CHAPTER 6
THE MAN OUTSIDE HER DOOR
Mara woke before her alarm.
For several seconds, she didn't know where she was.
The ceiling was unfamiliar.
The curtains were unfamiliar.
Even the faint hum of the heating system sounded wrong.
Then she remembered the apartment.
The security briefing.
Naomi.
The message.
Adrian.
Mara rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
She reached for her phone.
6:14 a.m.
No new messages.
She checked the network.
Nothing.
Her shoulders lowered.
Then she heard movement outside the bedroom.
Mara sat up.
A quiet footstep.
Another.
She grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a hardcover book, and moved toward the door.
She opened it.
Adrian was standing in the hallway.
Already dressed.
Dark trousers.
White shirt.
Black watch.
His suit jacket hung over one arm.
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
He glanced at the book in her hand.
"Planning to hit me with that?"
Mara looked down.
She was holding a book about financial fraud.
"Maybe."
"Reasonable choice."
"You scared me."
"I was making coffee."
"At six in the morning?"
"Five thirty."
She stared.
"That's worse."
He walked toward the kitchen.
Mara followed.
"Did you sleep?"
"Some."
"How much?"
"Enough."
"That's not a number."
"It doesn't need to be."
She watched him pour coffee.
"You have a very annoying relationship with direct questions."
"I answer them."
"Technically."
He handed her a cup.
She blinked.
"No sugar."
"I remember."
She took it.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
She tasted it.
Exactly how she liked it.
Mara leaned against the counter.
"You know, for a man who claims this is strictly professional, you remember a lot about me."
"I remember details about everyone I'm responsible for."
"Everyone?"
"Yes."
"Coffee orders?"
"Sometimes."
"Favorite food?"
"If relevant."
"Music?"
"If relevant."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Do you know my favorite music?"
"Alternative."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"Lena told you?"
"No."
"Then how?"
"You mentioned it yesterday."
"I did?"
"At the studio."
Mara tried to remember.
She couldn't.
He took his coffee and walked toward the living room.
She followed.
"You really listen to everything."
"Usually."
"That's dangerous."
"For you or me?"
She stopped.
He looked at her.
There was something in his expression.
A quiet challenge.
Mara looked away first.
"For you."
"Why?"
"Because people might start expecting you to remember everything."
"I don't mind."
She looked back at him.
"That's because you're strange."
"Probably."
She smiled.
It was becoming a problem.
She was starting to enjoy these conversations.
She was starting to look forward to them.
That was worse.
She sat on the sofa.
Adrian checked his phone.
"Marcus sent an update."
"Anything?"
"Nothing conclusive."
Mara frowned.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I told you I would be."
She stared at him.
"You're personally handling this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I know the case."
"You said that yesterday."
"I did."
"That still doesn't answer the question."
He looked at her.
"The threat is connected to something I investigated before. I want to see it through."
Mara studied him.
There was something he wasn't saying.
She could feel it.
Not because he was lying.
Because he was holding something back.
She had built a career around recognizing that distinction.
"What happened three years ago?"
Adrian's face became unreadable.
"Another time."
Mara's curiosity sharpened.
"You don't like talking about it."
"No."
"Because someone got hurt."
His gaze moved to the window.
Mara immediately knew she was right.
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
She waited.
Eventually, he said, "Someone I was protecting."
Mara's fingers tightened around her mug.
"Did they die?"
"No."
She released a breath.
"Then what happened?"
"She was injured."
"Because you failed?"
His eyes returned to hers.
"Because I missed something."
The room went quiet.
Mara understood the weight of those words.
He didn't say them dramatically.
He didn't need to.
"I've spent years trying to make sure I never miss something twice," he said.
Mara looked down.
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is."
She looked up.
"Do you blame yourself?"
"Yes."
There was no hesitation.
Mara didn't know what to say.
So she didn't say anything.
That was new for her.
Usually, silence made her uncomfortable.
With Adrian, it felt different.
Not empty.
Just full.
He sat across from her.
"You don't have to talk about your father."
She looked at him.
"I know."
"You mentioned him yesterday."
"I did."
"He matters to this."
She frowned.
"What makes you think that?"
"You kept his old financial records."
Mara's mouth went dry.
She hadn't told him that.
"How did you know?"
"Your notebook."
She looked toward the table.
"You read it?"
"No."
"Then?"
"You wrote his name beside one of the company records."
Mara stared at him.
"You noticed that?"
"Yes."
She looked away.
"My father used to work in finance."
"What happened?"
"He got involved with people he shouldn't have."
"Voss?"
"I don't know."
She paused.
"He disappeared after the scandal."
Adrian said nothing.
"He didn't die," Mara continued. "He just left."
"Why?"
"Because leaving was easier than explaining."
Her voice came out flatter than she expected.
She looked at her coffee.
"My mother tried to keep everything together. Bills. Me. The house. Everything. My father sent promises instead of money."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"How old were you?"
"Fifteen."
He looked at her for a long moment.
Mara hated the sympathy she saw there.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it was gentle.
She didn't know what to do with gentle.
"I don't need you to feel sorry for me."
"I'm not."
"Then what?"
"I understand."
She looked at him.
"Do you?"
"More than you think."
Neither spoke.
Then Adrian's phone vibrated.
He checked it.
"Building records."
He stood.
Mara watched him read.
"What?"
"Someone accessed the visitor database again."
Her stomach tightened.
"Today?"
"Twenty minutes ago."
"Who?"
"We don't know."
"Can they see who comes in and out?"
"Yes."
She stood.
"Then we're exposed."
"Not necessarily."
"You're always saying not necessarily."
"Because uncertainty is useful."
"Not to me."
He looked at her.
"Get dressed."
She frowned.
"Why?"
"We're moving."
"Where?"
"Coffee shop."
She blinked.
"Coffee shop?"
"You have a podcast recording at nine."
"You said I wasn't going to the studio."
"You're not."
"Then why a coffee shop?"
"Because you need to work."
She stared.
He was adapting.
Not stopping her.
Changing the environment.
Mara felt something loosen inside her.
"You're letting me work?"
"I never said you couldn't."
"You told me I wasn't going to the studio."
"That's different."
She smiled.
"You're learning."
He looked at her.
"So are you."
She went to change.
When she returned twenty minutes later, Adrian was waiting near the door.
Mara adjusted her coat.
"Ready."
He nodded.
They left.
The elevator descended.
Mara noticed Adrian's reflection in the mirrored doors.
His attention moved over the hallway each time the elevator stopped.
She understood the routine now.
He wasn't simply watching people.
He was watching patterns.
Who entered.
Who left.
Who looked at them.
Who didn't.
The elevator reached the lobby.
Adrian stepped out first.
Mara followed.
The guard at the desk greeted him.
Adrian stopped.
"Any changes?"
The guard shook his head.
"No."
Adrian nodded.
They walked outside.
A black sedan waited at the curb.
Mara opened the passenger door.
Then stopped.
"Wait."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
She pointed.
Across the street, a man stood beneath the awning of a closed storefront.
Dark baseball cap.
Gray jacket.
Phone in his hand.
Mara stared.
"Do you know him?"
Adrian looked.
The man lowered his phone.
Turned.
Walked away.
Adrian's posture changed.
"Get in."
Mara did.
Adrian entered the driver's side.
He started the car.
"Was that him?"
"I don't know."
"You looked concerned."
"I was."
"Why?"
"He was watching the building."
Mara looked through the rear window.
The man had disappeared.
Adrian drove.
They took three turns before stopping at a small coffee shop.
This one was in a quieter part of the neighborhood.
Mara looked around.
"No studio?"
"No."
"No secure apartment?"
"No."
"Then what is this?"
"A compromise."
She looked at him.
"Between what?"
"Your need to work and my need to keep you unpredictable."
She smiled.
"You actually listened."
"I usually do."
They entered.
The shop was warm and crowded.
Students.
Office workers.
Two women talking over laptops.
A man reading a newspaper.
Adrian chose a table against the wall with a clear view of the entrance.
Mara sat opposite him.
She opened her laptop.
For the next hour, she worked.
Adrian didn't hover.
He sat several feet away, reading something on his tablet.
Every now and then, Mara glanced up.
He was there.
Always.
Not interrupting.
Not directing.
Just present.
She realized that was becoming its own kind of comfort.
At one point, she looked up and found him watching her.
"What?"
"You've been staring at the same paragraph for five minutes."
Mara looked down.
She had.
"Maybe it's a difficult paragraph."
"It's a sentence."
"Very complicated sentence."
His mouth curved.
"You need a break."
"I need caffeine."
"You've had two."
"Three."
"I know."
She laughed.
"You counted."
"Yes."
She closed the laptop.
"Fine."
They walked to the counter.
Mara ordered another coffee.
Adrian stood beside her.
"Do you talk to every client like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like they're mildly irritating children."
"No."
"Then how?"
"Most clients don't argue with me."
"Most clients sound boring."
"They are."
She looked at him.
"You're saying I'm interesting?"
He held her gaze.
"Yes."
The word was simple.
Too simple.
Mara suddenly became aware of how close he was standing.
His shoulder almost touched hers.
His voice had dropped.
She looked at the coffee machine.
"That's dangerous."
"What is?"
"Calling me interesting."
"Why?"
"Because I might start believing you."
He was quiet.
Then he said, "I wouldn't say something I didn't mean."
Mara looked at him.
Something shifted between them.
Neither moved.
The barista placed her coffee on the counter.
Mara reached for it.
Her fingers brushed Adrian's.
Barely.
A tiny accidental contact.
But neither pulled away immediately.
Then Adrian stepped back.
Professional distance returned.
"Your coffee."
She picked it up.
"Thank you."
They returned to the table.
Mara opened her laptop again.
But the words on the screen had become difficult to read.
She could still feel the brief warmth of his hand against hers.
She hated that she noticed.
She hated that he probably noticed too.
Outside, rain began tapping against the windows.
Adrian looked toward the street.
Mara followed his gaze.
The sidewalk was busy.
People moved beneath umbrellas.
Cars passed.
Nothing looked wrong.
But Adrian's attention had shifted.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You don't look convinced."
"I'm checking."
"Checking what?"
"The building across the street."
Mara looked.
Nothing.
Then she noticed a figure near the corner.
Dark jacket.
Phone in hand.
The same man?
She couldn't tell.
Adrian stood.
Mara's pulse quickened.
"Are we leaving?"
"In a minute."
He walked toward the window.
Mara watched him.
He looked back at her.
For the first time, she saw something she had not seen before.
Not fear.
Concern.
For her.
And somehow, that was more unsettling than the man across the street.
Because Mara was beginning to understand that Adrian Vale wasn't simply protecting her because it was his job.
He was starting to care.
And she wasn't sure what frightened her more.
The person watching her.
Or the possibility that she wanted the man watching her back.