Chapter 23 Basia
BASIA
I’m sitting on my bed, my phone clutched in my hand. I’ve been trying to call my dad, my mom, and I even tried our housekeeper. No one is answering.
According to Matty, it’s been over an hour since Caleb left to get Mom back, and she doesn’t know where or how he plans to do that. All I can do is wait, a ball of nerves, now sober like a judge.
I wish I hadn’t woken up. If I had just slept through the night, I’d wake up to my mom being safe and Caleb telling me my stalker’s been arrested. I believe in him so much, there’s no alternative. But still, I can’t help worrying.
Suddenly, I hear a tapping sound coming from the living room. It’s not Poe, because he’s here with me, but maybe it’s still something harmless—a bird, a branch, the wind.
Still, I call out: “Matty? Is everything okay?”
My heart’s pounding so hard I swear it’s shaking the mattress.
There’s no reply. And I don’t have a choice.
I creep out of my bedroom, barefoot and trembling. That’s when I hear the thud. A heavy one. Muffled. Followed by a sound that freezes my blood—a woman screaming.
“Matty?” I whisper, moving faster. The hallway stretches too long, my body buzzing with adrenaline.
I round the corner into the living room just as something crashes into the wall.
Matty Wheeler is on the floor, and there’s blood everywhere. She’s crumpled near the entryway, one hand clutching her side, the other slick with red as she tries—and fails—to push herself up. Her eyes find mine, wide and terrified.
“Basia! Run—”
A hand clamps around my arm, and I let out a horror-movie-worthy shriek.
The person holding me yanks me backward so hard my shoulder screams in protest. I twist, flailing, nails scraping uselessly against a jacket that smells like oil and cold air and an unwashed body.
“You’re louder than your mother,” he snarls in my ear.
My vision tunnels as I turn my head to look up at him. The stalker.
He’s thinner than I imagined. Hollowed out, eyes too bright, too focused, like he’s been living on rage and caffeine alone. His grip is iron, fingers digging into my bicep as he drags me toward the balcony.
“I hoped to take my time with you,” he continues, breath hot against my cheek. “But this’ll do.”
“Let go of me!” I scream, slamming my elbow back.
He grunts but doesn’t release me. Instead, he laughs—a broken, cracked sound that sends goosebumps racing down my arms.
“Do you know how hard it was,” he says, “waiting for him to leave?”
The balcony door is open, cold air rushing in. Is this how he got in?
“He’ll reach your mother just in time for the timer to run out.”
My blood freezes. Is he talking about a bomb?
“Your father shouldn’t have dismissed the investigations into the prophets,” he sneers, his fetid breath making me nauseous. “Now he’s going to learn suffering. And your bodyguard?”
He shoves me forward, and the railing slams into my ribs. Below us, the city yawns open—concrete and lights and distance. I scream again.
He presses in behind me, chest to my back, one arm wrapping around my throat.
“He got between us,” the stalker whispers. “But he’s going to lose now. Just like your father.”
A gasp gets stuck in my throat. No. It can’t end like this. Not when I just started exploring this thing between Caleb and me. Not when I can finally admit to myself that I’m in love with him.
I need to get away from this asshole. I need to help Matty, then warn Caleb. And I need to do it now.
I kick backward with everything I have, and my heel connects with his shin. He hisses, grip loosening just enough for me to twist. Hard.
My elbow slams into his jaw, pain exploding up my arm, but he stumbles.
That’s all I need.
I grab the railing, plant my feet, and shove.
He wasn’t expecting resistance. He expected me to be weak, frozen with fear. A spoiled princess.
His weight shifts wrong, and his foot catches on the threshold. His eyes widen—not with fear, but surprise.
“No—”
I push again. This time, with everything I have.
He goes over the railing, hands scrabbling for purchase that isn’t there. For a heartbeat, our eyes lock… then he’s gone.
The sound of his body hitting the concrete below is sickening, and my stomach twists. I gag, my hands on my thighs as I pant. I collapse to my knees, lungs burning, hands shaking so hard I can barely hold myself upright.
“Basia!”
Caleb’s voice cuts through the chaos like a lifeline.
I look up just as he bursts through the front door, gun raised, eyes wild.
He takes in the scene in seconds—Matty on the floor, blood everywhere, the open balcony door, me shaking on the tiles.
Then he’s with me, his hands on my face. Solid. Real.
“Are you hurt?” he demands, scanning me for injuries that aren’t there.
“I—I pushed him,” I choke out. “He—he tried to—”
Caleb pulls me into his chest, crushing me against him.
“You did exactly right,” he murmurs fiercely. “You’re safe. You’re alive.”
Sirens wail in the distance. Below us, people are screaming.
I cling to Caleb, shaking, the reality of it crashing over me in waves.
I didn’t freeze.
I didn’t break.
I survived.
And when I finally look up at Caleb, really look at him, I see something new in his eyes.
Not just protectiveness.
Respect.
“M—my mom?” I stutter, praying he’s not about to send my world tumbling down just like my stalker tumbled to the ground below. “I—I think he said there’s a bomb!”
“Safe,” he answers instantly. A muscle twitches in his jaw. “Killian got there before I did. I was too fucking late to be useful here and there.”
“Don’t say that,” I rush out, hugging him tighter. “You gave me the confidence to protect myself.”
“Christ, Basia,” he murmurs into my hair. “My beautiful, fierce warrior.”
I pull back so I can look up at him, tears in my eyes.
“I love you, Caleb,” I admit, my lower lip trembling with my emotions. “I don’t want to wake up without you by my side again.”
“Darling,” he breathes, his lips connecting with mine. “Love isn’t a strong enough word for what you make me feel. I’m obsessed.”
Just as I melt into his kiss, I’m startled by boots pounding on the floor. Damien runs in, medical bag in hand, followed by a frantic Teddy Coleman.
“Shit!” I hiss, trying to get up, but feeling like a doe on ice. “How’s Matty? There was so much blood, and—”
“Shh,” Caleb soothes. “Damien’s gonna take care of her. She’s conscious and putting pressure on the wound.”
“Let me have a look,” I hear Damien say. Then, “Looks like it didn’t nick anything vital.”
“Guys!” Ethan yells, skidding to a stop just in the doorway. When he sees the mess of blood and broken items, Matty wounded on the ground, he gives a low whistle. “I, uh, have the governor on the phone for Basia.”
I hurry forward, taking it out of his hands and pressing it to my ear with shaking fingers.
“Daddy?” I whisper, fresh tears flowing down my cheeks.
“Basia! Thank goodness you’re alright!”
I’m sobbing as he explains how he and Mom went to dinner, and she was taken from the bathroom.
“If it wasn’t for Ward and his men, we’d have lost Katarzyna,” he sighs.
“Yeah,” I agree with a small, relieved giggle, looking at my man. “He’s pretty darned awesome, isn’t he?”
When I catch Caleb’s eye, I blow him a kiss.
Ethan gags.