Ariella stopped at the bottom of the apartment stairs when she saw it.
Two sleek black SUVs were parked outside her run-down building, shining and polished in a place that still smelled like rust and wet concrete. Suits stood next to them, with blank faces and no expression.
Her heart sank.
"No," she said, her voice barely heard. "He wouldn't."
Killian got out of the second SUV like a storm, wearing a fitted coat. Chilly. His physique was poorly constructed. The man who had never been in a room took it.
And now he had taken hers.
Ariella's hands turned into fists. "Killian, what did you do?"
He carefully looked up, and his eyes went right to hers. For a moment, relief showed on his face. Then he stood up straight and buttoned his coat.
"You're home late," he said.
"Don't think this constantly happens!" She snapped and got closer. "Why are you here with bodyguards? "Why are there cars that shouldn't be on this street?"
"Because someone was following you," he said calmly. "And because you didn't pick up the phone."
Her stomach dropped. "I was busy." "I turned it off."
He got closer, and his presence filled the space between them. "Ariella, you and Luna went to bed last night with a stalker parked outside. Please forgive me for doing something.
"Do something?" She said it again. "What action, Killian?"
He took a deep breath and got ready. "Let's go inside."
"No," she said firmly. "Say it here."
He looked at her—her shaking fingers and the fear that was hiding behind her anger.
She wasn't ready.
He didn't care.
"Okay," Killian said. "I bought your building."
The whole world tilted.
Ariella blinked a lot. "No, you didn't."
"I did."
"Killian—" Her voice broke. "You can't just buy places when you want to!"
"I didn't buy it because I wanted to." His voice went silent, like death. "I bought it because someone was after you. Your landlord didn't put in any working cameras. The fire exits are only slightly open. The locks on your door are older than Luna is.
He got closer, and she backed up until her back hit the railing.
"And I won't lose either of you again," he said softly.
Her chest felt like it was going to burst. "You can't control everything!"
"But I can handle this."
Ariella shook her head, feeling both shock and anger. "Killian, this is my home." Mine. You can't just walk in here and say, "I own your life!"
"I don't own your life." His face became rigid. "I'll keep it safe."
She gasped. "I didn't ask you to!"
"You didn't have to."
Ariella saw the SUVs, the guards, and how her neighbors watched through windows and doors. Her cheeks burned with shame.
She said quietly, "You're making me look bad."
Killian tightened his jaw. "You're safe with me."
"By making a show? Buying a building just to avoid being told no?
He flinched.
She saw it, but just.
"Ariella..." He spoke more quietly. Too much. "I'm not doing this to control you."
"Then why?"
He stopped.
She was more worried about that uncertainty than she was about his promise.
"Because someone is after you," Killian finally said. "Someone who knows you are related to me. Someone who has met Luna.
The encounter was intensely personal.
"What did you find out?" she asked in a whisper. "
He shakes his head. "Not yet." But the car wasn't picked at random.
Ariella's knees got weak. He reached out without thinking, but she pulled away.
He took a quick breath. "Stop fighting me, Ariella."
"What else do you want me to do? You show up all the time. You are a part of everything I do. And now you've taken my house!
"I made it safer."
"You made it yours."
He looked at her with fire in his eyes. "I don't want your home," he said, his voice breaking. "I want you to live."
There was silence between them.
A lot. Broken. Full of truths that neither of them wanted to face.
Killian first looked to the side, as if danger was hiding behind every shadow on the street. "Come in. I put in new locks."
"One day?" Ariella said something in a low voice.
"Yes."
"That's not normal."
He looked her in the eye. "Letting you live in a place where a door almost fell off its hinges is not okay either."
Her shoulders fell. She was so tired that it hurt. "I don't need you to fix everything."
He moved closer and spoke in a low voice. "Then tell me what you want."
Ariella's breath shook. "Distance."
His throat moved up and down. "I can't give you that."
"Then stop acting like the situation is about safety."
His eyes softened a lot, as if what she said hit him hard.
He said slowly, "Ariella, I've lost you once. I won't let anyone take you again."
Her heart hurt. "Don't worry, you didn't lose me," she said softly. "You pushed me away."
Killian stopped moving.
For a short time, all the pride, ice, and CEO walls fell down.
He spoke again, but this time he was quiet. "I know."
Then he looked away, his jaw tightening, and pain crossed his face as if he were remembering something she couldn't see.
"Let's go up," he said.
"I don't agree with this deal."
"I'm not telling you to." He came to a stop. "Not tonight."
Killian told two guards to wait outside the door. Someone else went up the stairs after them. Ariella detested the attention, the breach of her privacy, and the distressing sensation of returning to her former life.
But she hated how safe she felt when she followed him.
He opened the door to her apartment and went inside first, checking every nook and cranny, including the windows, rooms, and closet.
"Clear," he said.
Ariella rolled her eyes. "This isn't a place of war."
He looked at her with a cold look. "It is now."
She took a big gulp.
Killian took off his coat and hung it over her chair like he owned the place. "Tomorrow," he said. "I'm putting in new locks, cameras, and windows that are stronger."
"No," she said right away. "Killian, I said no."
"And I told them I wasn't going to negotiate." He gave her a look. "I don't care if you hate me, Ariella. That works for me. But I can't stand the thought of losing Luna before I even get to know her. "Or you."
She couldn't breathe.
Her heart began to race.
"Don't," she said softly.
"Don't talk like that."
He got too close and spoke more quietly. "I mean every word."
She turned her head away so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye.
Killian took a soft breath and fought against something inside him. "I'll be down there." I have to make some calls.
He walked up to the door, stopped, and talked without looking around.
"Ariella... You're not by yourself anymore.
The door made a click sound as it closed.
Ariella slid down the couch and shivered.
Not because of fear.
Because she knew—
It was just the start.
Killian wasn't just buying buildings.
He was destroying the way she could get away.
He was dismantling her escape route piece by piece.
And she didn't know how to stop him.