Page 137 of Lady and the Hitman

We hung up, and I stood there for a long moment, staring out the window. The world looked the same. But something was shifting. I could feel it—rising like heat off pavement. Something was coming. Something already here.

Beneath Mom’s cheerful tone, something had felt off. I couldn’t quite name it, but I’d noticed it in her voice. A certain strain.

My parents hadn’t come right out and said it, but I was starting to get the sense that maybe things at the nursery were worse than I realized.

A knock at the front door made me jump.

It wasn’t loud. Just two precise raps. Measured. Calm.

Too calm.

I moved to the window and peeked through the curtain—and froze.

Trevor.

Standing there like he had every right to be on my porch. Like we hadn’t gone long stretches without speaking. Like he hadn’t ghosted, then reappeared with cryptic warnings and even more questions.

I opened the door just a crack, not bothering to hide my irritation. “Seriously?”

He looked … tired. Not rumpled or desperate, but off. His usual preppy polish had slipped. No tie. Collar unbuttoned. Eyes bloodshot.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“No.”

“Zara—”

“What do you want?”

He glanced past me into the house, like he was trying to see who else might be inside. “You wrote about Alpha Mail.”

“I always write about what’s relevant.”

“Not like this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“They’re watching you,” he said, his voice low. “And they’re not happy.”

A chill shot down my spine. “Who’s ‘they’?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Then get off my porch.”

His jaw tightened. “You don’t understand. This thing you’re poking—it’s not just a dating service. It’s a front. For a lot of things. Dangerous things.”

I stepped outside, pulling the door nearly shut behind me. “Like what?”

Trevor looked around, then leaned in. “I think your guy is part of it.”

My heart stopped. “Excuse me?”

“The guy you’re with,” Trevor said slowly. “I’ve seen him. I caught a glimpse. It doesn’t matter where. The point is, he’s not just some ex-military consultant. He’s connected to Alpha Mail. Maybe not directly—but close. Adjacent.”

No one knew I’d used Alpha Mail. No one but Mina. And she wouldn’t tell. I trusted her. Had trusted her for years. So how the hell did Trevor know?

My stomach twisted, a flush of heat rising under myskin. I didn’t want him knowing. Not just about Ronan, but how we’d met. It felt too private. Too raw. I’d kept it secret for a reason, and now it felt like that fragile barrier was cracking.