Bella shook her head, her voice trembling. "I don't know. Maybe someone put it there when I wasn't looking. In class. In the hallway. I don't—"
"Don't worry," Leo said, his voice calm and steady. He reached out and pulled her gently against his chest, his arms wrapping around her. His chin rested on top of her head. "I'm not angry at you."
She relaxed slightly, her fingers clutching his shirt.
He suspected it was from the stalker.
"We should take precautions," he said, releasing her. He pulled out his phone and made a call.
Within an hour, his experts arrived. Bomb defusers. Forensic specialists. Security experts. Men who had spent their careers handling threats like this. They moved through the house with quiet efficiency, their faces serious, their movements precise.
They didn't open the box in the house. Too risky. Instead, they took it to a remote, open area on the outskirts of the estate where Leo tested weapons and his team ran drills.
