CHAPTER 18
The Office Upstairs
Marcus's office was above a locksmith and across from a closed tailor shop, tucked into the second floor of an old brick building downtown.
There was no neon sign, no dramatic entrance, no attempt to look mysterious.
Just a black door, a brushed steel plate that read VALE SECURITY CONSULTING, and a camera positioned so discreetly Daniel only noticed it because he had started noticing everything.
Elise stood beside him in a navy wrap dress, one hand linked with his. She had tried on three outfits and rejected all of them for reasons she refused to explain. Daniel liked the navy one because it made her look composed. He feared it for the same reason.
"We can leave," he said.
"I know."
"I need you to know I mean it."
She squeezed his hand. "I do."
Before either could knock, the door opened.
Marcus stood there in dark trousers and a rolled-sleeve white shirt, less formal than before and somehow more dangerous for it. Without the suit jacket, the strength in his arms was harder to ignore. Without the earpiece, his attention felt less professional and more personal.
"Daniel. Elise."
He stepped back, leaving the doorway open. Not pulling them in. Not blocking their exit. Daniel noticed. Elise did too.
The office was clean and masculine without being cold: leather chairs, a long table, framed architectural plans of event venues, a wall of monitors currently dark, a locked cabinet, a small bar cart stocked mostly with sparkling water. The windows overlooked the wet street below.
"Water?" Marcus asked.
"Please," Elise said.
He brought three bottles to the table and sat across from them, not beside Elise. Another choice. Another boundary. Another reason Daniel felt his guard lower and his pulse rise.
"Before we talk," Marcus said, "I want to be clear. Nothing happens here that both of you do not actively choose. I am not interested in confusion, resentment, or anyone proving something to themselves at another person's expense."
Daniel nodded. "We made rules."
"Good."
Elise opened her purse and took out the folded page. Daniel had printed their list because it felt less flimsy than keeping it on a phone. She slid it across the table.
Marcus read without comment. His face gave nothing away until he reached the line Elise had insisted on: Daniel has to say what he wants, not just what he can survive.
Then he looked up at Daniel. "Smart rule."
Daniel's laugh came out thin. "Terrifying rule."
"Most useful ones are."
Marcus set the page down with care, as if it mattered because they had made it matter. "What do you want tonight?"
Elise turned to Daniel first. That almost undid him.
He could have deferred. He could have hidden inside generosity and let everyone call it love. Instead, he took a breath and spoke with his wife watching him.
"I want to see what happens when you look at her and she does not look away."
The office went silent.
Marcus did not move toward Elise. He did not smile. He simply shifted his attention to her, slowly, giving Daniel time to see the decision become real.
Elise's cheeks flushed, but her chin lifted.
And Daniel, sitting close enough to touch her knee, felt the first boundary open not with a crash, but with the quiet click of a lock accepting the right key.