Chapter 5: Shadows In The Storm.
1006 Words
The city pulsed with life outside Serena’s apartment window, but inside, the air was thick with tension. She stood in the center of her small but cozy living room, arms crossed, waiting for the inevitable knock on the door.
Damian had made good on his word.
Security.
Her bodyguard—a non-negotiable condition he had forced on her.
Serena had barely slept since their confrontation at Sterling Enterprises. The walls of her world were closing in, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, she felt the invisible chains tightening around her.
A sharp knock echoed through the room.
Showtime.
Serena exhaled, steeling herself before opening the door.
A man stood on the threshold. Not just any man—a mountain.
He was tall, easily over six feet, with a build that looked like it had been carved from stone. His sharp green eyes assessed her instantly, scanning every detail like a machine. A jagged scar ran across his left brow, a silent warning that he was no stranger to violence.
“Miss Lockhart?” His voice was deep, and measured.
Serena swallowed. “That’s me.”
The man gave a curt nod. “I’m Cole Matthews. Mr. Blackwood assigned me to you.”
Of course, he had a name as intense as his presence.
Serena arched a brow. “Did Mr. Blackwood also tell you to camp outside my door?”
Cole didn’t blink. “Mr. Blackwood told me to keep you safe.”
Serena let out a humorless laugh. “Right. And what exactly are you protecting me from? Paparazzi? Overzealous baristas?”
Cole didn’t flinch. “It’s not my job to question threats. It’s my job to eliminate them.”
A chill crawled up Serena’s spine. The way he said it—so casually, as if he were discussing the weather—made her stomach tighten.
She knew Damian was powerful. She knew he played in a world where deals were made behind closed doors, where money spoke louder than morality. But this? This was something else entirely.
Still, she refused to be caged.
“Look,” she said, folding her arms. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
Cole’s expression remained unreadable. “And I don’t need your approval.”
Serena scowled. “I don’t want a bodyguard.”
“And I don’t want to be here,” Cole said evenly. “But we don’t always get what we want.”
Before she could argue, he stepped past her and shut the door.
Serena turned, hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”
Cole glanced around, scanning the room with calculated precision. “Where’s your bedroom?”
Serena gawked at him. “None of your business.”
He ignored her. “How many exits?”
“Seriously?”
“Miss Lockhart, if you want to argue, take it up with Mr. Blackwood. Otherwise, let me do my job.”
Serena clenched her jaw.
Damian had sent a soldier into her home.
And soldiers followed orders.
Sterling Enterprises – Damian’s Office
Damian Blackwood stood in front of his floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the city below like a king overseeing his empire. The storm brewing in his chest matched the one gathering over the skyline.
Serena.
She had no idea what she had stepped into.
When she had told him she was pregnant, the ground beneath him had shifted, tilting his world on its axis. But it wasn’t just the child that made his pulse quicken—it was her.
Serena Lockhart was a wildfire, impossible to contain, burning everything in her path—including his carefully built walls.
A sharp knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Adrian Cross, his right-hand man, entered. Dressed in a charcoal suit, Adrian moved with the effortless confidence of someone who had seen the darkest corners of power and survived.
“We have a problem,” Adrian said, placing a file on Damian’s desk.
Damian arched a brow. “Another one?”
Adrian smirked but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s about Serena.”
Damian’s entire body tensed. “What about her?”
Adrian opened the file, revealing a series of photographs. Paparazzi shots. Serena leaving the office, Serena walking into her apartment, Serena in a café—nothing unusual.
Except for one.
A dark figure lurking in the background, watching her.
Damian’s blood ran cold. “Who is he?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “We don’t know. Yet. But he’s been tailing her for days.”
Rage ignited in Damian’s veins.
Serena had argued that she didn’t need protection. But she had no idea how dangerous his world truly was.
He clenched his fists.
No one touched what was his.
No one.
Serena’s Apartment – Later That Night
Serena curled up on the couch, flipping through a book, but the words blurred together. She was too restless, too aware of the silent presence standing near the door.
Cole hadn’t moved from his post since he arrived, standing like a sentinel, eyes constantly scanning.
It was unnerving.
Finally, she sighed. “Do you ever blink?”
Cole didn’t glance at her. “Occasionally.”
Serena rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to stand there all night, you know.”
“I do.”
She groaned. “This is ridiculous.”
But before Cole could respond, his phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen, and then his entire body went rigid.
Serena frowned. “What is it?”
Cole was already moving. He strode to the window, pulling back the curtain slightly. His entire posture changed, muscles coiling like a predator about to strike.
Serena’s heart pounded. “Cole?”
He turned to her, eyes sharp. “Stay here.”
Before she could react, he pulled a gun from his holster.
Serena’s breath caught. “What the—”
A shadow moved outside.
Cole cursed under his breath. “Get down.”
Serena’s blood ran cold.
Someone was watching her.
And they weren’t alone.
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- Writer
