ADRIANA'S POV
I can't sleep.
My mind won't stop replaying Lucas's words from earlier. The way he said her mental health matters more. The way he looked at me like I was actually a person worth protecting. The way his hand felt when it brushed against my shoulder.
It's past midnight when I give up trying to rest and wander into the suite's main room. The balcony door is open. Cool air flowing in. That's when I hear it. Movement outside. Someone standing in the dark.
I step out carefully and find him.
Lucas is standing at the balcony railing staring at absolutely nothing. Just looking out into the darkness like there's something visible there that only he can see. His shoulders are tight. His jaw is clenched. He looks like he's fighting something internal.
"Can't sleep?" I ask quietly.
He glances at me. For a second I think he's going to tell me to go back inside. To maintain professional distance. To remember that we're supposed to keep this separate.
Instead he just says, "Nightmares."
I should go back inside. Should maintain the boundary he's worked so hard to build. Should remember that this man is my employee and I'm his job and nothing good comes from blurring those lines.
Instead I sit down on the railing beside him.
The night air is cold. Stars are actually visible out here, far enough from the city lights that they haven't been swallowed by the glow. I pull my arms around myself and ask the question that matters.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really," he says.
But he doesn't leave. Doesn't go back inside and close the door on this conversation. Just stands there with me in the dark under stars that probably knew his secrets before I did.
We sit in silence for what feels like an hour. Maybe only ten minutes. Time doesn't work right when you're this close to someone and not touching them. It gets weird.
Then Lucas speaks and his voice is so quiet I have to lean closer to hear it.
"I lost my team," he says. "Military mission. Things went wrong. I made a call and that call got them killed."
I don't say anything. Just listen because that's what people need sometimes. Not advice. Not comfort. Just someone willing to hear the worst parts without flinching.
"I was the leader. I was supposed to keep them safe. And I didn't. So now I'm paranoid about keeping people safe because I failed before." He turns to look at me and the pain in his eyes is raw and real and devastating. "I won't lose you too."
My heart breaks into pieces.
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
"Don't be sorry," he says. "Just understand. That's why I'm so intense about protection. That's why I can't let anything happen to you. You're not just a job. You're..."
He doesn't finish. Just looks back out at the darkness like the words are too dangerous to say out loud.
But I understand anyway.
I reach over and touch his hand.
His fingers find mine and they intertwine like they've been practicing this for years. Like they know exactly how to fit together. Neither of us pulls away. We just sit there holding hands under the stars while the world sleeps around us.
One hour. Maybe longer. I lose track of everything except the feeling of his hand in mine and the knowledge that this man would die to keep me safe because he couldn't save his team.
When we finally go inside, he walks me to my bedroom door. The hallway is narrow. The air between us is charged like electricity looking for a way to escape.
Our eyes meet.
The tension is so thick I can barely breathe. He's going to kiss me. I know it. I want it. Every part of me is screaming for it.
He steps back.
"Goodnight, Adriana," he says, and there's pain in every syllable.
He closes his own door before I can respond.
I stand in the hallway touching my lips and wondering what almost happened. Wondering if he's on the other side of that door feeling the same electricity. Wondering if we're making a terrible mistake by pretending we don't feel this.
My phone buzzes.
I pull it out expecting work communication. Another crisis from Vivienne. Another schedule change.
Instead it's a message from an unknown number.
And attached is a video.
The video is from tonight. From the balcony. It shows me and Lucas sitting together. Holding hands. His head leaning close to mine. Our fingers intertwined under the starlight.
Someone was watching us.
Someone was filming us.
The message below the video is simple.
"She's mine. Back away and nobody gets hurt."