Page 85 of The Final Contract
When I pull back, my forehead rests against hers, my voice raw. “You’re not safe here, baby. He could be in the buildingright now. Do you hear me? I need you safe so I can hunt him down.”
Her lips tremble against mine. I see the fight in her eyes, see her want to argue again. But after a long beat, she exhales, shoulders slumping just enough.
“I don’t like it,” she whispers.
“I don’t either,” I tell her, my thumb brushing her cheek. “But I can’t protect you and chase him at the same time. Please, angel. Let me breathe knowing you’re out of his reach.”
She nods once, sharp, her throat working. And I finally exhale, a tense, shallow relief.
“Finn.” My voice cracks across the atrium. My second is already moving, snapping commands at the guards. They close in around her, ushering her toward the side entrance. My chest clenches when she disappears from view, but I shove it down. She’s safe. That’s all that matters.
Lucian steps to my side, his expression carved from granite. Together, we herd the Companions, staff, and on-duty guards into the main conference room. Faces pale, whispers sharp, everyone looking for answers they’ve never been given.
I plant my hands on the table, scanning every one of them. “We can’t keep this quiet any longer, so you may as well know.” My voice is steady, even as my blood still burns. “Seraphina has had a stalker. We’ve been hunting him, closing in. And now he’s escalating.”
The room is silent, all eyes locked on me.
Lucian takes over, his presence filling the space. “You’ve seen the proof. He’s bold, reckless. That makes him dangerous. Which means until he’s caught, every single one of you needs to be vigilant.”
I add, “Safe routes. Security checks. If you see something, you don’t question it—you report it. Immediately.”
For a long moment, no one speaks. Then slowly, one by one, the Companions nod. The staff. The guards. Every face in the room hardens with seriousness.
The weight of it sinks into the room, heavy and sharp. Faces harden, fear tempered with resolve. They understand now—every single one of them—that this isn’t rumor or paranoia. This is real, and it’s in our walls.
That’s enough for tonight. We’ve put them on guard. And the rest? That’s on us.
The staff and Companions file out, voices hushed, heads bent together in tight whispers as they disappear into the hall.
Lucian’s already pulling out his phone, pacing toward the head of the table. He taps once and waits.
The line clicks, and Jaxon Kane’s voice comes through, dry as ever. “Well, well. For you to call me this early, it must be the end of days.”
Lucian doesn’t rise to the bait. His tone is iron. “There’s a problem.”
Something in his voice wipes the sarcasm clean. “What do you need?” Jaxon asks, sharp now.
“I need to know how someone got around our security. Tonight, Seraphina’s dressing room was vandalized. Then the atrium. Red paint, pictures—he left a fucking show for us.” Lucian’s eyes cut to me, then back to the phone. “I want everything, Jax. How he did it. Who let him in. When. Where. If someone so much as blinked at the wrong moment, I want a name.”
The room is quiet except for Lucian’s low, controlled fury.
Because this isn’t just about Seraphina anymore. The bastard walked into the heart of the Ledger and left his mark.
Declared war. And we’re going to find out exactly how. And we’re going to answer it.
Fifteen minutes crawl by, every one of them dragging nails down my spine. I check my watch, then my phone. Over and over. Like either will give me something I need—her voice, her face, proof she’s fine. Nothing.
Jax keeps talking as he works, his tone clipped, focus razor-sharp. “Someone slipped a device into your building. Blacked out everything—cell signals, cameras, sensors. But it spoofed the feeds to look like everything was running. No alarms. No alerts.”
My jaw tightens. “How long?”
“Minutes. No more. Had to be when the atrium was hit. But…” He exhales through his nose, frustrated. “Her room could’ve been trashed hours ago. Days, even.”
I grit my teeth so hard my molars ache.
“I’ll put my AI over it. Run full analysis on the body language of your security. If anyone slipped, twitched, looked the wrong way—I’ll find the anomaly?—”
He cuts off mid-sentence. Silence stretches.
