Page 51 of Serena (Shattered Queens #1)

My phone vibrates on my nightstand. I look down to find Serena lying on my chest. As predicted, she made her way to me sometime after we fell asleep. She is out cold.

I look at the caller ID and see that it’s Miles, so I answer immediately, hoping it has nothing to do with my sister. “Someone better be on their deathbed for me to be getting a call at this time. With my woman in my arms!”

“Ian.” His tone puts me on alert. “There is something you need to see. I’m sending it right over.”

She doesn’t wake up as I slip out of bed, no doubt exhausted. I sit in my office and pull up the file Miles just sent.

“What am I looking at?”

“Top right of the screen. Guy in all black. Now top left. Same guy.”

“He’s casing the building. Serena’s apartment building.” I look at the time stamp. This was an hour ago.

“There’s more.” I open the second file. This is from the security camera right outside Serena's apartment door. It has a direct view of who comes and goes. Whoever this is knows what they’re doing.

They angle themselves so none of their features are visible.

They’re pacing the hallway and stop in front of her apartment door, twist the handle, and tug on it.

Fuck. I look at the time stamps. This was taken twenty minutes ago.

He doesn’t try to break in, just rattles the door. A scare tactic.

“Update on Byran Carson?”

“He left rehab a couple of weeks ago. Last known location was his parents. I can send someone to check it out.”

“Do it. Now.”

I know where Jacob is, so I don’t have to worry about him.

Derek technically works for me, so I keep an eye on him.

There’s no way in hell she’s going back to the apartment.

Fuck, if I show her this, it’s going to have her spiraling.

I can’t go back to sleep. Instead, I sit and watch her; she looks so peaceful.

The last time she had a nightmare was on the nights following my mother’s fall. I hate myself for what I’m about to do.

I’m making breakfast when she walks into the kitchen. My large mug of coffee is waiting for her. At her apartment, it’s the same thing; I make the coffee, and she drinks all of it. She winces as she sits on the barstool. I should feel bad, but I don’t. I know she can take it.

“Serena, move in with me.”

“Ian, it's too early for this again. I need to get ready for work.”

No, she doesn't. I notified the office that Serena Nerva would be working from home for the remainder of the month. She can work remotely.

“Serena, I want this with you every morning. Move in with me. We can live here or get a new place.”

“I don’t know if I'm ready for something so big.” She gets up. “I have to get ready for work.”

“No, you don’t. I notified the office that you’ll be working from home.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Fuck, I didn’t want to do this now, or ever.

“Mi Reina.” I hesitate. “There is something I need to show you.” My face may convey what my words won’t because she doesn’t argue.

I lead her to the office and play her the recordings. “There’s more.” I pull up footage from a couple of hours earlier. It’s from outside the café where she bumped into Derek. The same person is standing across the street looking in.

I spin the chair to face her. Her bottom lip is wobbling, but there are no tears. She’s shaking her head back and forth. “Why is this happening again?”

“Again?”

“Yes, again.” She looks at the screen, then back to me.

“After I left the hospital, I had a stalker. My parents thought it was my paranoia. At one point, I thought I was just going crazy. Then things started to happen around me. My dad’s car was vandalized at work.

Someone spray-painted X on the hood of his car.

At showings, my mom thought she was being followed.

I would get text messages from unknown numbers with a letter X.

The police could never track their origin.

I was so scared to put the people around me in danger, so I started to isolate myself from everyone.

When Kyle came forward, everyone started to take me more seriously.

After Lester was killed, everything stopped.

By that point, I’d started taking classes online and never stepped foot on campus again.

Not even for my graduation. It’s like I disappeared. ”

She turns to me. “I was so scared all the time. I lived in constant fear. So shattered. When I looked in the mirror, I'd see a weak and fragile twenty-one-year-old.”

“Baby, shattered doesn’t mean fragile.”

“Tell that to my panic attacks. Ian, I’m going into the office, like it or not. I need to.”

“Like hell you are.” She stands up and goes into our bedroom. Our bedroom. Walks into the walk-in closet and picks out her outfit. I take it out of her hands and hang it back up.

“Ian, you can’t keep me locked up!”

“You want to test that theory? I have the rope, handcuffs, a gag, and a couple of other things to keep you tied down if needed.” She can’t help but blush. Those are some of her favorite things that are also in her closet at her apartment. What can I say? I need to be prepared.

“Ian, in a relationship, you have to compromise.” She realized what she just said.

“Did you just say relationship, Mi Reina?”

“Well, yes, Mr. Kayde, it seems like I did.” I grin and lift her off her feet. I kiss her. So consumed that I feel my soul become one with hers.

“Please, Ian.” Ugh, I can never deny her anything.

“Serena, this is your safety we’re talking about. If anything happens to you… The only way I’ll agree to this is if you have someone with you at all times.”

She rolls her eyes, “Fine, but I pick who.”

“Nice try. I’ll get everything in order. First, I need my breakfast, and let's put that rope to good use.”

When we’re finished eating, I call Felix and ask him to be Serena’s bodyguard.

I trust that he’ll do everything to protect her.

He can easily blend in at the office. You wouldn’t know he’s a sadistic killer.

He looks like a goddamn politician. That’s not far off—his father is a mayor.

So I guess there isn’t a difference. Felix is also considered family.

“Can I take her shooting?” Felix asks as he takes a bite of his toast. He’s waiting on Serena. She needed extra time to get ready today.

“Why would you do that?” I’m already annoyed that he wants to take more of her time.

“I think it would be good for her. She can blow off some steam.” He’s right.

“Have you asked Elias about the stalker?”

“No. I still can’t look at him,” I confess.

“You and Caleb. You need to swallow your pride. This is your woman. His father might have more insight into what was going on during that time. They were there. It seems more than her parents.” He looks somber at that familial mention.

“Felix! Serena walks to him and hugs him.” He holds her tightly. Like my cousin, any chance he has to rile me up, he does.

Serena and Felix head to the office, and I get ready to meet my father. So as not to worry Mom, we decided to meet at Caleb’s bar.

My cousin has a couple of different business ventures.

His favorite one is this club. It’s modern, sleek, and expensive, just like everything in his life.

I walk into the office and find my father and Caleb sitting down with a glass of expensive scotch on the table.

The sight of my father in a place like this is throwing me off.

As a successful businessman, he always tried to stay away from places like this to keep up his image.

With the exception of one time, he never got his hands dirty.

He barked orders and had others do his dirty work.

Since taking over the family business, I have found out many of my father’s secrets.

The most dangerous monsters are those who hide in plain sight.

This man has put so much pressure on me my whole life. However, the moment I asked him for help to protect the woman I love, he didn’t hesitate. I look at the envelope he’s holding.

“Did you read it?” I ask my father.

With a deep exhale, he says, “Yes, I looked at the name on the file and read the reports.”

I looked through the case file of Serena’s attack.

Everything she told me is here. There are also things she told me that aren’t in the police report.

She mentioned there was a knife, but there’s no mention of it being found.

There was a witness who mentioned seeing three men leaving the back of the bar, but that lead wasn't followed up on because Serena mentioned only two men attacked her.

Kyle was interviewed and denied ever talking to Serena but then changed his story.

“What the fuck is this?”

My dad rubs his beard. “I spoke to my contact. There were several leads that weren’t followed up on during the investigation.

There were eyewitnesses who weren’t interviewed or changed their story.

The bar owner claimed not to know anything and blamed it all on Serena, but he was also known to have gang affiliations, so people were scared to talk and even changed their story.

On advice from their counsel, the bar decided to settle the lawsuit. ”

I'm reading the report on Kyle's death. It was ruled as an accidental overdose. There was a needle found next to him. That would be a convenient way to get rid of someone. Staging a suicide. There are more reports. It says Lester Moore was killed during a rival gang fight. He was stabbed over a dozen times. I look at my father. “He was working on a plea deal. He was going to provide additional information on the attack but was killed a week before he was scheduled to talk with the district attorney. It can’t be a coincidence.”

There are call logs of Serena’s attempts to ask the police for help.

She reported her father’s car getting vandalized.

Messages sent to her: “X marks the spot” and “Next time I'll carve that cunt.” They’re all here.

She provided proof, so why didn’t she get the help she needed? She was living a nightmare.

“The signatures are from the same person. Is he still on the force?” My eyes continue reading.

“No. He was killed a couple of years ago. A robbery gone bad.”

“Fuck!” I throw the file against the wall. The papers scattering all over my cousin's office. “They blamed her! She was the victim, and they blamed her. What was done to her. What she’s had to endure.”

My father approaches me and puts his hands on my shoulder. The last time he comforted me like this was when my grandfather died.

“What do you need from us?”

“I need to keep her safe. I have a feeling that whatever happened five years ago isn’t over.” I look at my cousin.

“It seems we need to pay Javi a visit.”