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LIA

I flinched when Leo slammed his fist on the table.

On the computer screen were flames destroying everything in their path.

And the thing in its path?

One of Leo’s buildings.

Fire trucks were called, but the building was in a remote area, and by the time they got there, nothing would have been salvageable.

I couldn’t believe Mael had done this.

Why had he done this?

To punish me by messing with Leo’s business?

Or to send a message, telling me to come back to him?

I blinked when my vision got blurry from staring at the screen for too long. The damage seemed to have gotten worse. I wished Leo would just turn the screen off.

“Who has been stalking you?” Leo asked quietly.

I wondered if he could hear my heart thudding harshly in my chest from the panic rising inside me.

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

I didn’t tell Leo anything about Mael—not his name or what he looked like, not that I had seen him come in and out of the coffee shop, that I had invited him into my apartment… that I had been to his apartment.

Nothing for Leo to identify Mael.

I didn’t know why I was trying so hard to protect Mael, only that I was… even if I had run from him.

I didn’t want anything to happen to him, but this? Messing with Leo’s business.

“He’s good,” Leo said. “Fucking good. Can’t even get a good look at his face. Seems he knew where all the surveillance cameras were located right before he burned them to the ground.”

I closed my eyes and looked away.

Who the hell was Mael Beckett?

“Are you sure you don’t know who he is?” Leo asked, bringing my attention back to him. He looked like he had aged over the span of a few hours.

I shook my head. “I… I don’t know who he is.”

And wasn’t that the truth? The man I thought I knew was nothing more than a lie.

A beautiful lie that I had fallen for.

But I knew that wasn’t what Leo meant.

I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him Mael’s name.

Leo’s eyes narrowed at me. This was the first time I had ever seen his eyes turn cold. Panic squeezed at my insides.

He knew I was lying.

He nodded as if to himself. I didn’t know what that nod meant, but it was doing nothing to help with the panic.

“Why don’t you go to bed,” Leo said. “It’s late. I need to head back to the office, but I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

I licked my suddenly parched lips, standing there frozen, and watched him for a beat before I nodded and turned, walking away.

I was currently hidden in one of Leo’s safe houses. The safe house was used for his clients, who needed protection for all sorts of reasons. Like those who needed protection in ways the law couldn’t help with, and sometimes it was Leo working with law enforcement to ensure the safety of his clients.

This meant Leo had many connections with police officers, lawyers, and judges.

Most of his clients were women.

Most of them were on the run from an abusive husband.

I frowned.

I hated to think of Mael like that, but was that what was happening right now?

My thoughts drifted to all the memories of us. If he were the abusive type, he hadn’t shown that side of himself to me. But I knew that didn’t say much. It wasn’t like we had known each other all that long, but there was a part of me that didn’t believe Mael could hurt me like that… right?

Or was I just being stupid, trying to justify his actions simply because I missed him?

I blinked and looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

It had only been a little over a week, and I had changed.

I’d lost weight. My already fair skin was paler than usual, my hair was lifeless, and there were heavy bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.

And it hadn’t been that long since I’d last seen him.

What was wrong with me?

Or worse…

What if I had made a mistake going to Leo?

There was no going back from this, not when I got Leo involved. And I was sure my dad knew something was up. We hadn’t gone entirely off the grid, mostly because Leo hadn’t thought my stalker was serious about me or dangerous.

Then Mael started setting fire to most of Leo’s business buildings.

Who knew he could be such an arsonist?

I shook my head, trying to shake away all the thoughts about Mael Beckett, and quickly got ready for bed.

Despite the late hour, though, I wasn’t tired. I tossed and turned on my bed for most of the night, keeping my eyes open as I took in the dark room, reminding me so much of the times when Mael came to my room at night as my stalker and held me in his arms.

And I missed it.

“I really do,” I whispered into the quiet room.

It was the first time all week I allowed myself to admit such a stupid thing, but it was true, and telling myself otherwise wouldn’t have mattered.

I still missed him.

By the time I finally succumbed to sleep, my slumber was anything but peaceful.

I dreamed of Mael coming to me in this bedroom. He crawled into bed with me and wrapped his arms tightly around my body as if he were afraid I might up and disappear on him.

I turned and buried my face in his chest, taking in his scent.

It felt so real.

“I missed you,” I whispered into his skin, pressing the palm of my hand over his heart and taking in the slow rhythm. “I missed you so much.”

He didn’t say anything—just ran his fingers through the strands of my hair, comforting me in the only way he could at the moment.

I leaned forward and kissed the center of his chest before tilting my head back and kissing along his jawline. He looked at me, and even though it was dark, I could make out his expression perfectly.

His blue eyes glowed with some unnamed emotion.

“Won’t you kiss me?” I asked.

He cupped my cheek and bent down. I closed my eyes, waiting for him.

But just before he could press his lips against mine, I woke up.

I gasped and looked around the empty room, somehow feeling like I was missing something and would be unable to find it for a while.

Dawn was breaking, and the light outside had taken on a blue hue.

I shivered and pulled the blanket over my shoulder, still thinking about a kiss that never came.