Chapter 5
1224 Words
Devante can you f*****g LET ME BE!” I could rip my head out if I could.
Two weeks.
That’s how long I’d worked here.
Two weeks of schedules, meetings, short replies, long stares.
Two weeks of pretending Devante Santini was just… a boss.
He wasn’t.
He was a really weird guy and I’m not even going to lie.
Somehow, every day I walked right into his traps.
I pushed open the office doors with a sigh and dropped into my chair. My coffee shook. My
hands were shaking too.
Another night of hacking in my dreams only this time, alarms always went off.
“Morning.”
I didn’t have to look up. That voice was carved into my nerves now.
“Morning,” I replied, clicking my mouse.
He leaned on my desk. Not touching me but close enough that I felt him.
“You didn’t sleep,” he said.
“Wow,” I muttered, “you’re psychic.”
He raised a brow. “You look like a laptop crashed into a human.”
I glared. “That’s rude.”
“It’s honest,” he said softly. “And dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
He tapped the schedule file. “Tired people make mistakes. I don’t like mistakes.”
I swallowed. “Then maybe stop overworking them.”He paused.
Then he smirked.
“Cute.”
I rolled my eyes and kept typing, even though my heart was running laps in my chest.
By noon, everything was chaos.
Meetings moved. Calls doubled. Reports vanished then reappeared. The whole floor buzzed
like bees under pressure.
Luca rushed past. “Heads up, today’s not normal.”
“Since when is anything here normal?”
He didn’t answer.
He just walked faster.
A bad feeling crawled up my spine.
My computer pinged.
Priority: Confidential Santini Only.
But the window wasn’t locked.
My fingers hovered.
No.
Yes.
No.
Curiosity won.
I opened it.
Blueprints. Weapons routes. Names. Clans.
My chest tightened.
This wasn’t business.
This was the mob?.Footsteps stopped behind me.
Slow. Controlled.
“Pause,” Damien said.
I froze.
“Hands off.”
I lifted them.
Silence stretched, thin and dangerous.
He leaned forward, one hand beside my shoulder, the other shutting the screen.
“That,” he murmured, “is not your world.”
I turned. “Then whose world is it?”
“Mine.”
“You’re not a company, Devante . You’re…”
“Careful.”
His voice dipped.
“What are you hiding?” I whispered.
His eyes burned, but his words were calm.
“Things that keep you alive.”
My heart skipped.
“I don’t need protection.”
“Yes,” he said quietly, “you do.”
For a second, neither of us moved.
I could hear his breathing.
He could probably hear my thoughts.
He stepped back like he was breaking a spell.“We have a problem,” he said. “Luca will brief you on calls. Stay close today. If I say leave
the building, you run. No questions.”
“Run? Why?”
He hesitated. Just a beat.
“Because someone out there thinks you’re useful.”
My stomach dropped. “Useful… how?”
His jaw tightened. “Leverage.”
Our eyes locked.
I suddenly understood the truth:
I hadn’t just stumbled into secrets.
I had become one.
He turned away.
“Be ready,” he said. “And Summer?”
“Yeah?”
He looked back.
“You still don’t trust me.”
“No,” I answered.
He nodded once. “Good. Don’t.”
He walked into his office and shut the door.
I sat there, pulse racing, every thought screaming.
Enemies.
Allies.
Something in-between that could wreck us both.
And somewhere outside…
someone pulling strings.I didn’t know if I was scared of them
or scared of what Devante Santini would do to keep me breathing.
Either way,
The next move was coming.
And it was coming fast.
The office was quiet for maybe two minutes before the alert pinged.
Red letters flashing: INTRUSION DETECTED. SYSTEM BREACH.
My fingers moved on instinct. Heart pounding, sweat prickling my neck.
Someone was trying to hack the company files. Big files apparently.
And I wasn’t about to let them win.
“Not today,” I muttered, pulling up the firewall protocols.
The screen blurred as lines of code scrolled like a waterfall.
Someone was fast, skilled. But I was faster.
By the time Luca’s shadow appeared behind me, the breach was contained.
“Impossible,” he muttered, leaning over my shoulder. “How did you…?”
Before he could finish, the office door swung open.
Isabella looked calm. She looked at me, and I knew she wasn’t here for small talk.
“You’re going to need protection,” she said quietly, scanning the surrounding areas. “And I’m
it.”
“Protection?” I echoed, already knowing the answer.
She gave a small, sharp smile. “From the people who think your life isn’t worth anything.”
“Great,” I whispered under my breath, “I’m famous now.”
She ignored me. “Stay at your desk. Don’t touch anything unless I say so.”
I nodded. Her eyes were sharp, unblinking, not someone I wanted to disappoint.
Behind me, footsteps.“Summer,” a voice said. That calm, dangerous tone that always made my stomach turn.
I spun slightly. Devante was there. I know I saw him this morning but still. Grey eyes sharper
and sexy.
“You caught them,” he said, voice low, impressed. “And fast.”
“Not them,” I corrected, “just the system.”
He smirked, the ghost of a smile that could make anyone melt.
“You’re better than I thought.”
I shrugged, trying to keep my pulse steady. “Better than you expected?”
“Worse,” he said, and turned on his heel, hands in pockets. “Which is exactly why we need to
get you out before this turns into a bloodbath.”
“Bloodbath?” I asked, heart jumping.
“Yes,” he said, without looking back. “Because the people behind this… they don’t play
nice.”
Luca appeared beside me. “Everyone, pack up. We’re closing for the weekend.”
“What about the breach?” I asked, still keyed up.
“Handled,” Luca said. “Summer did her part. Now get out of here. Lovely weekend.”
Lovely weekend? I wanted to argue, but Isabella’s glare reminded me that arguing might get
me killed.
I gathered my things, hands shaking, adrenaline still humming.
The elevators were eerily empty.
“Stay close,” Isabella said, shadowing me like a ghost. “And don’t make a wrong move.”
I followed, heart still racing.
By the time we hit the lobby, the city outside looked calm. Peaceful even. Too peaceful.
I knew better.
And then my phone buzzed.
One new message. No number. No name.
“You shouldn’t have stopped them, Summer. Now they know you exist.”My stomach dropped.
I looked up at Isabella, who caught my gaze.
Her eyes were serious. Deadly serious.
“I told you,” she said softly. “This isn’t over.”
I swallowed hard.
Somewhere, out there, they were coming for me.
And I didn’t know if I’d survive the weekend
- Writer
