Mr. Billionaire is Mine

CHAPTER 4 Into the Dark

The hallway was too quiet.

Maya’s pulse hammered in her ears as she pressed back against the doorframe. The faint scrape of metal came again, steady, patient. Whoever was out there wasn’t rushing. They knew what they were doing.

“Damien…” she whispered.

He didn’t answer. He was already moving, pulling her inside, shutting the door with a click.

“What are you doing?” she hissed, panic twisting in her chest.

“Keeping you alive,” he muttered. His eyes swept the room, sharp, calculating, like he was counting exits, threats, possibilities.

Maya’s breath came too fast. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to grab Ethan, grab their lives, and just—vanish. But before she could say anything, the sound changed.

Not scraping anymore.

A soft thud. A boot against wood.

They weren’t just picking locks now. They were breaking down doors.

Ethan stirred on the couch, rubbing his eyes. “Maya? What’s—”

She lunged, clapping her hand over his mouth before he could finish. “Shh.” Her heart ached at the confusion in his gaze. “It’s okay, baby. Just stay quiet.”

Ethan’s eyes widened when he saw Damien standing there.

“Who’s that?” his muffled voice tried to ask.

“Later,” she whispered.

Another crash shook the walls. This time, closer. Her neighbor’s door splintered under the pressure.

Maya’s knees nearly buckled. “Oh God, oh God, oh God—”

Damien crouched in front of her, his face inches from hers, eyes blazing with something hard and unshakable.

“You listen to me,” he said, his voice a low growl. “No matter what happens, you stay with me. Understand?”

Her throat closed. She wanted to say no. She wanted to shove him out the door and lock herself inside. But her body betrayed her. She nodded.

Damien stood, pulling a knife from under his hoodie. The blade caught the dull light, sharp and real. Too real.

Maya froze. “You—what—who are you?”

His answer was short, brutal. “The only chance you have.”

The neighbor screamed. A loud c***k followed. Then silence.

Ethan clung to her arm, trembling. Maya bit down hard on her lip to keep from crying.

The footsteps came next. Slow. Heavy. Deliberate. Moving down the hall toward her door.

“Move,” Damien ordered.

He pushed her toward the fire escape window at the back of the apartment. Maya stumbled, nearly tripping over the carpet. She wanted to argue, to demand answers, but there was no time.

The footsteps stopped outside her door.

Her blood iced over.

Damien yanked the window up, the old wood groaning. Cool night air rushed in.

“Go!”

She hesitated. Ethan clung tighter.

“Maya, now!”

The door handle rattled violently.

She didn’t think—she climbed out, dragging Ethan with her. The metal ladder rattled under their weight.

Damien followed, dropping silently onto the landing like he’d done it a thousand times before. He shut the window just as the first blow landed on the door inside.

Wood cracked. Men shouted.

Maya’s legs shook so badly she could barely climb down. Ethan whimpered against her shoulder, and she whispered to him, begged him to be quiet, though her own voice trembled.

When they hit the street, Damien didn’t stop. He grabbed her hand, pulled her into the dark, weaving through alleys and backstreets like he knew every corner.

Maya’s lungs burned. Her shoes slipped on wet pavement. She wanted to collapse, to let it all swallow her whole, but Damien kept her upright, kept her moving.

They didn’t stop until the city lights dimmed and the streets grew quieter, emptier.

Maya ripped her hand from his chest heaving. “What the hell was that?” she demanded.

Damien’s jaw clenched. He didn’t answer. His knife was still in his hand, his knuckles white around the handle.

“Tell me!” she shouted, voice breaking. “Who are you? Why are they after me?”

He finally turned, eyes burning. “They’re not after you, Maya. They’re after me.”

The words hit harder than the run had. She stared at him, shaking her head. “That doesn’t make sense. They knew my name. They came to my door—”

“They’ll use anyone close,” he cut in. His voice dropped. “You’re leveraged.”

Her stomach twisted, bile rising in her throat. Leverage. Her. Ethan.

She staggered back a step, pulling her brother behind her. “Stay away from us.”

Damien didn’t move. His eyes softened just a fraction, but his body stayed tense, ready, like a coiled spring.

“If I stay away,” he said, low and even, “they’ll take you. Both of you. Do you want that?”

Her voice cracked. “I don’t trust you.”

“Good,” he said. “You shouldn’t.”

The honesty in his tone rattled her more than any lie could’ve.

Before she could speak again, a sound split the night. Tires screeching.

Maya’s head snapped toward the street.

A black SUV turned the corner fast, headlights cutting across the alley where they stood.

Damien’s hand shot out, grabbing her arm. “Run.”

“No,” she snapped, clutching Ethan tighter. “I’m done running!”

The SUV skidded to a stop. Doors flew open. Men spilled out, their faces hard, their steps quick.

Maya’s heart lurched into her throat.

Damien’s knife flashed again. He stepped in front of her and Ethan, his stance wide, protective.

She wanted to scream at him. To tell him to get out of the way, that he was insane, that they couldn’t fight this. But her words died on her tongue.

Because one of the men stepped forward, and this time… he spoke.

“Maya Bennett,” the man said, his voice smooth and sharp. “Your father sends his regards.”

The world tilted.

Her knees buckled. She couldn’t breathe.

Her father was dead. Dead for years.

Wasn’t he?

Maya’s world shatters at the revelation that her supposedly dead father might be alive—and behind the men chasing her.