Page 78 of Taken Off Camera
“Pause it,” Sebastian commands.
“Already planning to.” Saint hits the spacebar, freezing the image.
The face staring back at us is unremarkable, with average features and light brown hair. The kind of face that would blend into any crowd. But I recognize him from my dive into his background.
“That’s him,” I whisper. “That’s Travis.”
Sebastian leans closer to the screen. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s him,” I say, my throat tight.
The room falls silent as we stare at the frozen image of the man who’s been terrorizing me. Once again, I’m shocked at hownormalhe appears. Just an ordinary person who decided that invading my life was acceptable.
My arms curl tighter around myself as terror rootsdeeper than anger. This man had been inside my home. Had touched my things. Had planted devices to spy on me. And he looks like someone I might pass on the street without even registering his presence.
“Nowhere is safe.” My ears ring. “He got into my apartment with a key. He could do it again.”
“No,” Sebastian says, the single word leaving no room for argument. “He won’t. You’re staying here, at the manor, until we find him.”
Saint’s head snaps up. “Like hell he is. He’s coming to my place.”
“Your apartment could be compromised, too,” Sebastian counters. “If Travis has been watching Micah for as long as we suspect, he knows about you.”
“We have security,” Saint argues, gesturing around the opulent study. “Maybe not billionaire-level, but enough.”
Gabriel, who’s been quiet, clears his throat. “The manor has advantages your apartment doesn’t, Saint. Twenty-four-hour guards, security protocols that would make the Pentagon jealous, and enough space for Micah to roam.”
Saint scowls, disliking the idea of agreeing with Gabriel. “And I suppose you’ll be overseeing his protection?”
“Among others,” Gabriel confirms with a smile that’s all teeth. “The entire family takes threats seriously. Especially toward someone bearing a Rockford Mark.”
I touch the bite on my neck, proof that I belong to this world now.
“I’m not sure,” I say, torn between gratitude for their protection and the terror of how my privacy has been invaded. “I just want this to be over.”
Sebastian’s hand finds mine under the table, intertwining our fingers. “It will be. But until then, let us keep you safe.”
I look from Sebastian to Saint, caught between the two men who care for me in such different ways. One, my history. The other, my future. Both are determined to protect me, even if they can’t agree on how.
“Okay.” I squeeze Sebastian’s hand. “I’ll stay here.”
Saint’s mouth tightens, but he doesn’t argue further. Instead, he closes his laptop with a snap. “Then I’m staying, too.”
Gabriel’s smile widens. “Wonderful. I’ll have a room prepared for you.”
The relief of not being alone battles with the suffocating knowledge that Travis is still out there, watching and waiting.
I jolt awake, my heart hammering so hard it feels like it’s trying to escape. Unfamiliar darkness surrounds me, heightening my panic.
Not my apartment.
I clutch at sheets too soft to be mine, and I struggle to orient myself in the moonlit shadows of Sebastian’s bedroom at Rockford Manor.
A sliver of moonlight cuts through the gap in heavy curtains, casting the opulent room in silvery blue. The ceiling stretches high above me, the corners lost to darkness. The mattress cradles my body. Everything is too luxurious, too perfect, when my life has spun so violently out of control.
My breath comes in shallow gasps as Travis’s face floats in my mind, that ordinary, unremarkable face that had walked into my apartment as if he had every right to be there. I squeeze my eyes shut, but it only makes the image clearer. Him watching the first steps of my real-life relationship with Sebastian. Watching our feelings bloom. Watching me grieve when he left.
The bed shifts beside me, and a warm hand finds my shoulder.
