Page 8 of Bound to the Bodyguard

“Evelyn… nothing like that. I needed some air, and he knows about the messages. Someone approached us in the garden. This isn’t going to go away like Alex said.”

Wait, so these people knew she was being stalked and didn’t have a protection detail for her? Were they crazy? If he would have gotten her alone tonight, she could’ve been hurt or worse.

“I suggest Raven not be left alone until this gets resolved.” I handed the woman my card. “I’d be happy to offer my services.”

Raven glanced over at me with a small smile. There was that bond again.

“Well, let’s get you home.”

The woman led her away, but when her eyes looked back at me, she mouthed “thank you.”

Chapter 5

Raven

My fingers danced across the keyboard with practiced ease, the soft clicks a soothing backdrop to my focused thoughts in my home office. A self-made sanctuary for my relentless drive. The room was a haven of success stories bound in leather and achievements framed in gold.

The shrill ring of my phone shattered the silence, an invasive alarm that sounded out-of-place amid the tranquility. I flinched. With a swift motion, I muted the string quartet playing from my speakers. The persistent ringing drilled into my nerves, demanding attention.

My hand, steady as it has always been under scrutiny’s gaze, now betrayed a tremor as I reached for the sleek device. The illuminated screen displayed a number shrouded in anonymity, “Unknown Caller” blinking like a warning sign. I hesitated, a sliver of caution wedged in my mind after last night.

Swallowing hard, I pressed the phone to my ear, voice a controlled blend of curiosity and command. “Hello?” I listened, the simple greeting a gate unlatched, opening to whatever lay on the other side of the line. My fingers curled tighter around the phone, knuckles whitening, as I braced for the unknown.

“Raven Fields,” the voice slithered through the receiver, a hiss that chilled my bones. “Your life is not your own anymore.”

My eyes darted to the door of my home office as if it could provide a sanctuary from the voices reach.

“Who is this?”

“An admirer of sorts,” the stalker continued, each word wrapped in malice. “One who sees beyond the façade of your perfect existence.”

My mind raced, cataloging every locked window and every security measure I’d installed, yet feeling more exposed than ever. The stalker was peeling back layers of my life, revealing my vulnerability like a raw wound.

“Leave me alone. I’ve done nothing to you.”

“Ah, but it’s what you have, dear Raven,” the voice crooned, taunting. “You have so much to lose. And I... I have nothing but time.”

The threat coil around me, a serpent waiting to strike. The darkness of the room seemed to press closer, whispering secrets I wasn’t meant to hear.

“Are you afraid?” the voice asked. “You should be. Fear is the appropriate response when everything you love is on the line.”

“Is this what you want? To see me break?” Whoever this was, they were playing games at my expense. “Whatever game you’re playing, I won’t be part of it.”

The stalker’s laughter echoed in my ear, a sound void of joy. “Oh, but you are already playing, Raven. And the stakes... They are higher than you can imagine.”

The silence that followed was deafening, filled with unspoken threats and the pounding of my heart. I realized then, with a clarity that cut deeper than any knife, that the secure life I built was an illusion—a house of cards ready to tumble with the slightest whisper of danger.

“Goodbye,” I whispered, the word escaping my trembling lips before I jabbed at the end call button. My breath was ragged, a stark soundtrack to the pounding fear in my chest. I tossed the phone onto my desk as if it were a venomous creature.

You’re in control.

“Raven?” Evelyn stepped into the threshold of the office. Her presence scared me, not knowing she was still here.

I froze mid-step, gaze snapping up to meet Evelyn’s wide eyes.

“Is everything alright?” Her petite frame leaned against the doorframe, her curly hair a halo of anxiety.

My voice betrayed me, shaking like a leaf caught in a storm, but nothing came out.

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