Bound By Obsession

Chapter Three

The sound of a lighter snapped in the dim back office of the Velasquez estate. A curl of smoke rose as Jeremiah leaned back in his chair, cigarette glowing at the tip.

Oldo pushed through the door without knocking, a blood red folder in hand. His smirk came first.

“You really don’t make things easy. Do you know how hard it is to track down a five-foot woman with a shopping bag and great hair in Brooklyn on a Friday night?

I almost asked the NYPD for help.”

Jeremiah’s dark eyes lifted, unamused.

“But you found her.”

Oldo dropped the folder onto the desk with a dramatic thump. “Of course I found her. What do you take me for?"

He gestured at the folder.

“Gracie Matthews. Twenty-six. Freelance writer. Works from home, spends a lot of time in coffee shops and surprise, surprise bookstores. Inherited a small two story house from her grandmother, lives there alone. And get this no boyfriend.”

That last part made Jeremiah’s lips twitch.

Oldo noticed, chuckling. “Yeah, I figured you’d like that. Guess the universe is saving her for you.”

Jeremiah flipped open the file, his gaze devouring every printed line, every photo clipped inside. The grainy picture of her leaving the bookstore stared back at him, but even blurry, she burned brighter than the rest.

Oldo leaned against the desk, arms crossed. “Boss, I gotta say… this feels different. Usually, when you tell me to dig up dirt on someone, it’s because you’re about to put them in the ground.

But her?..." He trails off.

Jeremiah’s jaw flexed, but his voice was calm, controlled.

“She’s mine. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

Oldo whistled low.

“And here I was thinking you didn’t believe in love at first sight. Guess obsession counts, though.”

Jeremiah ignored him. His mind was already working

mapping her routines, imagining the sound of her laugh, the curve of her body.

Every word on those papers was a key, and soon he’d unlock her completely.

“Keep watching her,” Jeremiah ordered, his voice sharp again. “No mistakes. No one touches her. Not even a glance, Oldo. She doesn’t belong to the world anymore.”

Oldo gave a nod

“Understood, jefe."