"No morning sickness?"
"None. Just a slight queasiness." Kiara raised her cup. "Hence the tea."
"Good." Margo glanced over at the man standing rigidly in the middle of the room. "May I see the note?"
Oscar handed it to her and went back to the window, waiting in silence while Margo read it.
"He was at the pub."
"Yes." Oscar bit off.
"And you have cameras. I noticed a few of them."
"The place was jampacked."
"I would still like to study the place from every angle."
"I'll go with you."
"I thought I would do the honors." Eric murmured. "I know where the cameras are. And Kiara would be alone here."
"I'll be fine. There's a fancy alarm system, I'm yet to figure out and I was thinking of doing some work."
"I'm staying." There was a stubborn tilt to his chin that had Kiara sighing. "You go right ahead Eric. And Margo, I expect to be updated as soon as you learn anything."
"Of course."
"Sorry to drag you out this early on a Sunday, especially after the late night you had last night."
Margo merely smiled. "I'm used to it. Last night was grand."
"Thanks." Oscar unbend enough to smile.
As Eric and Margo prepared to leave, an uneasy silence settled over the room. Kiara stared into her tea, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of the cup, while Oscar hovered by the window, tension radiating from his posture.
For a few moments, no one spoke, each lost in their own swirl of worry and unspoken fears. The only sound was the soft clink of China, a fragile reminder of normalcy in a day that felt anything but ordinary.
"I'm going upstairs."
"You'll bloody well stay. I have some things to say."
"Listen--"
"No. Damn you." He marched over to her. Taking the cup, he put it on the cherry wood table, uncaring that it would form a ring of moisture. Taking her hands, he hauled her up, eyes fierce. "You're treating this as if it's some kid playing a prank. This man is unraveling. He thinks you're his personal property."
He shook her lightly. "He's fixated on you and seems to know wherever you're going to be. I want you to take this more seriously. I want you to realize how damned scary this is and take the necessary precautions."
"And you bullying me to see that, is just pissing me off." She pushed at him, hissing when he didn't budge. "What do you want me to do? Hide in my room and stop living? I refuse to give the bastard that satisfaction. I have to live my life."
"And it doesn't matter what I say? How I feel?" His eyes blazed at her. "I'm scared to my very bones. Can't you understand how helpless I feel? If anything happens--"
"Nothing will."
"If anything happens." He ploughed on as if she had not spoken. "I would not survive. Just the idea of losing you is making me insane. Don't you get that?"
Kiara softened, her anger ebbing as she saw the raw emotion in Oscar's eyes. She reached up, letting her hand rest gently against his cheek. "I do get it, Oscar. I do. But I can't let fear dictate everything. I promise I'll be careful. I'll listen. But you have to trust me, too."
He closed his eyes, struggling to regain his composure, and finally nodded, his hands still clutching hers as if afraid to let go of the moment, or of her.
