She was at the threshold when I spoke again. "They're hunting for you. The Scorpions just killed your cousin looking for the traitor, and you think you're safe because—what? Because your brothers sent you here?"
Alex stopped. For a long moment, she stood perfectly still, her back to me.
"They'll never suspect me," she said softly, without turning around. "Why would they?"
Then she was gone, her footsteps fading down the hallway.
I stood alone in the empty living room, my mind racing. Nothing about this made sense. If Alex's family knew where she was, if they were paying for her protection, then what was I missing?
The answer whispered at the edges of my thoughts, just out of reach. Whatever game Alex was playing, it was more complex than I'd understood. And far more dangerous.
23
Kara
I checked my watch.7:49 AM. The command room hummed with the quiet electronic pulse of the security system, bathing me in the blue glow from the bank of monitors. I rolled my shoulders, working out the kink from sitting too long in one position.
On the center screen, Sabine Barrett slept, curled slightly on her side, one hand tucked beneath her pillow. Her wavy red hair spilled across the white pillowcase like a sunrise. I'd been watching her for hours now, tracking the rise and fall of her chest, the occasional twitch of her fingers. It wasn't creepy. It was protection. That's what I told myself.
The truth was more complicated. I noticed things I shouldn't have been noticing. The curve where her waist dipped before flaring to her hip. The way her lips parted slightly when she exhaled. The small scar near her collarbone that I wanted to ask about but never would.
This was a job. She was a job. An important one, sure, but still just a job.
I took a sip of coffee gone cold hours ago and grimaced. Who was I kidding? The lines were blurring. Had been since day one. And for what? A temporary solution at best.
"We're buying time, not building a future," I muttered to the empty room. The Bellantes would figure it out eventually. They always did. And when they discovered their baby sister was the leak, that Alex had been playing them all along... well. I didn't let myself finish that thought.
Movement on the screen pulled my attention back. Sabine stirred, stretching one arm above her head. She blinked slowly, orienting herself to the unfamiliar room. I should have looked away as she sat up, the thin tank top she slept in revealing more skin than I needed to see. But I didn't.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, running a hand through her sleep-tousled hair. I watched her pad to the bathroom, disappearing from view for several minutes before returning to select clothes from the dresser we'd stocked for her.
My stomach tightened with guilt as she dropped her tank top, her back to the camera. I knew the camera placement was necessary. I knew the protocols. I knew that in this business, privacy was a luxury that got people killed.
"It's the job," I reminded myself, voice flat in the empty room. "She's safest if we see everything."
But the justification rang hollow, even to my own ears.
Sabine finished dressing, checked her reflection in the mirror, and headed for the door. I switched my attention to the hallway camera, tracking her as she moved toward the kitchen.
Time to put on my game face. In two minutes, she'd walk into that kitchen, and I'd be making coffee like I hadn't been watching her all night. Like I was just starting my day, same as her.
Like I wasn't lying to her about almost everything.
Sabine entered the kitchen as I finished grinding the beans. She wore yesterday's clothes, her red hair pulled back in a messy bun that exposed the tension in her jawline. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. She hadn't slept well. Neither had I.
"Coffee?" I asked, already reaching for a second mug.
She nodded, leaning against the counter. "I don't understand something," she said, her voice still rough with sleep. "The Bellantes know Alex is here?"
I measured the grounds carefully, buying myself time. Alex wouldn't tell her the whole truth. Someone had to.
"The Bellantes are paying us to be here," I said, keeping my voice neutral as I poured water into the machine. "They're paying my company to protect their baby sister."
Sabine's eyebrows shot up. "What?"
"After Isabella's murder, Alex played the devastated daughter card. Told her father and brothers she needed space, needed protection, couldn't bear to be in the city with all the memories." The coffee began to drip, filling the kitchen with its rich scent. "She suggested our security firm. Her brothers hired us, not knowing Alex and I had worked together before."
"So the family is paying you to..." Sabine trailed off, connecting the dots.
