CHAPTER 3: THE DEVIL WANTS ANSWERS
1147 Words
Elena stared at Lucien as the billionaire still held her against him, one arm wrapped securely around her waist as though releasing her had never crossed his mind.
“From this moment forward, nobody touches you without my permission,” he said, and the words echoed through the penthouse—possessive, dangerous, and completely unreasonable.
Elena stepped back immediately.
“I don’t belong to you.”
Lucien’s expression didn’t change.
“No,” he said quietly, “but whoever targeted your apartment clearly thinks you belong to them.”
Fear quickly extinguished her irritation.
Daniel.
Her brother was alone.
“Oh my God.”
Elena reached for her phone with trembling hands and dialed immediately.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
No answer.
Panic clawed viciously at her chest.
“Pick up,” she whispered.
Still nothing.
She called again.
Straight to voicemail.
Her blood ran cold.
“Daniel never turns off his phone.”
Lucien was already moving.
He picked up his own phone and spoke before the person on the other end could greet him.
“Send a security team to this address immediately.”
He looked at Elena.
“Now.”
She quickly recited her address.
Lucien repeated it flawlessly.
“Nothing enters or leaves until my men arrive.”
A pause.
“Call me the second you find her brother.”
He ended the call.
Elena stared at him.
“You have people who do that?”
Lucien looked almost offended.
“I have people who do many things.”
For some reason, that answer made her laugh, and a small nervous laugh escaped before she could stop it.
Lucien watched her carefully.
“You laugh when you’re frightened.”
Elena looked away.
“I laugh when I’m trying not to panic.”
Something softened in his expression, only for a second, before it disappeared again.
“Your brother will be fine.”
The certainty in his voice was strangely comforting.
“You don’t know that.”
“No,” Lucien admitted, “but I know nobody is stupid enough to harm someone under my protection.”
Elena frowned.
“You’ve known me for two hours.”
“Three.”
“That’s not the point.”
Lucien walked toward the windows overlooking Manhattan.
“The point,” he said quietly, “is that someone entered my hotel using my security systems, contacted you anonymously, and attempted to access your apartment.”
He turned back toward her.
“I dislike people interfering with things that belong to me.”
Elena crossed her arms.
“I already told you, I don’t belong to you.”
One dark eyebrow lifted.
“You keep saying that.”
Heat climbed her cheeks.
Before she could respond, Lucien’s phone rang again.
He answered immediately.
“Vale.”
His expression darkened.
“When?”
Silence.
“Understood.”
He ended the call.
Elena’s stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
Lucien looked at her.
“My men arrived.”
A pause.
“Your apartment was searched.”
Her legs nearly gave out.
“Daniel?”
“They didn’t find him.”
Fear exploded inside her.
“What do you mean they didn’t find him?”
“He wasn’t there.”
Elena’s breathing became uneven.
No.
Daniel should have been home.
He always studied on Thursday nights.
Always.
Lucien noticed immediately.
“Sit down.”
“I’m not sitting down.”
“Elena.”
“My brother is missing.”
The words cracked painfully.
For the first time since arriving at the hotel, she felt completely overwhelmed.
She turned away quickly.
Too late.
Lucien saw the tears.
Damn it.
Elena hated crying, especially in front of strangers.
Strong fingers gently touched her chin, and Lucien turned her back toward him.
“You don’t have to do this alone.”
The quiet sincerity in his voice almost destroyed what remained of her composure.
She swallowed.
“Why are you helping me?”
Lucien studied her for several seconds, long enough to make her nervous.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
The answer should have annoyed her, but instead she found herself smiling weakly.
“You’re impossible.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“That’s what my board says.”
Elena laughed again, a real laugh this time, and Lucien looked unexpectedly pleased by the sound.
Then his expression shifted.
His eyes lowered.
Slowly.
Toward her lips.
The atmosphere inside the penthouse changed instantly—heavy, intimate, dangerous.
Elena became acutely aware of how close they were.
Again.
Too close.
Lucien stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
Until barely any space remained between them.
“You should rest,” he murmured, his voice rougher and lower.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Neither can I.”
Silence stretched.
Neither moved.
Elena’s pulse raced.
Lucien lifted one hand very slowly, and his fingers brushed a damp strand of hair away from her face before tucking it gently behind her ear.
The touch was impossibly tender.
Elena stopped breathing.
Something flickered in Lucien’s eyes.
Wonder.
As though he couldn’t quite believe he had touched her so gently.
Neither could she.
For one reckless second, Elena thought he was going to kiss her.
He seemed to think so too, because his gaze dropped to her mouth again.
Then—
A loud alarm exploded through the penthouse.
Both of them jumped apart instantly.
Lucien cursed.
A security alert flashed across multiple screens mounted on the far wall.
INTRUDER DETECTED.
PRIVATE GARAGE LEVEL.
Lucien’s entire demeanor transformed.
The softness vanished.
The billionaire became cold steel once again.
He walked quickly toward the monitors.
Elena followed.
Several security feeds appeared.
Black-clad men moved through the underground garage.
Armed.
Organized.
One of them looked directly at a camera.
Then smiled.
Elena’s blood froze.
“He can see us?”
“No,” Lucien said quietly.
His face had become frighteningly still.
“He’s sending me a message.”
The screen suddenly glitched.
Then words appeared.
WE HAVE THE BOY.
Elena stopped breathing.
“No.”
Her knees buckled.
Strong arms caught her instantly.
Lucien held her against his chest while she stared at the screen in horror.
Daniel.
They had Daniel.
Fear consumed her completely.
Lucien looked down at her.
Something dangerous burned in his gray eyes—cold, lethal.
“Nobody takes what’s mine and survives,” he said quietly.
Then he looked back at the screen.
“Prepare the cars.”
The security team answered immediately through the intercom.
“Yes, Mr. Vale.”
Elena clutched the front of Lucien’s shirt.
“We have to save him.”
Lucien lowered his gaze to her face.
“We will.”
For the first time that night, Elena believed him.
Then the man on the security screen spoke.
And shattered what little calm remained.
“Bring us the girl, Mr. Vale,” the man smiled. “Or your future brother-in-law dies.”
- Writer
