Chapter 2 - THE MAN AT HER DOOR
Adrien removed his hand first.
The loss of contact struck him harder than it should have.
He had built his life around distance. Distance kept men obedient, enemies uncertain, and weakness hidden.
Lena Reyes had touched him twice.
Both times, the walls inside his mind had gone silent.
That made her dangerous.
“Your coffee,” she said softly.
“I no longer want coffee.”
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“Then what do you want?”
The question was innocent.
His reaction was not.
Adrien leaned back.
“You should be careful asking powerful men questions like that.”
Lena’s smile disappeared.
Before either could say more, Marco approached the booth.
He bent near Adrien’s shoulder.
“We found the landlord.”
Lena’s eyes widened.
“You followed me?”
Adrien did not look apologetic.
“I protected an employee.”
“I told you not to hurt him.”
“You told me to promise.”
Adrien rose.
“I did not.”
Lena hurried after him.
“Where are you going?”
“To have a conversation.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“You’re not threatening someone on my behalf while I hide in the kitchen.”
Adrien stopped.
Nobody spoke to him that way.
His guards looked at Lena as though she had just volunteered to stand in traffic.
Adrien studied her face.
Then he gestured toward the elevator.
“Fine.”
The ride to Lena’s apartment was silent.
When they arrived, her landlord, Carl Dwyer, was already waiting in the hallway.
Two of Adrien’s men stood behind him.
Carl’s face had lost all color.
“Miss Reyes,” he stammered. “There’s been a misunderstanding.”
Adrien stepped out of the elevator.
Carl nearly backed into the wall.
“I understand you put your hands on her,” Adrien said.
“I was just trying to get the rent.”
“You bruised her.”
“She owes me three months.”
Adrien took one slow step closer.
“How much?”
Carl named the amount.
Adrien pulled a folded envelope from his coat and handed it to him.
“That covers six months.”
Lena stared at him.
Carl grabbed the envelope.
“Thank you, Mr. Varelli. I swear there won’t be another problem.”
“There will not.”
Carl nodded rapidly.
Adrien leaned closer.
“If Miss Reyes finds a lightbulb burned out, you will replace it before she finishes calling. If the heat drops one degree below what the law requires, you will personally stand in her apartment and breathe warm air into it.”
Carl swallowed.
“Yes, sir.”
“And if your hand touches her again, they will find that hand somewhere you are not.”
“Adrien,” Lena warned.
His eyes flicked toward her.
He stepped back.
Carl fled down the stairs.
Inside the apartment, Lena crossed her arms.
“You threatened him.”
“I paid him.”
“You threatened him after paying him.”
“It was a comprehensive solution.”
“You can’t solve everything by terrifying people.”
“It has been effective so far.”
Lena tried not to smile.
Adrien noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re amused.”
“You told a man to breathe warm air into my apartment.”
“It was a practical example.”
“It was insane.”
He looked around her tiny living room.
The furniture was old but clean. Hospital bills covered the table. A framed photograph showed Lena as a child beside an older woman with the same warm brown eyes.
Adrien picked up one of the bills.
“You are drowning.”
“I’m managing.”
“No. You are working yourself to death and calling it management.”
She took the bill from his hand.
“I don’t need your pity.”
“I do not pity you.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
Adrien had no answer he was willing to say aloud.
Before he could respond, someone knocked.
Three sharp strikes.
Lena opened the door.
A man in a dark hoodie stood on the other side.
He looked at Adrien.
Then at Lena.
His hand slipped inside his jacket.
Adrien moved instantly.
He pulled Lena behind him as Marco slammed the man against the wall. A handgun hit the floor.
The stranger fought like someone trained, not desperate.
Marco twisted his arm until he cried out.
Adrien crouched and pulled back the man’s sleeve.
A black serpent tattoo circled his wrist.
Adrien’s expression changed.
“Moretti.”
Lena looked between them.
“Who is Moretti?”
The gunman smiled through bloodied teeth.
“He knows.”
Adrien grabbed him by the collar.
“Who sent you?”
The man laughed.
“Your waitress was never the target.”
Adrien’s eyes hardened.
“Then who was?”
The gunman looked directly at Lena.
“Her grandmother.”
At that exact moment, Lena’s phone rang.
Rush University Medical Center flashed across the screen.
Her hands began to shake.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A nurse’s frantic voice came through.
“Miss Reyes, someone entered your grandmother’s room. Security is searching the building, but she’s missing.”
The phone slipped from Lena’s hand.
Adrien caught it before it hit the floor.
Then he looked at Marco.
“Lock down every road around the hospital.”
His voice was cold enough to freeze the room.
“Find Rosa Reyes.”
Lena grabbed Adrien’s coat.
“Bring her back.”
He looked down at her trembling fingers.
For the third time, her touch silenced every warning in his head.
May you like
“I will,” he said.
This time, Adrien Varelli made a promise he intended to keep.
