14. Isaac
ISAAC
I caught Nico's scent before the first knock landed against the cabin door. I took a deep breath, catching fresh pine, coffee, and the citrus soap he loved using.
My wolf lifted its head immediately. Nico.
"I know," I muttered under my breath as I shoved my keys into my jacket pocket.
Logan had already left for the film set almost twenty minutes ago, which meant I was running late. The second knock came harder, followed by the bell. Boy, was he impatient today.
My mouth twitched despite myself, then my almost-smile disappeared when it dawned on me how angry he must be. Nico had every right to that anger too.
I stood there for a second, staring at the door instead of opening it. We needed to talk, not just in passing or through clipped conversations and text messages. Actually talk.
Ever since I'd told him he couldn't return to the film set, there had been a wall between us that hadn't existed before. I'd built it one brick at a time, convincing myself I was protecting him.
That had been the excuse. However, the truth was harder to admit. I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that Nico had become very important to me in such a short span of time.
For years, my entire world had revolved around one thing. My job was to protect Logan, and everything else came second. Every decision, risk, and sacrifice I'd made had been for my little brother.
Then Nico crashed into my life with his terrible jokes, endless curiosity, ridiculous optimism, and a smile that somehow reached places inside me I'd forgotten existed.
Somewhere along the way, protecting Logan had stopped being the only instinct driving me.
Now there was Nico, and that terrified me. It didn’t help that the people I cared about, always seemed to end up in danger. The bell rang again, longer this time, pulling me away from my thoughts.
"Isaac!" Nico yelled through the door. "I know you're in there!"
My wolf let out an annoyed huff. I sighed, reminding him I intended to open it anyway.
“Yeah, I heard you,” I grumbled.
I drew a slow breath before unlocking the door. Nico stood on the porch with his arms folded tightly across his chest. His curls were still slightly damp, like he'd showered in a hurry.
There were faint shadows beneath his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't been sleeping much. A sharp stab of guilt twisted through me.
"Morning," I said, trying to go for casual but failing badly.
His eyebrows lifted. "Morning?"
“Yeah, morning.”
"That's all you have to say?” Nico demanded.
"What do you need?" I finally asked, keeping my voice as neutral as I could.
His frown deepened. For a heartbeat I thought he might turn around and leave. Instead, he reached into the messenger bag slung over his shoulder.
"I found something."
My attention sharpened instantly.
"It's about the stalker," Nico added.
Every trace of awkwardness disappeared. Thankfully, I could still put my personal feelings aside when it came to work. "What did you find?"
"I'll show you."
I stepped aside. “We can talk inside."
He shook his head almost immediately. “There’s no need for that.”
I blinked.
"You've got somewhere to be,” Nico said.
"I can spare five minutes."
"You can’t." His eyes flicked toward the driveway. “I know Logan already went ahead."
That stopped me. "How do you know that?” The moment that question left my mouth, I realized how stupid it sounded.
He gave me a look. "I pay attention."
Of course he did, and I wasn't sure why that surprised me. Nico noticed everything, even the tiny details everyone else overlooked. It was one of the reasons he was so good at digging through information.
I locked the cabin behind me, and we walked toward my truck together.
Silence settled between us. It wasn't comfortable, exactly, but at least it wasn't hostile. Still, neither of us seemed to know how to bridge the distance I'd created.
Once we reached the truck, Nico pulled several printed photographs from his bag.
"I checked in with Vic.”
I leaned against the driver's door, trying to appear casual.
"What'd he say?” I asked.
Nico handed me the first one and walked me through what he'd discovered. When he mentioned that security had let the guy go, I furrowed my brows.
"They escorted him out, and that’s it?” I demanded.
"They gave him a warning."
I stared at him. “That’s not enough.”
"They didn't think he was dangerous.”
I wanted to hunt down those security guys and knock their heads together.
Nico sighed. “I know how you feel. Anyway, one of the security guys mentioned this trespasser might've been wearing a green shirt. He wasn't sure,” Nico said, clearly unhappy.
Then Nico handed me several more pages. "I found something else."
They were photographs from various filming days. They were photographs from various filming days. Crowd shots, people waiting outside the barricades, extras milling around the set.
More importantly, Nico had included photos of fans. At first glance, they looked random. Then I noticed the same man circled repeatedly.
Every photograph came from a different day, but it was the same man, just wearing different clothes.
Always watching, I thought with a chill. My heartbeat slowed into the calm rhythm that came whenever danger became real.
"The same guy."
Nico nodded. "I think so."
I studied the pictures, more carefully this time around. His face was partially hidden in some, turned away in others.
Often times, he wore a hat, sunglasses, different hoodies and it struck me they were all Shadowfall merchandise. My eyes narrowed as I caught one distinct detail.
"The necklace,” I found myself saying.
The gold chain was thick, and the entire thing was large enough to look almost ridiculous. The same necklace rested against the man's chest in every single photograph.
No matter what he wore, the necklace never changed. Nico's brows furrowed.
Despite the situation, I couldn't resist taking a deeper breath, filling my senses with his comforting scent. Nico gave me an amused look, as if he knew exactly what I was doing. I cleared my throat.
“That’s extremely limited edition merchandise, as in they only made five of those,” Nico finally said.
I went through the stack again, just to make sure we weren't jumping to conclusions. The second look confirmed our suspicions.
“Nico, good work.” I couldn't keep the praise out of my voice.
Nico flushed. He looked so adorable and I was so very tempted to lean forward. Steal a kiss from those tempting lips and…no. I forced myself to remain calm.
"When did you put all this together?” I asked.
“Yesterday.”
“Did you even sleep?” I asked.
He shrugged. "I wanted to help."
Another twist of guilt. Here I was thinking Nico did all this just so he could return to the set, but in reality, all Nico wanted to do was to protect Logan, to protect us.
I should've remembered that, but instead I'd pushed him away. While we talked, I noticed his gaze drift toward my truck.
Once, twice, then a third time. Nico bit his lower lip, and I knew what he wanted to ask. He was still hoping I'd change my mind about keeping him away from the set.
I could tell him that it was fine for him to come back. Yet, every instinct inside me screamed no, not while whoever did this remained unidentified.
My wolf whined softly. We both knew how unhappy Nico was, and my wolf was pushing me to fix things before the rift between us widened. Not today, I thought. My decision was made.
I gathered the photographs into a neat stack.
“Thank you for all this, really,” I said. “I don't think anyone else would've caught this.”
Nico's lips curved upward. It was a small smile, barely there, but it still made something inside my chest loosen.
"We'll go over everything tonight,” I told him.
Nico sighed, but didn’t argue any further. “Okay then.”
"I mean it,” I couldn’t help but add. "We'll figure this out together."
“I know.”
His words were agreeable enough, but the distance between us remained. Damn it, I hated it.
"I should probably go," I said quietly. “Logan’s expecting me.”
“Yeah, of course,” Nico said.
Neither of us moved for a moment. Then I opened the truck door. "I'll see you later."
"Be careful,” Nico said.
"I always am,” I told him.
His expression said he didn't believe that for a second. I couldn't stand it any longer. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. Nico gripped my shoulders.
It was so tempting to deepen the kiss, but if I did that, I might lose what little control I was holding onto. I pulled away and slid inside my truck.
Fifteen minutes later, Nico's scent had faded from the truck, but my mind refused to let him go.
At each stoplight and every curve in the road, I found myself replaying the conversation, and my clumsy desperate kiss at the end.
I also thought about the exhaustion beneath Nico’s eyes, the tiny smile he tried to hide. God, I missed him. Missed having him beside me on long drives.
Heck, I would give anything to hear him ramble about movies, his favourite games, and whatever strange rabbit hole the internet had dropped him into that week.
Mate. My wolf rumbled. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
Whatever this was between us couldn't stay broken, not when he'd become someone I couldn't imagine losing. I decided then and there that I'd sit down with Nico tonight.
It didn’t matter if both of us were tired and exhausted, I needed to repair what damaged I’ve caused.
The road bent around a stand of pine trees, and a figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the lane. I instinctively eased off the accelerator.
The man waved both arms frantically. Off to the right sat a silver Toyota. Thin gray smoke curled lazily from beneath it. Engine trouble, probably overheated, I thought.
The stranger pointed desperately toward the disabled car. I slowed further. Nico's voice surfaced in my head with irritating clarity. You need to be more careful from now on, Isaac.
My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. The sensible part of me whispered to keep driving. Call roadside assistance, or maybe notify patrol. Do anything except stop.