As the elevator climbed, each second stretched into an eternity. Twenty-two floors had never seemed so insurmountable. Sweat beaded on my forehead and trickled down my temples. My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides, desperate for something to strike, someone to hurt.
When the elevator finally chimed for the penthouse, I nearly collapsed from relief. The doors slid open, and the carefully ordered world I'd built came crashing down around me.
Two uniformed officers wrestled with a man near the entrance, forcing his arms behind his back as he thrashed and snarled. But it was the scene beyond him that stopped my heart. Cecelia sat slumped against the far wall in the foyer. Two officers crouched beside her as she gasped for air while her delicate hands clutched at her throat.
"Cecelia!" Her name tore from my throat, raw and broken.
Her head jerked up at the sound, those beautiful green eyes finding mine across the chaos of our destroyed home. Blood smeared her cheek from a thin cut, and her lip was split and swollen. But she was alive. Breathing. Looking at me with a mixture of relief and pain that shattered something vital inside my chest.
I lunged forward, shoving past the officers and the broken furniture that littered the floor. Glass crunched beneath my shoes—remnants of what looked like every breakable item in our home then a hand caught my arm and yanked me back.
"Sir, you can't—"
Whirling around, a snarl ripped from my throat as I faced the officer who dared to keep me from her. "Get your fucking hands off me. That's my wife."
The officer hesitated, his gaze flicking between my face and Mac, who'd moved to stand beside me. Whatever he saw there must have convinced him, because he released my arm with a curt nod.
I dropped to my knees beside Cecelia. My hands hovered uncertainly over her injuries, afraid to touch and cause more pain. Up close, the damage was even worse—fingerprints clearly visible in the bruising around her throat, a swollen wrist cradled protectively against her chest, blood matting strands of her hair where it looked like it had been torn from her scalp.
My gaze flicked to the man still struggling with the officers. So ordinary. So fucking unremarkable. Nothing about him hinted at the monster capable of doing this. Nothing except the hatred that twisted his features as he stared at Cecelia over the officer's shoulder.
"You'll never understand her!" he shouted, spittle flying from his lips. "She was meant for me! I've watched her for years. I know her in ways you never will!"
Something snapped inside me. A tightly coiled wire of control that had been fraying since I'd heard Cecelia's scream over the phone. I surged to my feet, hands already curling into fists as my vision narrowed to a red tunnel with that pathetic excuse for a human being at the end of it.
"Rafe, no."
Cecelia's fingers wrapped around my wrist with surprising strength, stopping my advance before I'd taken more than a step. I looked down at her, at those slender fingers that had somehow found the strength to hold me back from a violence that would have landed me in a cell alongside her attacker.
"Don't," she whispered, her eyes never leaving mine. "He's not worth it."
Before I could respond, she pushed herself up from the wall with a wince of pain and launched herself into my arms. I caught her automatically, my arms wrapping around her like they'd been designed for exactly this purpose. She buried her face against my chest and her entire body trembled as she finally allowed herself to break.
"I've got you," I murmured into her hair, one hand cradling the back of her head while the other pressed her closer, as if I could somehow absorb her pain through proximity alone. "I'm here. You're safe."
Mac’s hand landed on my shoulder. "I know what you want to do to that son of a bitch right now," he said, his voice pitched low for my ears only, "but don't worry, I've got this."
The meaning behind his words was clear. Mac would ensure the stalker faced consequences far beyond what the system might officially deliver. It wasn't enough—nothing would be enough for the man who'd dared to touch what was mine—but it would have to do.
One of the other officers approached, notepad in hand. "Mr. and Mrs. de Luca, we'll need you both to come down to the station to give your statements when you're ready."
The casual bureaucracy of his tone, the implication that this was just another case to be processed, ignited the rage I'd barely managed to contain.
"Her statement?" I snarled, still cradling Cecelia against me. "You mean like the statement she gave months ago when she first reported him? The one you fucking ignored?" My voice rose with each word until I was nearly shouting. "If you'd taken her seriously when she first complained, this wouldn't have happened!"
The officer took a step back and raised his hands placatingly. "Sir, I understand you're upset—"
"Upset? You think I'm upset?" A harsh laugh tore from my throat. "My wife was nearly strangled to death in our home because you incompetent fucks couldn't be bothered to investigate a stalking case properly. Upset doesn't begin to cover what I am."
"Rafe." Cecelia's voice was soft against my chest, but it cut through my rage like nothing else could have. Her fingers touched my face, gently turning me back toward her. "It's okay."
I shook my head vehemently, my voice dropping to a raw whisper as I cupped her bruised face between my palms. "It isn't okay. You could've died."
She managed a fragile smile. "But I didn't." Her hand covered mine where it rested against her cheek. "I'm still here."
Something cracked open inside me at her words—at the quiet strength behind them, at the miracle of her standing before me, battered but unbroken. All the fear and rage and desperate love I'd been carrying coalesced into a single, undeniable truth I could no longer keep inside.
"If you had," I confessed, my voice thick with emotion, "my life would've been over too." I stroked my thumb gently over her uninjured cheekbone, careful to avoid the places where bruises were already forming. "I love you, Cecelia. I've loved you from the moment I saw you."
