Anja fell into step beside him.“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I trusted a standard system because I wanted speed.”His thumb flew over the screen as he scrolled.“That was my mistake.”
He stopped near the front desk, turning his back to the open space of the gym and instinctively positioning himself to thwart any threat coming from behind.
“I’m ordering a full replacement.”He hit dial.“Top-tier.The model they only roll out for executive protection and compound-level security.”
Anja’s lips curved slightly.“Good.”
“It’ll have an independent power supply,” he continued, already pacing.“Redundant backups.Hardwired and wireless.Internal recordingandoff-site mirroring.”
“And the doors?”she asked.
Kayne didn’t hesitate.“Every lock gets swapped.Today.Any copies of the keys floating around are about to be useless.”
“That’ll inconvenience the construction crew.”
He shot her a look.“I don’t care.”
She held his gaze, then nodded.“I’ll coordinate and make sure no one’s left out of the loop.”
Kayne turned back to the call as it connected.“Hey, Tank, this is Serruto.Sorry to call so late, but I need an emergency overnight shipment.Yes.Full package.No, not the commercial line.Top of the line.”
He paced as he spoke, eyes constantly moving, cataloging exits and shadows.When he ended the call, he stood still for a moment.
Anja watched him with quiet understanding.“You okay?”
“No,” he said honestly.“But I will be.”
She didn’t push.“You’re doing everything right.”
Kayne let out a breath that sounded more like a growl.“Someone was inside her space.Again.”
Anja’s voice softened, but her eyes stayed sharp.“Then we make sure it doesn’t happen a third time.”
He nodded once.Whoever this was had crossed a line.Kayne did not give second chances when it came to Chloe.
#
The rest of the daypassed in a tense blur.Kayne barely left Chloe’s side, his presence a constant, quiet anchor as conversations blurred together and hours slipped sideways.By closing time, exhaustion pressed in at the edges, leaving her hollowed out.
Then the lights on the second floor flickered once, twice, and went dead.
A hush fell over the space that felt heavy rather than peaceful.Then a harsh curse broke the silence.Leo.
“Power’s out upstairs,” Chloe said unnecessarily, her voice sounding too loud in the sudden quiet.
She followed Kayne and Anja to the breaker panel.Kayne stared at it as if it might offer answers if he glared hard enough.
“You need a backup generator,” he decided.
The club had one, but it’d quit working.Chloe hadn’t had it replaced since the club wasn’t open yet, but it was on her ever-growing list of things that needed attention.
Kayne was on his phone while Anja went outside to check the controls.Chloe suddenly realized she’d left her phone in Leo’s office upstairs.
“I’ll be right back,” she mouthed to Kayne.
He put a hand over his phone.“You don’t leave my side.”
