grabbed Elias by the collar and shoved him against the wall — controlled, final.
“You’re done,” Voight said.
Elias didn’t fight.
He just smiled. “The heart always finds its protector.”
Voight didn’t respond.
He just tightened the cuffs.
YOU ARE READING
The New Detective
Mystery / ThrillerA new detective joins intelligence and she isn't what anyone expected will she collide with Voight or will something more happen
