Chapter 7
Holly
The Stargazer Hotel—Studio B
I’ve lost track of time.
It feels like I’ve been sitting here for hours, though the clock on the wall insists it’s only been forty-five minutes.
The silence hums. Even the sound of my own breathing feels too loud.
Kai, the big blond agent standing guard at the door, is polite but carved from stone.
He answers my attempts at small talk with grunts that could mean anything from yes to please stop speaking.
So instead I scroll through work messages, pretending my stomach isn’t twisting itself into knots.
There’s an email from the caterer confirming the dessert table redesign, one from the florist, and—oh—three missed calls from Big City Events, which I ignore.
The last voicemail is from Clementine Aziz, my current client and friend.
I hit play.
“Holly, honey, call me when you can, okay? Connor told me what happened. Please tell me you’re safe.”
Her voice tightens at the end, the way it always does when she’s trying not to worry.
My throat thickens. I hit call back.
“Clementine Callahan,” she answers on the first ring, breathless.
“Hi, Clem. It’s Holly—”
“Oh, thank God! Tell me you’re somewhere safe, my darling party wizard.”
“I’m fine,” I promise quickly. “Noel locked me in a conference room with one of his soldiers. It’s very, um, secure.”
“Oh, good,” she sighs, but I hear the tension under the words.
“Connor said you found another note. I swear, Holly, this is beyond unnerving. Now, I don’t want you to worry.
You don’t have to go home tonight if you’re scared—you could come to our place.
Or we have a Sigma safe house near the river, or a hotel if you’d rather privacy—”
“Clem, no,” I interrupt gently. “If I run, whoever’s doing this wins. And I can’t leave Drew’s House hanging. The gala’s in a couple of days.”
There’s a pause. Then: “Holly, this isn’t about pride, sweetheart. It’s about safety.”
“I know.” I press a hand to my chest, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. “But I can’t just hide. It’ll be okay. Noel’s here. Well, he was here.” I glance at the door. “He’s doing whatever it is ex-Special Forces bodyguards do.”
She chuckles softly. “Ah, the growly one. Connor says he’s the best.”
“He’s, um,” I swallow. “He’s very thorough.”
“I bet he is,” she teases instantly lighter. “But, Holly, I’m serious. You shouldn’t be alone tonight. Please let me put you somewhere with proper security.”
I open my mouth to argue again—then the door swings open.
Noel strides in, all dark lines and controlled energy, headset still in his ear.
He looks like he’s been carved out of focus and tension, eyes sweeping the room the second he crosses the threshold.
He zeroes in on me. “Everything good here?”
Kai nods once and slips out at Noel’s silent signal, leaving me alone with six-foot-plus of danger and calm in one very unfair package.
“Clem’s on the phone,” I tell him, covering the receiver. “She wants to put me in a hotel or something.”
“She’s right,” Noel says immediately. “You’re not going back to your apartment tonight.”
I roll my eyes.
“You two have the same script, huh?”
Clementine’s laugh filters through the speaker.
“See? He agrees with me. You should listen to your bodyguard, honey. Just pick a hotel—”
Noel folds his arms, every inch the immovable wall.
“I can keep her safer than any hotel staff.”
I look at him.
“Meaning what?”
He meets my eyes, steady.
“Stay at my place. It’s off-grid, reinforced, and no one knows the address except Sigma. She’ll be protected, Clem.”
“Oh!” Clementine sounds positively delighted. “That’s perfect! Thank you, Noel. Holly, that solves everything.”
“Clem—”
“Sweetheart, I have to jump on a call with donors, but this is the best option. You’ll be safe, I’ll stop worrying, and Connor won’t have to sedate me. Promise me you’ll go?”
My mouth opens, but the words don’t come.
Because Noel’s standing there, quiet, unflinching, waiting. And every rational part of me knows this is the smart play—the safe play.
But there’s another part, the reckless, lonely part that’s been beating faster every time he looks at me, that’s whispering something else entirely.
Say yes.
“Fine,” I hear myself say. “I’ll go.”
Clementine exhales audibly.
“Great! You can thank me later when you’re safe and sound. Call me in the morning, okay?”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
She hangs up, leaving the room suddenly too quiet again.
Noel tucks his comm mic back into place, watching me with that unreadable expression that’s starting to feel too familiar.
“Pack light,” he says. “We’ll stop by your place so you can grab a few things, then we’re gone.”
I nod, but my heart’s pounding for a completely different reason now.
Because I know what I agreed to.
I know this isn’t just about safety anymore.
And deep down—way, way down—I know that whatever waits for me at Noel Kane’s place might be even more dangerous than whoever left that note.