Chapter 16 #5
“I thought…” The words slip out, but I stop them.
I cannot show weakness. Whoever left this message for us could still be around.
I need to act fast, and without making too much noise or wasting time.
Ella needs me. I need Ella. There is only one place I can think of where no one could harm her.
She lets go of my ankle, my body missing her touch immediately.
I raise a hand, stopping mid-motion, as if it could shatter her.
From there, she seems so fragile. Wounded.
“Can I hold you?” I ask as gently as I can, but even I hear the strain in my voice.
Words breaking above my surface, mocking my attempts to stay composed.
To my surprise, she does not seem to pick up on my distress.
Good. With a little nod and tears rolling down her face, causing my ribs to spasm, I offer my arms, waiting for her to accept.
And she does. Her whole body comes into collision with mine, a sob escaping her as she rushes to hide against my chest, her arms holding me like a lifeboat, her hands closing down on my jacket, probably marking my skin with pathways I will proudly wear for days after.
Folding my arms around her, I cover her hair with my palm, her face resting against my chest, sensing my heartbeat. Can she hear it?
How desperate I am for this, for us to be together, reunited, always.
My wit is nowhere to be found, and I find myself murmuring words like a broken record, probably trying to convince myself as much as her that despite the fear, the unknown, the violent nights ahead of me for us to exist in this world, I am holding her. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.
“I got you,” I tell her as I hold the woman I am falling for. “I got you. I got you,” I repeat again and again as she climbs up to hide in the crook of my neck, her tears wet on my skin, my instinct telling me to kiss away the salty water and make it all better.
“It is not safe here anymore. I have to take you home, sweetheart,” I tell her, more to inform her than to ask, since there is no reality in which I am leaving her here or sending her back to her house, festering with the enemy, an enemy fully aware of us.
Without argument or question, she runs her arms behind my neck, and I comply, standing and holding her in my arms like a firefighter would after a tragedy, holding my princess right to the elevator, praying we will not find another threat on our way.
Because if we do, I will take no chances and eliminate whoever stands in our way.
I catch her bag in the lounge and call the elevator.
The doors open to the staff parking lot, where I find my car untouched.
Left. Right. No one. There is no doubt we could still be watched, but if anyone wanted to harm us now, they would have already done it.
It was not an ultimate warning. It was an act of war on my territory.
I will answer back. Oh, I will. And the magnitude of my wrath will defy anything they have ever known.
Only for now, the only priority, my only quest, is to put Ella somewhere safe.
Everything else will have to wait. The chess game, the strategy of pawns and knights and kings and queens, the combinations happening as I am walking, carrying my woman in my arms, all of it will have to wait.
Holding her with one arm, I open the door, sliding her onto the passenger seat and fastening her seatbelt.
“You okay?” I ask, as she gives me a small nod.
She has stopped crying, her lips pink as she calls my name.
Cupping her face with both palms, as gently as I can, I lean in, dropping a kiss to her lips, sealing my fate forever with an angel fallen into my dark world, now ready to unleash hell on anyone who could stand between us.
I slide behind the wheel, hyperaware not only of our surroundings but of her body language.
I dropped her bag at her feet. Her hands are laced on her thighs, and she is glancing nervously at me.
I’m usually an opera listener, but I doubt that could soothe her right now.
What could she like? I don’t think now is the right time to ask her about her musical taste.
Turning the engine on, we pull out of the parking lot while I debate calling my head of security to put everything in motion, but doing it on speakerphone in the car with Ella doesn't seem like the right move.
No one is following us right now, so I will deal with it first thing when we get there.
The message was clear. Ella is in danger, walking with a target on her back.
Pressing on the music, I type: wave sounds white noise.
The ocean calms everyone, right? That is what I heard when I went to a physiotherapy session once, after my left knee got jacked during a boxing session.
Waves in motion fill the space as I drive ahead, leaving the city behind us, becoming the picture of calmness despite the storm raging in my head.
Staying calm because Ella needs me to.
Staying calm because this is only the beginning of the war.
Staying calm because if I do not, I could lose it all.
I could lose her.
Making sure my tone is even and composed, I clutch the wheel, my other hand finding her fingers, resting my palm above her hands.
“This isn’t your fault, Ella. I have many enemies who have long searched for a way to wound me, never finding an Achilles’ heel.
Now, things…changed. I tried to be careful but…
someone saw us. I know who did this, and I’m gonna take care of it,” I say, my voice as stern and direct as the one I use in meetings, explaining a plan of action as if I am not panicking, the floor disappearing under my feet.
“You’re going to stay safe at my place, and I will have someone I trust look after your father.
My security will check on your house, just in case anything unusual happens, and I will deal with your employer to sort out any issues coming in the next few days that might disrupt your usual schedule.
Everything will be sorted in the next forty-eight hours tops.
You have my word. In the meantime, and because I am absolutely not playing with your safety, you will stay with me.
” She looks at me, eyes wide, hands trembling beneath mine.
I keep my gaze on the road, the city lights stretching and blurring across the windshield, the night swallowing everything beyond them.
We drive in silence, except for the low hum of the engine and the distant hush of waves playing from the speakers.
Every now and then, I glance at her, watching the way she keeps her fingers clenched in her lap.
When the gates of my property open, headlights spill across the long gravel driveway, catching the wet leaves and the dark shape of the house ahead.
My mansion rises from the trees, cut out of the night, old stone and black windows, secluded from the world.
I park in front of the entrance, checking the mirrors, the trees and every possible blind spot, waiting until my instincts settle into something close to order.
Once I am satisfied, I round the front of the car and open her door.
“This way, princess,” I tell her, helping her down, my fingers lacing through hers as I lead her to the door. Ella looks everywhere at once, the windows, the garden, the flowers, the old stone walls, the fountain in the middle of the driveway spilling silver under the moonlight.
“Beautiful,” she mouths more than once, and my chest rises a little higher knowing she is pleased.
I press my palm to the screen on my left.
The lock clicks open. Inside, automated lights stir awake, low and golden.
It is only a small vestibule, barely a breath compared to what comes after, but she still slows down, taking it all in. I guide her forward.
“Living room,” I say automatically, as we pass into the lounge.
The space opens around us, tall and endless, crowned by ceilings high enough to compete with a local church.
Three sofas sit in a loose circle around a low square table, soft linen and deep cushions.
Beyond them, arched windows stretch almost from floor to ceiling, black with night, the garden pressed against the glass.
To the left, shelves climb all the way up, filled with old books I have barely touched and first editions my father collected like trophies.
Opposite the windows, the electric fireplace burns low beneath a slab of black stone, the flames throwing gold across the rug and the curve of Ella’s cheek.
A chandelier hangs above us, like branches caught midwinter, and I catch myself cursing silently.
Who in his right mind would live here alone?
This place was made for people, for a family.
It’s no wonder I avoid it most of the time.
She tugs at my hand, her eyes shiny and impressed.
With her next to me, it all feels like my home was waiting for her to walk into it.
A place that had no purpose until she stepped in. I tighten my hand around hers.