Chapter 4---- Someone's Watching
1296 Words
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The phone slipped slightly in Melissa’s hand as she stared at the words again.
“You’re being watched.”
Across the candlelit restaurant, the figure near the exit hadn’t moved. A hood shadowed his face, and though he didn’t step forward, she felt the weight of his stare like ice down her spine.
Lucas's voice cut through her thoughts. “Melissa?” His brows pulled together as he leaned in. “What’s wrong?”
She quickly tilted her phone screen away from him and shook her head. “I—I need to use the restroom.”
Without waiting for a response, she stood and walked calmly—too calmly—toward the back hallway of the restaurant. Her heart pounded in her ears.
She didn’t head to the restroom.
Instead, she slipped through the emergency exit, stepping into the cool night air.
Her eyes scanned the sidewalk.
Empty.
When she looked back through the window, the shadowy figure was gone.
She exhaled shakily, phone gripped tight in her hand. Who would send something like that? And why?
Before she could process, her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: You should have said no to him.
Her stomach dropped.
Lucas.
Someone was targeting her because of him.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered, her pulse rising. She hurried around the side of the building and back into the main entrance.
Lucas stood the moment he spotted her. “Where did you go?”
“I got some air.”
His sharp gaze studied her. “Melissa, what’s going on?”
She hesitated. Part of her wanted to brush it off, but the seriousness in his tone kept her grounded.
“I just got a message,” she said quietly, moving closer so no one could overhear. “Someone knows I’m here… with you. And they don’t like it.”
Lucas’s eyes darkened. “Show me.”
She opened the messages.
His jaw clenched. “This isn’t a joke.”
“No kidding,” she said. “Do you have enemies who might be this… twisted?”
His expression was unreadable for a second. “More than I’d like to admit.”
“Figures,” she muttered.
He stepped closer, his voice low. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”
“I can handle myself,” she said. “But I didn’t sign up to be threatened because of my job.”
Lucas stared at her for a beat. Then—unexpectedly—he reached out and gently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re not just my employee, Melissa.”
She blinked, caught off guard.
“I know you don’t want to hear that,” he added, his fingers grazing her cheek for a second too long before he pulled back. “But you matter. I’ll find out who sent those messages.”
Melissa’s chest tightened. She hated how much warmth bloomed from something so small. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She didn’t want to care.
But she did.
“Just make sure I don’t regret working for you,” she said, her voice quieter now.
“You won’t,” Lucas said with quiet conviction. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
---
Outside Melissa’s Apartment – Thirty Minutes Later
Lucas’s sleek black car pulled up outside her building.
He turned off the engine but didn’t move.
“I’ll send security to sweep the restaurant and your apartment,” he said. “Until we know who’s behind this, I don’t want you walking around without protection.”
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she said.
“Too bad,” he replied. “You have one now.”
She huffed. “Controlling much?”
“Protective,” he corrected. “I don’t take threats lightly, Melissa.”
Their eyes met in the dim lighting. For a brief moment, the air shifted.
Something unspoken passed between them.
He leaned forward slightly. “If something happened to you…”
“You’d lose your best lawyer?” she quipped, trying to deflect.
Lucas didn’t smile. “I’d lose something I haven’t even figured out how to define yet.”
Her breath caught.
It was too much. Too soon.
“I should go,” she said quickly, reaching for the door.
“Melissa,” he said.
She paused.
“Lock the door. Text me when you’re inside.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But don’t read into this.”
He gave her a small, knowing smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
---
Inside Melissa’s Apartment
She locked the door, checked the windows, and pulled the curtains shut.
Only then did she let herself feel the tremble in her hands.
This wasn’t some petty ex or crank message.
This was calculated.
Whoever had sent that message knew her name, her job, her connection to Lucas.
And they wanted to scare her off.
Melissa paced her living room, mind racing. She’d handled criminals in court, stared down the ugliest of human behavior… but this felt personal in a way that made her skin crawl.
She grabbed her phone and texted Lucas.
Melissa: I’m inside. Door locked. Happy now?
His response was immediate.
Lucas: No. Not until I know you’re safe.
She stared at the screen for a long time before tossing her phone on the couch and heading for a long, hot shower.
She needed to think.
---
The Next Morning – Thorne Tower
Melissa walked into work feeling like she hadn’t slept, her coffee barely helping.
The elevator opened to the top floor. She expected to head straight for her office.
Instead, a tall man in a charcoal suit stood waiting.
He gave her a short nod. “Ms. Wayne? I’m Carter. Mr. Thorne asked me to escort you upstairs. From now on, I’m your security detail.”
Melissa blinked. “He wasn’t bluffing.”
“No, ma’am. And he insists I follow you everywhere.”
“Wonderful,” she muttered, walking ahead.
When she stepped into Lucas’s office, he stood near the window, phone to his ear.
He hung up and turned.
His eyes scanned her face. “You look tired.”
“Gee, I wonder why.”
“I’m having your phone analyzed by IT,” he said. “The messages were wiped remotely. That means whoever sent them had access.”
Her jaw tensed. “Inside job?”
“Maybe.”
He walked to his desk, picked up a file, and handed it to her. “This was dropped anonymously at reception. With your name on it.”
Melissa opened the file.
Her stomach flipped.
Inside were photos—candid shots of her walking home, shopping, sitting alone at her favorite café. Some were from weeks ago.
She was being watched.
Stalked.
“I don’t understand,” she said, voice shaking. “Why me?”
Lucas’s voice was low and dark. “Because someone thinks you’re important to me.”
She looked up sharply.
And for the first time, Lucas didn’t try to backtrack or pretend it wasn’t true.
“But you’re not,” she said softly. “Right?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he stepped closer.
And just as she thought he might kiss her—
A crash echoed from the hallway.
Then—
BANG.
A gunshot.
Lucas was in front of her in an instant, shielding her with his body as another shot rang out.
Glass shattered.
Screams echoed down the corridor.
“Get down!” Lucas barked, yanking her behind his desk as more bullets struck the wall.
Melissa’s breath came in short bursts.
This wasn’t just a threat anymore.
It was war.
---
And for the first time in her life, Melissa realized that being close to Lucas Thorne wasn’t just dangerous.
It might be deadly.
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- Writer
