Stay Behind Me
709 Words
Darkness swallowed the control room the moment the monitors went black. The sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the mansion, followed by distant footsteps and a low alarm beginning to pulse somewhere deep in the walls.
Serena’s breath came fast. “Daniel—”
His hand tightened around her wrist. Not rough. Protective.
“Stay behind me,” he said, voice sharp but steady.
Another crash sounded closer this time. Serena flinched instinctively, and without thinking, she stepped into him instead of away.
His free hand came to her waist to steady her.
It was automatic.
Instinctive.
And neither of them moved.
For half a second, the chaos outside the room disappeared. She could feel the warmth of his palm through the thin fabric of her shirt, the strength in his grip, the tension in his body. His chest rose and fell close to hers, controlled but faster than usual.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured.
“I’m not,” she whispered back, even though she was.
His eyes dropped to her lips for the briefest second before lifting again. Something shifted in his expression. Not just concern. Not just calculation.
Something softer.
And that scared her more than the breaking glass.
A loud bang hit the control room door.
Daniel moved instantly, pulling her fully behind him now, his arm extending slightly as if shielding her from something unseen.
Another bang.
The handle rattled.
Serena’s fingers curled into the back of his shirt without realizing it. She felt him register the touch. His shoulders stiffened, but he didn’t pull away.
“They’re not supposed to be here yet,” he muttered under his breath.
“Not supposed to?” she repeated.
The door shook again.
Daniel turned slightly toward her, one hand coming up to cup the side of her face unexpectedly. His touch was warm, steady, grounding.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice lower now, intimate despite the danger. “If anything happens, you run to the east stairwell. There’s a security door. It only opens with this.” He slipped a small metal key card into her hand.
Her heart pounded. “I’m not leaving you.”
His jaw tightened. “This isn’t a choice.”
“I’m not Lena.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Something flashed in his eyes.
“You are nothing like Lena,” he said, and this time it wasn’t cold. It wasn’t distant. It was certain. “And that’s exactly why you’re in danger.”
The door finally gave way with a violent c***k, splintering inward. Shadows moved in the hallway beyond.
Daniel’s arm wrapped around Serena’s waist again, pulling her behind a steel desk just as something metallic clattered across the floor.
A smoke device.
The room began to haze.
Serena coughed, panic rising. “Daniel”
“I’ve got you,” he said firmly.
And he meant it.
Through the growing smoke, she saw the outline of figures entering. Not his men.
Different build. Different movement.
Daniel reached into a drawer and pulled out something she couldn’t fully see in the dim light. His body shifted in front of hers, completely blocking her from view.
“You shouldn’t have come back down here,” he said quietly, almost to himself.
“Then stop trying to push me away,” she shot back.
Even now.
Even here.
He glanced at her over his shoulder, and for a moment the world narrowed to just the two of them.
“You make that very difficult,” he said.
Her breath caught.
Another figure moved closer through the smoke.
Daniel stood abruptly, stepping forward, placing himself directly between Serena and the intruders.
One of the men spoke from the doorway. “We’re not here for the girl.”
Daniel’s entire posture changed.
Ice.
“If you take one more step,” he said calmly, “you won’t leave this house.”
The man chuckled. “You’re already losing control.”
Serena felt Daniel’s hand reach back blindly until it found hers.
He intertwined their fingers.
Not for show.
Not for strategy.
But because he didn’t want to let go.
The smoke thickened. The tension snapped tight.
And then
A gunshot rang through the room.
- Writer
