Chapter 10 – Adrian
I wake with a jolt.
My neck aches from the awkward angle I slept in, and the weight of the gun across my lap reminds me why I stayed here in the first place. I sit up, eyes instantly locking on her.
Jennie.
She’s standing in front of the dresser, motionless, like she’s carved from stone. Her face is pale. Haunted. Her fingers are clutched tight around something—a piece of paper. My pulse spikes.
I’m on my feet in two strides.
“Jennie.”
She doesn’t even flinch when I call her name. That’s when I know something is wrong. Deeply wrong.
I reach for her, taking the note from her trembling hand. Her eyes don’t leave the mirror as I unfold it. One sentence. That’s all it takes to spike fire into my blood.
Your husband can’t protect you forever.
I stare at the words, my jaw tightening.
This house is locked down tighter than a military compound. Guards at every post. Doors reinforced. Cameras covering every hallway and entrance. No one should’ve been able to get this close. No one.
But someone did.
“Who the fuck got in here?” I mutter under my breath, more to myself than her.
Jennie turns, then, finally, her voice quiet but shaky. “It was right there on the dresser when I woke up.”
She points to the spot like it might still burn her.
I move fast. I check the windows—locked. No sign of forced entry. The room’s untouched. No disturbance in the dust on the sill. I yank open the bedroom door and look down the hall. Two guards stand stationed at the far end, straight-backed and alert.
One of them is getting fired today. Maybe both.
I storm back inside and slam the door shut. Jennie jumps, and I hate that I scared her—but my fury is wildfire now, licking at every edge of my control.
She’s not safe.
Even here. Even with me.
And that thought cuts deeper than it should.
“Did you hear or see anything?” I ask, trying to steady my voice.
She shakes her head. “Nothing. I—I just woke up, and it was there.”
My fist curls tight around the note.
Whoever left this…they knew where to find her. They wanted her afraid. They wanted me furious. They succeeded.
I toss the note onto the bedside table and grip her shoulders. “You tell me the second anything feels wrong. The second, Jennie. Do you understand?”
She nods, stiff beneath my hands.
I can see the question in her eyes—Am I truly safe with you?
And for the first time in a long time, I don’t know how to answer that.
Not because I can’t protect her. But because now…someone else is playing this game. And they just made their opening move.
“I have to go,” I tell her, my voice low but clipped. I’m trying to stay calm, but my blood’s already boiling. Someone was in this house. Someone left a threat for my wife. “I need to find out who did this.”
Jennie’s frozen by the dresser, her bare feet planted on the rug. “They’re going to kill me,” she whispers, her voice hollow.
My gut clenches.
“They’re going to kill me,” she repeats, louder now, her eyes glassy and unfocused.
“Jennie—”
“They’re going to kill me.”
She says it again and again, her voice rising in volume and panic, like she’s falling into a spiral.
“Jennie.”
She doesn’t even hear me.
“They’re going to kill me—”
“Jennie.”
Still nothing.
“Jennie!”
I lunge forward and grab her shoulders, shaking her once—firm enough to snap her out of it, but not to hurt her. Her breath catches. Her eyes blink rapidly, locking on mine like she’s surfacing from underwater.
“Look at me,” I growl, holding her still. “No one is going to touch you. Do you hear me? No one.”
She’s shaking. Her body is cold, and all I want to do is wrap her in something warm and lock the world outside. But I can’t—not yet.
“I need you to breathe. Just breathe, Jennie. You’re safe with me.”
Her lip trembles. She nods once. Barely.
“I will find who left that note. I’ll make sure they never even breathe in your direction again.”
She still doesn’t speak.
“Trust me,” I say, softer now. “Just a little. Enough to believe I’d rip apart anyone who threatens you. I need you to trust me, Jennie. No one will hurt you.”
She begins to cry, her shoulders shaking. Her hands cover her face for a moment, but then she looks up at me, eyes red, voice rising.
“If not me, then it’ll be Logan! Something will happen to him—I know it! You promised me, Adrian! You promised to keep him safe!”
My jaw clenches hard enough to crack. I lift her chin so she’s forced to look at me.
“I did promise,” I say, voice like gravel. “And I don’t break my word.”
She glares at me through tears. “Then do something!”
“I am doing everything,” I snap, then pull back just slightly and lower my tone. “Anyone who even thinks of getting close to him will be dead before they blink. Just because of you. I’ll gut them with my bare hands. That’s a promise too.”
She’s breathing hard, but listening.
“You want to know what you need to do?” I continue. “You need to breathe. Stay inside. Trust me. Have a little fucking faith in me, Jennie.”
Her lips part, trembling. “Why should I?”
I stare at her, the heat behind my ribs burning up into my throat. “Because I’ve been keeping you safe a long time. Long before I put that ring on your finger.”
Her brows draw together slowly. “What…what does that mean?”
I sit down on the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight, and gently pull her with me. She doesn’t resist. Her body is warm against my side, small and tense, but she doesn’t flinch or pull away. That alone almost undoes me.
My arm stays around her, holding her close. I let the silence breathe for a moment before I speak.
“I saw you once,” I say quietly. “At a party Zoe organized. It was about a year ago.”
She doesn’t say anything, but I feel her body stiffen slightly, like she remembers.
“You were wearing a red dress. Laughing at something Zoe said. I was standing across the room, and for a second…everything else faded.”
I glance down at her, her profile turned toward the floor, jaw tight.
“I wanted you. Right then. Right there.”
She finally turns to look at me, eyes flashing with something unreadable.
“But I couldn’t justify it,” I continue. “You were too good. Too soft for a world like mine. You didn’t belong anywhere near the filth I’m in.”
I pause. My voice turns harder, quieter.
“So I stayed away. But I didn’t stay blind. I had eyes on you. Always. Guards. Protection. You were watched. You were safe. Even when you didn’t know it.”
Her breath hitches. She looks at me now like she doesn’t know whether to slap me or run.
“That’s stalking,” she says flatly.
I lean in, my jaw tight. “You can call it whatever the fuck you want, Jennie. I call it protection. You were mine the moment I saw you, whether you knew it or not. I don’t care how it sounds. I kept you safe. That’s what mattered.”
Her lips part, but nothing comes out.
I don’t break my stare. “Say what you want. Hate me if it helps. But don’t question that I’ve been watching over you. Always. And I won’t stop.”
She looks away then, and I feel it again—that ache in my chest I don’t know what to do with.
Suddenly, she leans forward, and her lips brush mine—soft, hesitant—but it’s enough. Enough to undo something inside me.
I freeze, stunned for half a second. Then something in me snarls loose. I growl low in my throat and grab her waist, dragging her closer like she belongs there. Like she always has.
My mouth crashes into hers with a desperation I don’t bother to hide. The kiss is rougher now—hot, deep, possessive. I’m pouring everything I’ve been holding back into this. The frustration. The obsession. The way she’s tangled in my bloodstream and refuses to leave.
To my surprise, she doesn’t push me away. She kisses me back. Her hands grip my shirt, her fingers twisting in the fabric like she needs me to stay right there. And I do. God, I do.
But just as quickly as it begins, she pulls away.
Breathing hard. Eyes wide. Her lips red and trembling.
I don’t touch her. I don’t chase her mouth again. I just watch her, swallowing the urge to press forward. To take more.
“Don’t offer yourself to me if you’re not ready,” I say, my voice a low, strained growl. “I won’t ever take what isn’t freely given. No matter how much I want to.”
She doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t move.
Just stares at me with this conflicted look—equal parts confusion, fear, and something else I can’t name.
I take a breath, steadying myself.
“You will be ready,” I add, softer this time. “Soon. Before you even realize it.”
I turn toward the door, my body still tight with restraint. I glance back once, taking in the sight of her—barefoot, wide-eyed, a little shaken, but still standing. Still mine.
“Stay inside,” I tell her. “No more wandering. The guards are doubling. No one’s getting near you. Not while I’m breathing.”
Then I step out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind me with a quiet finality.
And for a second, I have to lean against the wall.
Because all I want to do is go back in.
And claim her completely.