WE MADE LOVE ALL NIGHT. Sebastian took his time loving me carefully as if I was a delicate flower. He kissed me sweetly all over, and when we weren’t making love, he was softly whispering promises to my stomach—to our baby. Things were perfect and I fell asleep feeling better than I had in weeks.
The next morning, I woke with a start and jerked into a sitting position. I regretted it instantly as pain shot down my spine. My neck was sore and my head was pounding like a hammer with such ferocity it made me feel sick to my stomach. Clutching the sheet to my body, I rubbed the side of my forehead with my fingers.
The condo was silent—still in a creepy sort of way. It was then that I realized I was alone.
“Sebastian?” I called out, but there was only silence.
I looked around for a note from him, but he’d left nothing in the room. Pulling the blankets back, I threw my legs over the side of the bed, but I didn’t move to get up. Looking behind me at the rumpled sheet, I moved my hand over the disarray, smoothing the fabric out.
Leaving the bed meant leaving behind the time I’d just spent with Sebastian. It meant returning to reality and putting aside for now the fact that I was pregnant with Sebastian’s baby. It meant having not to focus on the tender loving way he’d held me and the way he’d kissed and spoke so softly to my belly where the life we created was growing.
As much as I wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the blankets over my head so I could cherish those memories just a little longer, I knew I couldn’t. Something terribly wrong was going on with Sebastian, and suddenly, all the pieces were starting to come together.
There was a reason he’d suddenly called it quits. There was a reason he’d been so cruel. A reason for the cameras. He’d managed to keep my attention away from my many questions, but I was done being left in the dark. He had answers, and I wasn’t going to give up until he told me exactly what was going on.
My feet touched the floor, and for just a second, dizziness attacked me. Shaking it away, I picked up my discarded shirt and pulled it over my head. The bathroom light burned my eyes when I flipped it on, and I searched the space for Sebastian. Still, he was nowhere to be found.
My eyes locked on my reflection in the mirror, and I took in my ratty hair and puffy eyes. I’d slept so hard in Sebastian’s arms. I hadn’t slept so well since leaving the condo we shared—since leaving home.
Reaching up, my fingers brushed over the light bruising from Sebastian’s hands. The bruises weren’t terrible, but they were sore. Stretching my neck, I winced and ran my fingers over the marks once more. I couldn’t do anything about it now, but I did know I didn’t want Sebastian to see his handiwork. It wasn’t like he’d known it was me. If I knew one thing about Sebastian, it was that he would never lay a hand on a woman.
I dressed for the day, wearing something comfortable since I had no idea what the day held. And once I was done dressing, I wrapped a stylish scarf around my neck. With my hair in a high ponytail, I was done and ready. When I entered the front room, I debated coffee, but my head was still pounding and I was anxious to find Sebastian and talk to him. I had a ton of questions that I was ready to ask. We needed to clear the air between the two of us. And while we’d more than made up the night before, I still wasn’t sure where we stood.
When I reached the counter, I found the note I’d been looking for since I woke up.
The words I love you smudged and smeared as my teardrop soaked the note. While I still had questions, his note said so much. I loved him, but I wasn’t going to stick around the condo all day. Not when so much was still left to be said. Plus, Sebastian had given me no indication of when he’d be back. I wasn’t the most patient person in the world, and he knew that about me.
Without looking at the mess I’d made while ripping out the cameras, I left the condo and made my way to the club. I knew it was all in my head, waiting for the elevator to open, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched. It didn’t make any sense. I was in the condo alone and all the cameras were gone, but the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and the feeling was creeping over my skin like spiders.
It was a feeling I’d entertained a lot recently, but it wasn’t until everything spilled over and Sebastian began acting all nervous that I felt like I had a legit reason to feel this way.
I frowned when the elevator didn’t open. Pushing the button again, I waited. Still, nothing happened. Wanting to get out of the condo and away from my imaginary watching eyes, I decided to take the stairs. It was a long way down, but at that point, I just wanted to escape.
I pushed open the door to the stairwell, the door heavy and unused, and I stepped into the empty stairwell. It was eerily quiet inside, but since it was the only way down and I didn’t feel like alerting the building about the elevator, I had no choice.
Looking over the railing, I could see all the way down to the bottom. It was a long drop and with the panic of watching eyes on my back, I moved as fast as I could, making my way down each floor in a rush. I felt out of breath, sweaty, and nervous. I didn’t understand it—the way I was feeling—but I kept moving just in case.
I was about halfway down when I heard the door just a few floors above me slam shut. I stopped and my head snapped up immediately. I knew it was crazy to think anything of it; the elevator was down, and obviously, someone else in the building had the same idea as I did. But the footsteps on the stairs above me sounded too fast—too rushed—as if they were chasing me instead of just making their way to the lobby.
I was being irrational—oversensitive and nervous. I knew that, but it still didn’t stop me from running the rest of the way down. My heart was pounding in my ears and the rushed sound of my footsteps combined with the person’s above me had me wondering if maybe I wasn’t crazy and they were really trying to catch up to me.
It seemed like a lifetime before I finally reached the door to the lobby. I burst through the doorway leaving the musty, still air of the stairwell behind me. There were a few people in the lobby and the front desk man looked at me as if I had three heads, but I didn’t care. I was out of breath from rushing, but at least I felt safe in a room full of people.
The elevator to my right dinged and opened, allowing a couple who’d been waiting to get on. Confused, I went over to the front desk and smiled.
“Were the elevators down?”
“Excuse me?” He was clearly confused.
“The elevators,” I snapped. “Have they been down at all today or in the last ten minutes?”
“No, ma’am,” he stuttered. “Not to my knowledge.”
Panic hit me hard in the chest. Things weren’t adding up. Instead of responding, I nodded and stood there drawing in a slow, deep breath.
I waited for a bit to see if anyone came out of the stairway door, but the door never opened.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” the front desk man asked.
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
But I wasn’t so sure anymore.
The elevator hadn’t worked for me and someone else had definitely been in the stairwell with me. Once I was outside, I sucked in the fresh air, drawing it deep into my lungs as I tried to calm myself.
I would go straight to the club and find Sebastian. If Sebastian wasn’t there, I would wait in his office until he finally showed up. Then I’d demand to know what in the hell was going on.
That was the plan. At least, I had a plan.
Rounding the corner, I collided with what seemed like a concrete wall. A loud scream escaped me when a pair of thick hands wrapped around my arms.
“Rosslyn! What the hell is the matter with you?”
It took me a minute to register the voice, but once I did, I stopped struggling in his hold. I’d never been happier to see Mac in my life.
“Mac,” I breathed his name in a sigh of relief. My arms in no way could reach around him, but that didn’t stop me from trying.
“What happened? Are you okay?” He sounded as freaked out as I felt.
He didn’t try to push me away nor did he attempt to comfort me. Not that I expected him to. Mac might have had a softer side when it came to me, but that was the extent of it. Instead, his body stiffened and he stood there letting me hug him close in my relief.
“I’m fine. I think …” I tried to choose my words carefully. “I think someone was following me, but I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just being silly.”
Having Mac there with me soothed my nerves and gave me the chance to think straight.
“Someone was following you? Who was it? Did you get a good look at them?”
His reaction and the way he shook me slightly was giving me whiplash.
“Chill, Mac! I didn’t see anyone. I’m not even sure I was being followed. I just felt like I was.”
He seemed to calm down on the outside, but his body was tense. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he scanned the area around us, his eyes bouncing from surface to surface.
“What are you doing here anyway?” I asked.
“Black wanted me to watch you. Keep you safe.”
“From who or what? What’s going on, Mac? Was I really being followed?” My voice was rising, and a lady walking past us eyed us carefully. “If I’m in danger, I have a right to know.”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss it, Rosslyn. But you know Black better than anyone, and you know he doesn’t do anything—especially when you’re involved—without a damn good reason.”
“Seriously? You’re not at liberty? What the hell does that even mean?”
“It means I’m staying out of it and doing my job.”
“And your job is to babysit me?”
His nostrils flared, but a tiny grin tugged at his mouth. “Basically.”
I was obviously getting nowhere with Mac. He was loyal to Sebastian, so if he said he wasn’t going to speak about it, then he wasn’t going to speak about it.
“Why did you leave the condo anyway? Didn’t Black tell you to stay put?”
“Stay put? I’m not a dog. I don’t just do what I’m told, Mac. You know better. I need to talk to him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“I’m going to the club.”
“He’s not there.”
“Well, that’s where I’m going regardless. You can either come along and babysit me like a good little employee or you can stay here like you were told.”
I knew wording it like that wasn’t going to go over too well with Mac, but I wanted him to come with me, and I wasn’t going to beg.
He sighed, obviously annoyed with me. “Fine. Let’s go then. We’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when Black gets back. We should probably have our stories straight.” He started toward the parking garage and I followed.
There would be no stories. No lies. From here on out, it was all truth or nothing at all.
WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE club, everyone was going about their routine as if nothing life threatening might or might not be going on around them.
“I’m going to go check the office and the condo for Sebastian,” I told Mac. “You check down here.”
“I told you he isn’t here,” Mac said.
“Well, then it shouldn’t take you long to check then, right?”
I turned away before he could answer, but his mumbling didn’t fall on deaf ears.
Making my way up the stairs, I pushed open the door to Sebastian’s office. Although I hadn’t expected to see him, I was still disappointed he wasn’t here.
I walked to his desk, sitting behind the massive piece of wood, and my body sunk into his leather chair. The entire room smelled like Sebastian and his chair was no exception. The leather quickly warmed from my body heat, and I could almost pretend Sebastian surrounded me.
I wanted to see him, to know that he was okay and to find out what was going on. Thinking about everything we’d gone through with Vick made me hope it wasn’t anything as serious as that. I couldn’t stomach the thought of almost losing Sebastian again. I hated not knowing how bad this situation was and how afraid I should be.
Instantly, I sat up in the chair and pushed away from the desk so I could go through the drawers. I wasn’t sure if there was anything to find, but if there were, it would be here in Sebastian’s office. He was hell-bent on keeping me out of the loop and the last place he expected me to look was here. After today, that would change.
I went through his entire desk without finding anything of importance. Getting out of the chair, I moved toward the built-ins along the wall of Sebastian’s office. I opened each drawer and went through everything as quickly as I could.
Pulling open a file cabinet, I flipped through the folders checking every pocket carefully. I was just about to give up when I saw the stack of envelopes hidden toward the back. Simple white envelopes didn’t scream important, but why would they be hidden?
Pulling them out, I fingered through them and my throat tightened with the simple two words written across the front in deep, jagged handwriting.
Sebastian Black
I opened the one on top and pulled the letter out. My heart thumped roughly with each word I read until I got to the end of the letter.
My hand flew to my mouth, and I covered the strangled sound when I read the name—the boogeyman—signed at the bottom. Memories of the day I’d been held at knifepoint in my car came crashing over me. I could still hear his voice. I could still feel the blade digging into my neck. The memories sent a wave of shivers through my body.
“They call me the boogeyman, sweetheart, and I’m your worst nightmare.”
I didn’t have time to process much of anything because I heard loud voices on the other side of the door. I didn’t know what possessed me to do it, but I clutched the letters to my chest and snuck into the bathroom, closing the door to a slit.
“I don’t care!” Sebastian roared as he entered the office. Mac was right behind him, his cautious eyes scanning the room for me. “You should have tried harder, goddammit! She needs to stay out of harm’s way until I find this bastard. I can’t keep her safe if she’s traipsing all over New York, Mac. Where the hell is she now?”
“She was checking in here and the condo for you.”
“Well, she’s not here, which means she had better be in the condo, and you had better keep her there until I get back. Don’t fuck this up, Mac. Do you understand what’s at stake here?
“Yes.” Mac’s voice was tight, and I hated that I’d gotten him in trouble.
“Good. Now, get upstairs. I don’t care if you have to sit in front of the door but keep her there.”
Sebastian moved across the room to leave, but Mac stopped him.
“Where are you going?”
Sebastian sighed. “I think I know who’s behind this, and if I’m right, I’ll find him in the old neighborhood.”
“The old neighborhood? Do you think it’s safe to go alone?”
“I’ll be fine. You just make sure Rosslyn doesn’t leave your sight. This prick is within my reach, and I don’t want anything to change that.”
The slam of the door ended their conversation for me, and I waited only a few seconds before coming out. I shoved the letters into my bag and slung it over my shoulder as I made a move toward the door. I was acting without thinking. What I was about to do was stupid—careless—but while Sebastian was hell-bent on protecting me, I had to be the one to protect him.