i sat in the dimly lit room, my fingers trembling slightly as I clutched the warm cup of tea Aunt Lou had prepared for me. The fragrant steam curled upward, but even the soothing aroma couldn’t quiet the storm raging in my mind.No matter how tightly I wrapped myself in the comfort of my aunt’s presence, my thoughts remained restless, tangled with fear and uncertainty. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing—Leon, his jaw tight with determination, refusing to back down no matter the danger. His need to uncover the truth had set us on a treacherous path, and with Alexa hidden away for her safety, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.Sleep had been a distant dream for the past few nights. Every creak of the house, every gust of wind against the window, sent my heart racing. I knew I was being watched. Maybe not now, in this moment, but somewhere out there, someone’s eyes were on me.A soft knock at the door shattered my thoughts.Aunt Lou
The car ride was silent except for the occasional hum of the tires against the pavement. Lillian sat in the driver’s seat, her hands steady on the wheel, eyes flicking between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. Every so often, I followed her gaze, expecting to catch sight of a shadow trailing behind us.Nothing.Yet the unease in my chest refused to settle.Leon had sent one of his private drivers to pick us up outside of town, just past the tree-lined outskirts where the city lights faded into darkness. The safe house was in an undisclosed location—secluded, heavily secured, and supposedly impenetrable. But after everything that had happened, I wasn’t sure I could believe in impenetrable anymore.Aunt Lou had been hesitant to let me go, but she knew staying behind was too dangerous. Uncle George had slipped a small revolver into my bag before I left, whispering instructions in a firm voice I had never heard from him before."Use it if you have to. Don’t hesitate."Now, as the he
The cabin felt smaller now. Maybe it was the presence of this new stranger, or maybe it was the way my nerves coiled tighter with every passing second. Either way, the moment Dorian stepped inside, I felt it—the shift in the air.I gripped the revolver tighter, even as I pushed the door shut.Leon emerged from the hallway, still holding his phone, his dark eyes sharp as they flickered between me and Dorian. He didn’t look surprised. If anything, he looked… resigned."Dorian." Leon’s voice was clipped. "You took your time."The stranger—Dorian—chuckled, running a hand through his dark hair. "Traffic," he said, as if that explained everything. His green eyes met mine again, studying me with a mix of curiosity and something I couldn’t quite name.I didn’t trust him."You’re staring," I said flatly, not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice.Dorian grinned, unbothered. "Just making sure you’re as sharp as Leon said.""Flattery isn’t going to make me lower the gun."Leon exhaled, pi
The black SUV moved through the city under the cover of darkness, the tension inside as thick as the fog rolling in from the harbor. I sat in the passenger seat, my fingers drumming against my thigh, my gaze fixed on the glittering skyline ahead. Leon drove in silence, his grip tight on the wheel, while Dorian lounged in the backseat, casually checking his watch as if we weren’t about to walk into one of the most dangerous plays of our lives.“Elise Grant won’t be easy to approach,” Dorian mused, breaking the silence. “She’s got bodyguards, a strict schedule, and enough privilege to think she’s untouchable.”“That’s what makes her blind to threats,” Leon countered. “She’s never had a reason to look over her shoulder.”I exhaled slowly, my mind racing through the details of the plan. Elise would be attending a charity gala tonight, hosted at a high-end hotel owned by one of her father’s associates. It was the perfect opportunity to get close, to plant the seeds of doubt in her mind. Th
The moment Elise Grant’s fingers touched mine, I knew I had her attention. She was a woman who played in circles of power, who measured every interaction with precision. A single misstep could cost her everything.I held onto her hand for just a fraction longer than necessary, letting the weight of my words settle between us. Then, with a small, knowing smile, I withdrew, lifting my champagne flute to my lips.“Margarette,” Elise repeated, as if testing how my name felt on her tongue. “I don’t believe I’ve heard of you before.”I chuckled softly. “That’s the point, isn’t it?”Elise tilted her head, intrigued but guarded. “And what exactly do you do, Margarette?”I swirled the champagne in my glass, watching the golden bubbles rise to the surface. “I help people see things they’ve overlooked.” I lifted my eyes to hers. “Or things they’ve been kept from seeing.”Her smile didn’t waver, but something in her gaze sharpened. “That sounds dangerously close to a threat.”“Not a threat.” I to
The wind whipped through my hair as I watched Elise disappear into the night. A thrill ran through me, a mix of victory and anticipation. She had taken the bait, but we weren’t in the clear yet. Not by a long shot.Leon and Dorian flanked me, their expressions unreadable. The three of us stood in silence for a beat, the ocean waves crashing against the wooden pier below us.“She’s scared,” Dorian finally muttered, lighting a cigarette. The flame illuminated his sharp features for a moment before fading into the night. “Which is good. Fear makes people predictable.”Leon’s gaze remained fixed on the path Elise had taken. His jaw clenched, his thoughts miles ahead of us. “Fear also makes people desperate.”I turned to him. “You think she’ll run to her father?”He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he shifted his stance, slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Not immediately. She’s smart enough to know that if she tips him off too soon, she’s collateral damage.”I nodded. “The
Elise Grant was a woman born into privilege, but privilege came with its own kind of chains. She had spent her life learning how to play the game, but now she was realizing that the rules had changed—and I was the one rewriting them.I watched her disappear into the fog, but I knew she wouldn't be able to walk away from this. Not entirely. People like Elise didn’t just sit back and watch their world collapse—they fought, even when they didn’t know who the real enemy was yet.Leon let out a quiet sigh, his fingers flexing against his side. "She’s going to struggle with this."Dorian smirked. "Good. People make the best decisions when they think they don’t have any other choice."I pulled my coat tighter around me. The air was damp, the salty ocean breeze mixing with the lingering scent of gasoline from the fishing boats docked nearby. "She’s going to reach out again soon."Leon’s gaze flicked to me. "How can you be so sure?""Because she’s smart," I said simply. "And because she’s terr
Nathan Calloway had always exuded a quiet menace, the kind that made people instinctively lower their gaze and step aside. But today, he didn’t bother with subtlety. He stood in my path like a hunter savoring his victory, his dark suit crisp, his expression one of smug satisfaction.“Margarette,” he said smoothly, like we were old friends. “Going somewhere?”I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to keep my expression neutral. My heart was pounding, but I couldn’t let him see my fear.“I was just leaving,” I said, stepping sideways.He moved with me, blocking my way. Behind him, two of his men stood by the black car, watching. Waiting.“Now, now,” Nathan murmured, tilting his head. “Let’s not make this difficult. We both know how this ends.”A cold rush of adrenaline flooded my veins. I could fight. I could run. But neither would get me far.Leon’s voice came through my earpiece, low and urgent. “Margarette, I’m coming. Stall.”I swallowed. “If you know everything, why are yo
The moment we arrived at Leon’s safe house, a heavy silence settled between us. The tension in the air was suffocating, thick with unspoken fears and the weight of what we had just learned. Alexa was gone. And Elise's father—the man who had been a phantom in the shadows of our problems—had finally made his move.I paced the length of the dimly lit living room, arms crossed over my chest. My mind raced, trying to piece together the possibilities of where Alexa could be and what they might be doing to her. Dorian stood near the window, his sharp eyes scanning the darkness beyond, while Leon leaned against the wall, his jaw locked tight.“We need to move,” I said, breaking the silence. My voice came out steadier than I expected, but my hands were trembling. “Every second we waste, Alexa could be—” I cut myself off before finishing the thought. I refused to let fear paralyze me.Leon pushed off the wall, his expression unreadable. “Dorian already has our people searching the perimeter of
The city swallowed us whole the moment we stepped out of the car. Anacortes was the same—steel and stone, sharp edges and dark alleys—but I felt it in my bones. Something had changed. Or maybe it was just me.I wasn’t the same woman who had left this place behind. I wasn’t the same woman who had fallen in love in this city, built a life here, and thought she could outrun the ghosts waiting in the shadows. I had returned, but not as a victim. Not as the woman Elise’s father had once underestimated. No, this time, I was ready for war.Leon moved beside me, his presence solid, his energy coiled like a predator waiting to strike. He was on edge too. We all were.“Dorian.” Leon’s voice was low, sharp. “What do we know about Elise’s father’s movements?”Dorian’s fingers danced over his phone screen, his brow furrowing. “He’s been careful, but not careful enough. There’s been an increase in high-profile meetings in the city—business moguls, politicians, even a few well-dressed criminals. He’
The moment we stepped into the house, I could feel the tension in the air. Every shadow felt like a threat, every silence too loud. Leon locked the door behind us, and Dorian immediately pulled the curtains shut, moving with a precision that told me he’d done this before. I was no stranger to fear, but tonight, it pressed against my skin like a second layer.Elise’s father was behind this. I could feel it in my bones. And that terrified me more than anything.Leon paced near the fireplace, his face locked in a storm of controlled fury. Dorian sat at the table, his fingers moving across the keyboard of his laptop, eyes scanning for any digital trace of Alexa. I stood in the center of the room, my mind spinning with a thousand possibilities.“She’s out there somewhere,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “And we’re running out of time.”Leon exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “We need to figure out what Elise’s father wants. What’s his endgame?”Dorian didn’t look u
The moment we stepped into the safe house, the air felt different. Heavy. Charged with something unspoken but undeniable. The low hum of tension sat thick between us, each of us knowing that Alexa’s disappearance wasn’t a coincidence. It was a move—a calculated strike from Victor Langford, a man whose power was as dangerous as his reach.I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling as I reached for the envelope Leon had just read aloud. You should have stayed away. The words were scrawled in sharp, deliberate handwriting. I imagined Victor writing them with a smirk, knowing exactly what this message would do to us.Leon exhaled sharply, crushing the paper in his fist. “We need to move fast.”Dorian nodded. “I’ll put our guys on the streets. If they moved Alexa within city limits, someone saw something.”I swallowed, forcing my voice to steady. “We can’t just wait for information. We need to hit back.”Leon’s gaze snapped to mine, a flicker of something unreadable in his expression. “What a
The night felt heavier than before, the air thick with unspoken tension as we pieced together what Elise’s father’s return truly meant. My mind raced through the implications—if he had found her, it meant he wasn’t working alone. It meant he had resources, people willing to do his bidding, and most of all, it meant we weren’t prepared for what was coming.Elise hadn’t moved from her place on the couch, her fingers white-knuckling the phone. She wasn’t the same woman I had met before—there was something fragile about her now, something shattered. I understood that feeling far too well.Leon and Dorian were standing near the kitchen island, speaking in hushed voices, but I caught fragments of their conversation.“We need to move her somewhere else,” Dorian said, arms crossed. “If he got to her once, he can do it again.”Leon ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. “Moving her won’t change anything if he has the means to track her.”“Then what do you suggest? We wait for him to knock
The tension still lingered, like static in the air, even after we had ensured Elise’s safety and returned to the penthouse. The night had been long, exhausting, and I was running on nothing but adrenaline and borrowed time.Leon stood at the kitchen counter, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. The amber liquid swirled in the crystal tumbler as he took a slow sip, his eyes trained on me. He didn’t have to say anything—I could feel the weight of his gaze."You’re shaking," he murmured.I exhaled sharply, glancing down at my hands. He was right. I hadn’t even realized it.Leon set his glass down and crossed the space between us in two strides. His hands, warm and steady, caught mine, stilling them. "Come here."I let him pull me into his arms, the exhaustion catching up to me all at once. I buried my face against his chest, breathing him in—woodsy cologne, something faintly smoky, something undeniably him."You always act like you have to carry the weight of everything on your own," he m
The air in the penthouse was heavy with unspoken tension. I sat at the desk, eyes scanning through the files, absorbing the weight of what we had in our hands. The evidence was undeniable. Justin and Elise’s father had left a trail of financial crimes, bribes, and illegal dealings that could tear their empire apart. The question was—how did we move forward without tipping them off too soon?Leon stood behind me, his presence strong and reassuring. His hand was still on my shoulder, grounding me in the moment. "We need to be careful with this," he murmured.I nodded. "I know. We have to strike at the right moment."Dorian, now lounging on the couch, exhaled loudly. "I hate waiting. Feels like we should be doing something more than just sitting on this.""Patience is key," Leon countered. "If we rush, we lose the advantage."Dorian rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. I closed my laptop and stretched, the weight of the day settling deep into my bones. "I need a break."Leon caught my hand
The drive to the meeting location was tense, the air thick with anticipation. I sat in the passenger seat, my fingers gripping the leather armrest while Leon navigated through the city streets. Dorian was in the back, too casual for my liking, but that was just how he handled pressure. I wished I could be that indifferent. Instead, my mind kept cycling through every possible outcome of this meeting.Elise had made her choice. That much was clear. But whether it was out of self-preservation or something else entirely, we would soon find out."Where did she say we’re meeting?" Leon asked, his voice steady."An old train yard on the outskirts of the city," I replied, reading the address she had sent. "Secluded. Not many ways in or out."Leon didn’t like it. I could tell by the way his jaw clenched. "Sounds like a setup."Dorian chuckled from the backseat. "Sounds like someone’s being paranoid."Leon ignored him, eyes still on the road. "I don’t like unknown variables, Margarette. If she’
The next few days passed in a blur of careful planning and tense anticipation. Elise’s information had given us a direction, but we still had work to do—connections to make, leverage to gather. It should have consumed all my focus.But Leon was a distraction I couldn’t shake.No matter how much I told myself that our night together hadn’t changed anything, I felt it in the way he looked at me, in the way his fingers brushed against mine when he handed me a file, in the way his presence filled every quiet moment. He didn’t push, didn’t demand more than I could give, but the weight of everything left unsaid pressed down on me.I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or terrified.***Late one night, I found myself pacing the penthouse balcony, the cold air biting through my thin sweater. The city sprawled beneath me, glittering and endless, yet I felt trapped in my own thoughts.“You’re thinking too loud again.”I turned to see Leon stepping onto the balcony, his hands tucked into the pockets o