CHAPTER 14 – The First Crack
1238 Words
Adrian wasn’t bluffing when he said: “Today, we end this.”
By noon, Lara found herself sitting in the back of his black SUV, watching the city rush past while his phone lit up constantly with texts from his security team.
“This feels… surreal,” she said quietly, fingers twisting the strap of her bag.
“You don’t have to be here,” Adrian replied without looking away from his phone. “I could handle it myself.”
Lara turned her head toward him. “You mean I could hide while you fix my problem?”
He finally glanced at her, one brow raised. “It’s not your problem, Lara. It’s ours. Someone’s targeting you to get to me.”
The warmth in those words hit unexpectedly hard. She swallowed, looking out the tinted window, trying to ignore the way her pulse jumped every time he said ours.
---
The SUV pulled into a cracked parking lot outside a low-rise apartment building that looked one fire code violation away from being condemned. Rusted railings. Windows covered with makeshift curtains. A front door barely hanging on its hinges.
“Great,” Lara muttered. “Very welcoming.”
Adrian smirked faintly. “Stay close.”
Two security agents were already waiting by the stairs. “Unit 3B,” one said. “He’s home.”
“Let’s go,” Adrian ordered. His tone left no room for argument.
---
The door to 3B opened easily after a quick knock and flash of a security badge. Inside, the man from the elevator—hood down this time—froze mid-step, one hand shoving clothes into a duffel bag.
“Don’t move,” one of Adrian’s men said sharply.
The man cursed under his breath. “Look, I didn’t do anything wrong—”
“Really?” Adrian stepped inside, voice low and dangerous. “Because my intern seems to remember you grabbing her and threatening her life.”
“I didn’t mean her any harm, okay?!” the man stammered. “It was just a job. I was paid to make her quit. That’s all.”
Lara stood by the door, her pulse racing. Seeing him here—in plain daylight, in a dirty apartment instead of lurking like a shadow—should have made him less frightening. It didn’t.
---
Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Who hired you?”
The man hesitated. “I don’t know his real name. He called himself Hale.”
“Hale,” Adrian repeated, voice sharp. “You got a number?”
“Burner. He paid me in cash. Left envelopes for me in lockers at the bus station.”
Adrian stepped closer, his height casting a shadow over the man. “Do you have those envelopes?”
“Uh… yeah, a couple. I kept them.” He pointed to a drawer. One of Adrian’s men opened it, pulling out two crumpled envelopes.
“Prints,” Adrian ordered.
The man swallowed. “Look, I didn’t sign up for this kind of heat. I was told to scare her, not… whatever this is. I’m out, man.”
“You were never in,” Adrian said flatly. “Consider yourself lucky you’re walking out of this apartment alive and into police custody.”
---
In the SUV, Lara sat silent for several minutes, staring at her own hands. Adrian finally looked over.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Seeing him like that… he wasn’t some faceless monster. Just a guy in a dirty apartment who thought threatening me was a paycheck.”
Adrian nodded slowly. “Hale’s the one we need. He doesn’t work small-time jobs unless someone with money calls the shots.”
“So… someone paid him to hurt me. To get to you.”
“Yes,” Adrian said. His jaw clenched, knuckles tightening on the steering wheel. “And I will find out who it is.”
---
By the time they got back to Adrian’s place, Lara’s exhaustion had sunk deep into her bones. But adrenaline still hummed under her skin, making it impossible to relax.
Adrian handed her a glass of wine. “To surviving another day.”
She managed a weak laugh. “You have an interesting way of celebrating near-death experiences.”
“Call it perspective,” he said, settling beside her on the couch.
The city lights reflected off the glass walls, bathing the room in a soft glow. Lara stared out for a long moment before speaking. “You keep saying I’m safe now, but… I don’t feel safe. What if this Hale guy comes after me himself?”
“He won’t,” Adrian said firmly.
“You don’t know that.”
He turned toward her, his expression softening. “No, I do. Because I won’t let him—or anyone—get near you again.”
Something about the way he said it, quiet and absolute, made her chest ache.
---
“You keep doing this,” she whispered.
“Doing what?”
“Protecting me. Taking all this on yourself.”
His eyes held hers. “Lara, I don’t do things I don’t want to do. I protect you because I want to.”
Her breath caught. “Why?”
For a second, Adrian didn’t answer. His hand lifted, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, fingertips lingering near her cheek. “Because I can’t stand seeing you afraid. Because… you matter to me more than you should.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs. “Adrian…”
---
She didn’t think—she just moved. One moment she was staring at him, the next she was leaning in, and then their lips touched.
It wasn’t hesitant for long. His hand slid to the back of her neck, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss until her fingers curled into his shirt, clutching it like an anchor.
When they finally broke apart, her pulse was wild.
“Wow,” she whispered, voice trembling.
Adrian’s forehead rested briefly against hers. “This changes things.”
She nodded, cheeks flushed. “I know.”
---
Her phone buzzed from the coffee table. Lara reached for it, still breathless, then froze.
Cute kiss. Did he taste like power?
Her stomach turned cold. “Adrian…” she whispered, holding up the screen.
He read it, jaw tightening like stone. “They were watching us. Tonight. In this apartment.”
Her throat tightened. “How? There are cameras? Bugs?”
His expression was already shifting from anger to calculation. “Not for long. Tomorrow, every inch of this place gets swept. Whoever’s watching just signed their own death warrant.”
---
Lara set the phone down slowly, her hands still shaking. She felt Adrian’s hand slide gently over hers, steady and grounding.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” he said softly.
She looked up at him, eyes burning. “But I am.”
“Then let me be afraid for you,” he said, voice so low it was almost a growl. “You just… breathe.”
She exhaled shakily, and for the first time all day, leaned into him, letting herself feel that single stolen moment of safety—even as someone, somewhere, was watching.
---
The kiss had felt like a spark. But the message turned it into a declaration of war. And Adrian Velez did not lose wars.
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