Chapter Twenty-Four
Aurelia
My heart is in my mouth the whole flight back.
I know Luke isn’t going to leave me for a second, but it’s obvious that this man is obsessed with me, and that just creeps me out.
I’m both nervous and excited that this might be coming to an end.
I haven’t had to think about it for as long as Luke, but over the last couple of days I’ve been looking back over the past few months and putting two and two together, and realizing just how worried Luke and my family have been for my safety.
It makes my skin crawl to think about all the messages they’ve intercepted. My neck prickles at the thought of this man hiding somewhere, watching me, fantasizing about me.
I think about the photos that Dom took and feel a wave of nausea.
I was naked, although Luke insisted the duvet was up to my waist, and I was on my front, but even so, they showed me as vulnerable and subdued, humiliated and weak.
I hate that Luke saw them. He’s not spoken about them, but it must have made him feel ill to see me lying there like that.
I lean my head on the window and look down at the hills of the Northland passing beneath us.
Next to me, Luke squeezes my hand, but I don’t look around.
I think about the company’s security team, and wonder if Luke’s right, and it is one of them.
I don’t remember having problems with any of them.
None of them ever asked me out, and I don’t recall being rude or rejecting any of them.
But then I suppose the very fact that they’ve been stalking me suggests they’re slightly unhinged, so maybe they’ve taken something to heart that I can’t even remember.
Luke squeezes my hand again, and I look across at him. His brow is creased with concern. “You okay?” he mouths, because even though we’re wearing a headset with a microphone, he doesn’t want the member of Gabriel’s staff who’s flying the helicopter to hear.
I nod and smile, and he smiles back, but I know I haven’t fooled him. I’m not going to be all right until this is all over, and the guy is caught. I just hope it happens soon. I can’t keep on like this. I’ll be a nervous wreck.
It’s not long before the helicopter starts descending, and I look down and see we’re passing over the North Shore. Soon, we fly over the Harbour Bridge and Waitematā Harbour, and then he approaches Mechanics Bay Heliport, and the helicopter touches down.
We thank him profusely and exit the heli, collect our luggage, and head outside. To my relief, Marcus and Caesar are there waiting for us, and I run up to them and give them a big hug.
“Are you okay?” Marcus asks with concern, taking my face in his hands and searching my eyes.
“I’m fine, stop fussing.” But I smile, because now I understand why he’s been so concerned about me.
“Ella’s going to call everyone who’s not deployed in for a mandatory operational briefing as soon as we get there,” Caesar advises Luke as we get into his car. “We haven’t advised anyone that you and Aurelia are coming back.”
“Good.” Luke’s mouth is set in a firm line. He’s switched into professional mode; I can tell. He slides into the back of the car with me, but he doesn’t take my hand.
I’m not surprised. I know he’s worried about what the guys will say when they find out we’re… what? Having an affair? Dating? I don’t know what to call what we’re doing.
I look out of the window as Caesar eases into the traffic and heads for the Ashford building.
On Evermore, everything seemed so clear.
Luke and I confessed we were in love with one another.
He said he wanted to date me properly, and we even talked about wanting to live near the sea and whether we wanted children.
But now it feels like a dream. My stomach flips with unease.
Maybe he’s having second thoughts; perhaps seeing Marcus has reminded him he’s going to have to have a conversation if he wants to be with me, and he’s decided it’s going to be too hard.
But then I look across at Luke and see his gaze on me.
His eyes are filled with affection. He gives a small smile and winks at me, and a glow spreads through me.
I have to calm down and let the day play out.
At the moment, it’s impossible to see past what happens when we get to the office.
I know he’s laser-focused on catching the guy.
I just need to wait until the day’s end.
Caesar pulls into the underground car park, and we get out and go into the elevator. Luke presses the button for the ground floor, and it only takes a few seconds before the doors open again.
“I’m coming with you,” Marcus says.
Luke nods and looks at Caesar. “Can you take Aurelia to the second floor, into the main boardroom? We’ve got cameras up there pointed in that direction, and we can keep an eye on you there.”
“Will do.”
Marcus heads out, but Luke hesitates and looks at me. I swallow hard at the thought that he’s leaving me. I know he has to, and I still have Caesar with me, but I feel a sudden surge of panic at being parted from him.
“This will all be over soon,” he says firmly.
I just nod.
He gives a small smile. “Kia kaha,” he says quietly. It’s Māori for ‘Stay strong.’ Then he goes out, Caesar presses the button for the second floor, and the doors close.
The elevator rises quietly. My heart’s hammering. I hate that I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just going to have to sit and wait for everyone else to sort this out. Powerless again. It seems to be my fate.
“You okay?” Caesar asks.
“I wish everyone would stop asking me that,” I grumble.
He leans against the wall, his hands in his pockets, studying me. “You seem to be getting on well with Luke.”
“Don’t start.”
“I’m not starting anything. I’m making an observation.” He lifts an eyebrow.
I blow out a breath. Then I give him a pleading look. “I really like him,” I say softly. “Don’t be mad.”
He pauses. Then his expression softens. “I’m not mad. He’s a good guy. I don’t know what Marcus is going to say, though.”
“He wouldn’t fire Luke, would he?”
Caesar’s brows draw together as the elevator doors open. “I don’t know. He’s the one who suggested Luke be your CPO. He trusted that he would do everything to keep you safe.”
I follow him out of the elevator. “I guess falling in love with me wasn’t exactly in the job description.”
He stops walking and stares at me. “In love?”
I blush. “Yeah. He said he’s in love with me.”
Caesar’s mouth opens, but no words come out.
Then, slowly, his lips curve up. “Well, that shines a whole different light on the matter. Are you in love with him, too?” I nod, and he sighs.
“Come on,” he says, putting a hand in the small of my back.
“Let’s get you into the boardroom, and we’ll see what happens. ”
*
Luke
Marcus and I walk across the lobby and head for the security offices on the other side.
My heart is banging on my ribs, but I stay calm and pin a smile on my face as we open the door and go in.
I don’t want to alert the perpetrator that we’re onto him.
This is going to need careful handling to make sure he doesn’t slip away.
Of course he might be one of the agents who’s currently deployed. But my instinct says he’s based in the office. He obviously has access to Aurelia’s calendar and movements, and the freedom to move around when he needs to. He’s here, I can feel it.
When we got in the car, I called Ella and announced we were minutes away, and she said she was going to call everyone in, so we find the main office busy, with agents still making their way into the main briefing room.
Rick is at the front desk, watching the security screens, but he lifts a hand as he sees us, his eyebrows lifting with surprise.
“Didn’t know you were back,” he says.
“Just arrived,” I reply.
He nods at Marcus, then gestures with his head toward the briefing room. “What’s that about?”
“Ella wants to discuss an operational incident,” Marcus states.
Rick nods, none the wiser, but doesn’t press him, and he turns back to his screens.
I hang back, waiting for the last agents to enter the room, and then Marcus and I go inside, and I close the door behind me. Twenty or so chairs sit in lines, and most of them are now full. Ella stands at the front and lifts a hand to me, and I nod at her.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” she says. “First, a couple of small things…” She goes on to talk about the new computer system that’s being implemented, and how training for it will be carried out.
I walk slowly down the side of the room, scanning the faces of the agents present. When I get to the front, she pauses and glances at me.
“How many should be here?” I ask.
“Eighteen,” she replies confidently. “Not including me and you.”
“Including Rick?”
“No.”
“There are seventeen in here.”
She looks back at the team and quickly counts. “Who’s missing?” she asks, raising her voice. Everyone looks around.
“It’s Kai,” Stacy says. “He went to the loo.”
An icy trickle slides down my back. “How long ago?”
Everyone looks at Stacy, and she straightens, obviously aware something’s awry. “A few minutes? He heard Ella call everyone in. I asked if anyone knew what it was about, and someone mentioned that you’d arrived with Aurelia.”
“That was me,” one of the guys says. “Kai just said, ‘Okay,’ and then said he was going to the loo.”
I stride back across the room, fling open the door, and walk across to Rick, Marcus and Ella on my heels. “Did you see Kai go into the bathroom?” I ask him.
His feet are propped on the table, but he lowers them and sits up as he sees our serious faces. “No…” He looks at the screens and points to the one in the lobby. The elevator doors are just sliding closed.
“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair. “Is he going down to the car park?”
“Hold on.” Rick taps a few buttons, and the camera zooms in, focusing on the elevator. I watch with my heart in my mouth to see what number appears at the top.
The number one lights up.
“He’s going up,” Rick says.