THE WARNING
677 Words
Chapter Four: The Warning
The note wouldn’t leave her mind.
Stay away from him if you value your life.
Luna had read those words a hundred times since morning. They sat like a weight in her chest, turning every sound, every shadow in the office into something sharp and uncertain.
She wanted to throw it away — pretend it was a prank, a mistake — but something inside her whispered that it wasn’t.
And now, as she stood outside Liam’s office with the report he’d asked for, she couldn’t stop wondering if the warning was about him.
Her hand hesitated on the door. Then she knocked.
“Come in,” his deep voice called.
She stepped inside, her pulse quickening. He was seated behind his desk, jacket off again, sleeves rolled up — the picture of calm power.
But there was something about him today, something colder. His jaw was tense, his expression unreadable as he signed a document.
“You’re quiet this morning,” he said without looking up.
“I just didn’t sleep well,” Luna admitted, setting the file down.
He glanced up, his eyes sharp. “Bad dreams?”
“Something like that.” She hesitated, then before she could lose her nerve, she asked softly, “Liam… can I ask you something?”
His brows lifted slightly at her use of his first name, but he didn’t stop her. “Go on.”
She reached into her folder and pulled out the note, sliding it across the desk. “This was left on my desk this morning.”
He stilled. The silence stretched thin. His eyes dropped to the paper, reading the short message, then lifted back to hers — darker now.
“Who gave this to you?”
“I don’t know.”
“When?”
“This morning. Before you arrived.”
He stood slowly, his movements controlled but coiled with something dangerous beneath the surface. “Did anyone see you read it?”
“No… I don’t think so.”
He exhaled through his nose, pacing a step away, fingers brushing his jaw. When he looked at her again, the mask of calm was back — but his eyes were pure fire.
“You’re not to tell anyone about this,” he said quietly.
“Liam, what’s going on? Who would send me something like that?”
“Someone trying to scare you.”
“About you?” she pressed.
His jaw clenched. “About my world.”
Her heart skipped. “Your world?”
He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the power radiating off him — that dangerous stillness that both unsettled and pulled her in.
“There are things about me, Luna,” he said softly, “that you’re better off not knowing.”
She swallowed hard, her voice trembling. “And if I already suspect?”
He stared at her for a long, silent moment — then his voice dropped to a whisper. “Then I’d have to decide if I can still let you walk out of this office.”
Her breath caught. He wasn’t threatening her — not exactly. It sounded like something darker… something protective.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, though her pulse said otherwise.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face. Then, slowly, dangerously, he smiled — the kind of smile that could ruin someone’s sanity.
“Maybe you should be.”
He moved past her, grabbing his coat. “You’re leaving early today. I’ll have someone drive you home.”
“Liam—”
“Don’t argue.” His tone was final. “Until I find out who sent that note, I’m not taking chances.”
Luna wanted to protest, but the look in his eyes stopped her — not anger, but something heavier. Fear.
Not for himself. For her.
As she watched him leave, her fingers tightened around the note. She didn’t understand what kind of darkness surrounded Liam Moretti… but for the first time, she wasn’t sure she wanted to escape it.
- Writer
