Page 20 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

It’s Complicated.

Day Five.

Blocked.

It started with an email.

I wasn’t thinking too hard when I typed it out—just one of those random check-ins that had been sitting in the back of my mind.

To: Marcus Dazai

Subject: Dad’s Case

Hey Boss,

Just checking in—any updates with the case? It’s been a while, and I haven’t heard anything.

Hope all’s well.

–Carmen

I clicked “send” and went about my day. But Marcus replied within fifteen minutes.

RE: Dad’s Case

Hey—

I’ve been trying to call you. Nothing’s going through. I didn’t want to bother you via email, but I’ve left a few voicemails.

Is your number still the same?

I stared at the screen.

My number hadn’t changed in years.

A weird, pinching feeling bloomed behind my ribs. I minimized the window and grabbed my phone, scrolling through recent calls. Nothing from Marcus. Not even a missed call.

Something wasn’t adding up.

I opened my contacts, scrolled to his name. Hit “Edit.”

Blocked.

My heart thudded.

Blocked.

I didn’t block him. I hadn’t touched that setting. And there was exactly one person who had access to my phone long enough to pull something like that.

I sat back in the chair, fingers tightening around the phone as the reality sank in.

Doubt: He blocked Marcus, huh.

Without telling me.

I stood, I needed air.

Doubt: Or confrontation.

Mierda . I didn’t get angry often. Not the real, blood-hot, nail-digging, fuck-shit-up kind of angry. But when I did?

I moved .

I’d spent the last few minutes stewing in it—I didn’t know what stung the most. The secrecy or the fact that he thought he could do whatever he wanted, and I’d follow along.

I wasn’t a child, and I wasn’t some piece of arm candy. I was a grown ass woman. I was his partner in every sense of the word.

I made decisions.

I had a say in what went down.

I had a career and he was fucking that up.

Doubt: Damn. And you two were doing so good. Now you gotta wonder what else he’s hiding?

I’m not wondering about shit.

I shouldn’t have to drag this out of him.

And I wasn’t the only one who’s career was gonna be fucked with.

˙???˙

The receptionist barely acknowledged me when I walked into Theo’s office, and when I asked where Theo was, her response was flat, like I was bothering her.

“He’s out,” she said, still tapping away at her phone. “Probably at the site.”

I blinked. The site?

“Do you know which one?” I pressed.

She lifted her eyes for a second, then dropped them right back to her phone. “Do I look like his assistant? Ask Mila.”

I had already had enough of this passive-aggressive back-and-forth. If she hadn’t been sitting behind a desk, I might’ve snatched her up there.

“I’m asking you, ” I said pointedly, holding back on saying bitch at the end. “And I want an answer before I rearrange the furniture in this lobby.”

That got her attention.

For a moment, the receptionist’s fingers stilled over her phone screen. She looked me up and down, then sighed, tapping something on her desk.

“ Fine. He’s at one of the construction sites. I don’t know which one, but you can try the East Sector. Should be the biggest one going on right now.”

“Be specific.”

She narrowed her eyes. “The Luminosa Project. You can find it on Google Maps.”

I didn’t even thank her. Grabbing my purse, I spun on my heel and started toward the door. I could hear her voice fading behind me.

“I mean, you’re welcome!” She called after me. “ Maleducata .”

I made a mental note to ask Theo what her issue was—right after I killed him.

I took a taxi to this site because I didn’t need the hotel driver trying to warn him I was coming. When we finally reached the site, I barely took a second to assess the chaotic buzz of activity before I stepped out of the car.

Workers shouted orders, machines rumbled loudly, and the scent of wet concrete filled the air. It wasn’t the cleanest or safest place, and my heels crunched against scattered gravel as I moved toward the construction zone nonetheless.

But I didn’t give a fuck—I was here to make sure I got my answers.

Theo wasn’t hard to spot.

He stood at the center of it all, clipboard in hand, talking to a few other workers. But his reaction when he saw me? That was immediate. His eyes went wide, and I could see the muscles in his forearm flex as he broke away from the group.

“What the hell are you doing here?” His voice panicked.

“I’m here to talk to you,” I said, standing firm.

He stepped closer, his eyes scanning me, his body language shifting from concern to irritation. “Sweetness. This is a dangerous place. Can we talk later?”

“No,” I shot back, my voice tight with barely restrained anger. “Did you block Marcus’s number?”

Theo’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t flinch or hesitate. He just looked at me like he expected this. Then, in one swift motion, his hand shot out to grab my arm, pulling me to the side of the site, away from the noise and bustle of the workers.

“I did.”

“Why?”

“You know why,” he said flatly, like it was a simple fact.

I let out a sharp breath of frustration. “He’s my boss, Theodore! What were you thinking?”

He winced. Subtle, but there.

“Baby. Please,” he said, and his tone was softened and strained. “I know I fucked up, and I’m sorry, alright? But I really need you to go. I’d love to have this conversation at home, and we will. But you need to leave. It’s not safe out here.”

“I don’t care if it’s not safe!” I snapped, pulling my arm out of his grasp. “You can not micromanage my entire fucking life, Theodore!”

“Baby, please—”

“No, don’t baby me right now.” My chest was heaving. “What? You don’t want me messing up your job but you can fuck around in mine?”

“That’s not it—”

“You don’t get to scheme and hide shit, then hit me with ‘baby, please’ like I’m overreacting. That’s not how this works!”

He grabbed both my shoulders in a way that stopped my movement.

“Sweetness, I need you to hear me. I was wrong. Okay? I shouldn’t have blocked him. I’ll fix it, I promise. But you have to get out of here before you get hurt. Just—let me get you a car. I can’t leave right now, but I can’t let you stay here. Please.”

I stared at him, shaking. But the clang of metal behind us and the blast of a horn brought me back to where we were—on uneven dirt, surrounded by moving equipment and sweaty, impatient men in orange vests.

I yanked my arm away, still glaring. “You better fix whatever petty bullshit you have in your mind about Marcus and me. Because if you don’t, I will go home, Theodore. I’m not playing.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, then gave a tight nod. “I understand. Just let me get you somewhere safe.”

I turned away from him, heart still hammering in my chest, but before I could take more than two steps, I heard another voice cut through the noise.

“I can drive her back.”

I looked over to see Vince standing a few feet away, a little too casual for someone witnessing a relationship on the rocks. He nodded toward the parking lot. “I’ve got my car. The office isn’t far.”

Theo’s entire body went taut beside me.

“No,” he said immediately.

I froze, glancing between them. “I can get a ride with him if I want, Theodore.”

“I’ll send my driver,” he said tightly, jaw clenched. “Just wait by the trailer.”

“I’d rather not wait,” I said, folding my arms.

Theo stepped forward. “Carmen—”

“I’ll take her,” Vince cut in again. “It’s just a ride.”

Theo’s eyes locked on his, but Vince held his ground. I didn’t wait for another pissing match.

“Thanks, Vince,” I said, brushing past Theo before he could say anything else. “Let’s go.”

Theo grabbed my arm. “Carmen. I said no.”

“Let me go, Theodore.”

But his grip only tightened. “I’m calling a ride, Carmen.”

I met his gaze. “Let. Me. Go.” I warned.

Our eyes held in the silence that followed, neither of us backing down. Until. He finally, slowly, released me, and I turned away instantly.

I could feel Theo’s glare burning into the back of my head as I walked.

I didn’t look back.

Doubt: Yes! Let him sit in it. Let him feel it.

Not now, you.

Vince unlocked the car and swung open the passenger door for me, releasing a tired sigh as I slid inside. He rounded the front, muttering something under his breath as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“He’s gonna rip my head off.”

I buckled my seatbelt with a little shrug. “Probably.”

Vince shook his head as he pulled out of the dusty construction lot, tires crunching over gravel. “I don’t even like you like that. He knows that, right?”

I tilted my head, still simmering from the argument but faintly amused. “Does he?”

“God, I hope so.” He glanced over at me, then back at the road. “He had that look in his eyes. Like he’s gonna throw me off the damn scaffold.”

I huffed a laugh, dry and tired. “He gets… intense.”

“That’s one word for it.”

I crossed my arms. “Why’d you even offer to drive me if you knew he’d be mad?”

Vince shrugged, his voice dropping into something more serious. “It wasn’t about making him mad. It was about your safety. Going out there was stupid, Ms. Reyes.”

I let my head fall back against the seat, guilt sliding under my ribs. “I know. I was just so upset. Sorry you had to see that.”

He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You two always have something going on. Honestly, it’s almost entertaining.”

Despite everything, I cracked a smile.

He sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to get in the middle of you two. But from what I overheard… if I were in Theo’s shoes, yeah… I’d probably feel a little threatened, too.”

That made me sit up straighter. “Why? Because Marcus is a man?”

Vince shook his head. “No. Because Marcus is a man you trust , that’s the difference. Trust is harder to compete with than attraction. And it looks like there isn’t a lot of trust going on in your relationship right now, so of course, he’s scared of losing you.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the clarity of his words.

He was scared.

That’s what this was really about. Not Marcus. Not even me.