Chapter 2: The Door Behind Me
The first gunshot sounded like a door slamming somewhere far away.
The second one didn't.
Everyone in the office froze.
I watched Damien's expression change.
The calm disappeared.
Not into panic.
Into something much worse.
Command.
“Lock the floor.””
His men moved instantly.
One crossed the room and shut the reinforced office door.
The other pulled a weapon from beneath his jacket.
I stumbled backward.
Damien caught my elbow.
“Stay behind me.””
“I don't understand.””
“You don't need to.””
Another shot echoed through the hallway.
Then shouting.
My knees weakened.
“Brandon?””
Damien looked at me.
“Did your husband know you were coming here?””
“No.””
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“Did anyone see you enter?””
“I don't think so.””
He nodded.
“What about the restaurant?””
I shook my head.
“I ran through the kitchen.””
“Did anyone follow you?””
“I don't know.””
His eyes narrowed.
Then his phone rang.
Damien answered.
“Talk.””
A voice came through the speaker.
“Two men at the east stairwell. Three at the service entrance. One is trying to reach the private elevators.””
Damien's eyes hardened.
“Police?””
“Not yet.””
“Good.””
I stared at him.
Good?
He noticed my expression.
“Police aren't the safest option tonight.””
“Why?””
“Because I don't know who they paid.””
My stomach twisted.
He walked toward the window.
Below us, Chicago glittered in the darkness.
Restaurants glowed along the streets. Cars moved through intersections. People laughed on sidewalks.
Normal life continued.
Meanwhile, my husband was apparently outside with armed men.
Damien turned back.
“I'm going to ask you something.””
I nodded.
“Has Brandon ever threatened to kill you?””
My lips parted.
“Yes.””
“Recently?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
I looked down.
“He said if I ever left him, he'd make sure nobody found me.””
Damien's face became unreadable.
“Did he mean it?””
“I thought he did.””
“No.””
He stepped closer.
“He did.””
A crash sounded outside.
I flinched.
Damien immediately moved between me and the door.
“It's going to be okay.””
I almost laughed.
Nobody had said that to me convincingly in a very long time.
“Why are you helping me?””
He studied me.
“Because you asked.””
“That can't be the whole reason.””
“It is.””
“You don't even know me.””
“I know enough.””
He glanced at my bare foot.
“You ran from a restaurant without one of your shoes.””
Then my wrist.
“You hid beneath a stranger's desk.””
Then my face.
“You were more afraid of your husband finding you than you were of a room full of armed strangers.””
His voice softened.
“That tells me enough.””
My eyes filled again.
I turned away.
“I don't want to cry.””
“You're allowed.””
“I hate crying.””
“Then don't.””
I looked at him.
He shrugged.
“You don't owe anyone tears.””
For some reason, that sentence hurt more than anything else.
The office door suddenly shook.
“Open up!””
Brandon.
I went cold.
“Hannah!””
Damien looked toward the door.
“Stay here.””
“No.””
He glanced back.
I realized my voice had sounded stronger.
“I don't want him to see me.””
“He won't.””
Brandon pounded on the door.
“Damien! This is ridiculous!””
Damien walked toward it.
I grabbed his sleeve.
He stopped.
“Please don't let him in.””
His eyes dropped to my hand.
Then lifted to mine.
“He won't get through me.””
He gently removed my fingers.
“Stay with Victor.””
One of his men nodded.
Damien opened the door.
Only a few inches.
Brandon's voice immediately rose.
“Where is she?””
Damien stood in the gap.
“Leave.””
“She belongs with me.””
“No.””
“You have no right to interfere in my marriage.””
Damien leaned closer.
“I don't care about your marriage.””
Brandon stared at him.
“I care about the woman who came here terrified.””
“She lies.””
Damien's eyes went cold.
“Then why did she run?””
Silence.
Brandon's breathing became heavier.
“You don't understand.””
“Explain.””
“She has been sick for years.””
I watched from across the room.
There it was again.
The lie.
The polished version.
The version that made people pity him.
Brandon lowered his voice.
“She has episodes. She thinks I'm hurting her.””
Damien didn't blink.
“Are you?””
“No.””
“Then show me your hands.””
Brandon frowned.
“What?””
“Show me your hands.””
Slowly, Brandon lifted them.
Damien studied them.
Then looked at the bruises on his knuckles.
“What happened?””
“I hit a wall.””
“Convenient.””
Brandon's face reddened.
“Listen to me—”
“No.””
Damien closed the door.
The lock clicked.
Brandon screamed from the hallway.
“HANNAH!””
I jumped.
Victor moved toward me.
“It's okay.””
I shook my head.
“No, it isn't.””
He looked at Damien.
“Boss?””
Damien had gone still.
His phone vibrated.
He checked it.
Whatever he saw made him look toward me.
“What?”” I whispered.
He didn't answer.
“Damien?””
He walked over and handed me the phone.
On the screen was a photograph.
It was me.
Leaving the restaurant.
Then another.
Me entering the building.
Then another.
Me walking down the corridor.
My blood turned cold.
Someone had been watching me.
“They followed me,” I whispered.
Damien took the phone back.
“Apparently.””
“Who?””
“I don't know yet.””
The lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
I gasped.
Then I heard the office door unlock.
Someone had a key.
Damien reached for me.
A man's voice came from the darkness.
“Found her.””
A gunshot exploded.
Victor shouted.
Damien pulled me to the floor.
Glass shattered somewhere behind us.
Then his mouth came close to my ear.
“Don't move.””
I couldn't see him.
I could barely breathe.
But I could feel his hand covering mine.
Steady.
Warm.
Certain.
Then another voice whispered from the hallway.
“Take the girl alive.””
Damien's fingers tightened around mine.
And for the first time, I understood something terrifying.
May you like
Brandon hadn't come here to bring me home.
He had come here to take me.
