Derek Castellan wasn't done. That became abundantly clear when Isla's phone started buzzing at 11 PM with messages from numbers she'd blocked.
'Miss me yet?' The first text read. 'Because I've been thinking about you constantly.'
Then photos. Isla and Ryder leaving the hospital. At the press conference. Entering the hotel. Derek had been following them. Documenting everything. Building a file.
'He's escalating.' Ryder examined the messages, his expression grim. 'This isn't heartbreak. This is obsession.'
'He's always been like this. Controlling. Possessive. When I broke off our engagement, he spent six months trying to win me back before finally giving up. Or so I thought.' Isla blocked the new numbers, but more messages came from different ones. 'He has resources. Tech mogul resources. He can track us easily.'
'Then we move tonight. Before tomorrow. Before he can do whatever he's planning.' Ryder was already packing, efficient and military-precise. 'This isn't just jealous ex territory. This is potential threat territory.'
A knock at the hotel door froze them both. Ryder gestured for Isla to stay back, his hand moving to his weapon. He checked the peephole, then swore viciously.
'It's Derek.' He looked at Isla. 'Do we answer or wait him out?'
'Answer. Let him say whatever he came to say. Then we're gone.' Isla moved to Ryder's side. United front.
Ryder opened the door but blocked the entrance with his body. 'Castellan. You've got sixty seconds. Make them count.'
Derek looked past him to Isla, his expression a studied mix of concern and determination. 'I need to talk to you. Privately. It's important.'
'Anything you say to her, you say to both of us.' Ryder didn't budge. 'Clock's ticking.'
'Fine.' Derek's pleasant mask cracked, revealing anger beneath. 'I'm here to offer you an out, Isla. A business proposition. I'll buy Thornton Holdings. Full value, no questions asked. You walk away with billions and no corporate responsibilities. You can fund whatever life you want without being tied to a criminal empire.'
'Not interested.' Isla's response was immediate.
'You haven't heard the full offer. I'll also provide security—real security, not a PTSD-riddled soldier playing hero—and legal protection from any fallout from your family's crimes. You'll be completely insulated. Safe. Protected.' His eyes cut to Ryder with contempt. 'Unlike your current situation.'
'My current situation is exactly where I want to be.' Isla stepped forward, forcing Derek's attention back to her. 'With a man who actually loves me instead of trying to own me. So thanks for the offer, but I'll figure out my own future. Without your help.'
'You're making a mistake. He's using you—'
'No, you're using this situation to try to get back what you lost three years ago. Control over me.' Isla's voice was steady, final. 'It didn't work then. It won't work now. We're done, Derek. Permanently. Stop texting. Stop following us. Stop pretending this is about my wellbeing when it's really about your ego.'
Derek's expression turned cold, ugly. 'You think he'll stay when the money's gone? When you're no longer interesting? He's a mercenary, Isla. He follows the paycheck. And when there's no more danger to protect you from, no more mission to complete, he'll move on to the next client.'
'Time's up.' Ryder started closing the door.
Derek blocked it with his foot. 'I'm trying to save you from making the biggest mistake of your life. This man is damaged. Broken. He'll drag you down with him. You deserve better. You deserve someone who can actually give you stability, future, normalcy—'
'I deserve someone who treats me like an equal instead of a possession. Now get out before I call security.' Isla's patience snapped. 'And Derek? If you contact me again—texts, calls, showing up uninvited—I'll file a restraining order. I mean it. Leave me alone.'
Ryder physically removed Derek's foot and closed the door, locking it firmly. They heard him storm down the hallway, clearly furious at being dismissed.
'He's not done.' Ryder began packing faster. 'Men like him don't accept rejection. They escalate. We need to leave. Now.'
'Agreed.' Isla threw her belongings into a bag. 'How long until we can disappear?'
'Two hours. I need to arrange transportation that Derek can't trace. Cash purchase, fake names, vehicle that's not connected to either of us.' He made a call, speaking in tactical shorthand to one of his military contacts.
They were loading the car ninety minutes later when Derek appeared in the parking garage. Not alone this time. He'd brought two security guards—large, intimidating, positioned to block their exit.
'I told you I'd provide security.' Derek's smile was pleasant, poisonous. 'Since you insist on putting yourself in danger with an unstable bodyguard, I'm taking matters into my own hands. My men will escort you somewhere safe. Kane can leave quietly, or this gets ugly.'
'This is kidnapping.' Isla's voice was cold.
'This is protection. You're not thinking clearly. Trauma has clouded your judgment. I'm helping you whether you recognize it or not.' Derek gestured to his guards. 'Bring her to the car. Restrain Kane if he resists.'
The guards moved forward. Ryder's stance shifted—no longer boyfriend, now soldier. Dangerous. Lethal. 'Last chance to walk away. Take it.'
'You're outnumbered and outgunned.' Derek's confidence was absolute. 'Stand down.'
What happened next was poetry. Brutal, efficient poetry. Ryder disarmed the first guard in seconds, using his momentum against him. The second guard reached for his weapon—mistake. Ryder had him on the ground, disarmed and incapacitated before Isla fully processed the movement.
Derek stumbled backward, shock replacing arrogance. 'You attacked my security—'
'They threatened kidnapping. I defended my girlfriend. Completely legal.' Ryder advanced, and Derek backpedaled faster. 'You want to press charges? Go ahead. I'll press charges for attempted abduction. Let's see whose lawyer is better.'
'Isla, please. I'm trying to save you from—'
'From the man I love? From my own choices? From having agency over my own life?' Isla stepped beside Ryder. 'You're not saving me, Derek. You're trying to control me. Just like you did when we were engaged. Just like you've always done. And I'm done being controlled by anyone.'
She pulled out her phone, dialing. 'Yes, I need to report an attempted kidnapping. Two men tried to forcibly remove me from a parking garage. My boyfriend defended me. We're at the Roosevelt Hotel, level B2. Please send police.'
Derek went pale. 'You're calling the police? On me?'
'You tried to kidnap me. That tends to warrant police involvement.' Isla's voice was ice. 'Now leave. Before they arrive and this becomes official charges instead of just a warning.'
Derek looked between them—Isla standing firm, Ryder radiating controlled violence, his guards groaning on the ground. Reality finally penetrated his ego. He'd lost. Completely.
'This isn't over,' he said, but the words lacked conviction.
'Yes, it is.' Isla's finality was absolute. 'Goodbye, Derek. Don't make me regret not pressing charges.'
He left, dragging his guards with him, seconds before police sirens echoed in the garage. Isla gave a statement, carefully edited to protect Ryder while making Derek's intentions clear. The officers took notes, promised follow-up, warned her to file for a restraining order.
By the time they finished with police, it was 2 AM. They drove in silence to a different hotel—third location in as many days, constantly running from threats both external and internal.
'I'm sorry.' Isla said finally. 'For dragging you into my mess. For Derek. For everything.'
'You didn't drag me anywhere. I chose this. I choose you. Every complication, every threat, every ex-boyfriend who can't take no for an answer.' Ryder's hand found hers. 'We're in this together. That means dealing with each other's baggage. And yours just happens to include a stalker cousin, a murderous extended family, and a tech mogul with boundary issues.'
'When you put it that way, I sound like a catch.' But she smiled.
'You are. Completely worth every complication.' He pulled into the new hotel, scanning for threats before letting her exit. 'Tomorrow—actually tomorrow this time—we disappear. No more delays. No more interruptions. We vanish, and we start building the life we want instead of constantly running from the life we're trying to escape.'
'Promise?'
'Promise. Tomorrow, we're ghosts. And the world can speculate all it wants about where we went and why. We'll be too busy being happy to care.'