When Obsession Strikes

Mia woke to the warmth of Lucas's body wrapped around her, his grip still firm possessive as if he feared she'd disappear. The room was quiet, but her mind was anything but.

Victor wouldn't stay down. Not for long.

Sliding out of bed carefully, she pulled on Lucas's shirt, the scent of him clinging to her skin. She padded to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the city still cloaked in early-morning shadows.

Her phone buzzed. Another unknown number.

She hesitated before opening it.

Unknown: Miss me already?

Her blood ran cold.

Before she could react, arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Lucas. His lips brushed her neck, his voice still heavy with sleep. "You're tense," he murmured. "What is it?"

Mia held up the phone.

Lucas's expression darkened as he read the message. Without a word, he snatched the phone from her hand, dialing a number.

"Jax," he barked. "He's making his next move track him."

Mia turned in his arms, her voice low. "He's not scared of you, is he?"

Lucas's jaw tightened. "He should be."

By noon, Lucas and Jax had locked down every corner of her life security cameras installed at her mother's house, bodyguards posted at her job. Yet, no matter how much protection surrounded her, Mia still felt exposed.

Victor wasn't after money.

He wanted to break her.

"You okay?" Lucas asked as they drove through the city. His hand rested on her thigh, his thumb tracing slow circles calm on the surface, but she felt the tension beneath.

"I'm fine," she lied.

He didn't buy it. "You don't have to be."

Mia leaned against the window. "What if this never stops? What if he always finds a way to pull me back?"

Lucas's grip tightened. "He won't. I'll make sure of it."

A silence settled between them, heavy and charged.

Until Lucas's phone buzzed.

A message from Jax.

Jax: We found something. Meet me now.

The meeting point was an abandoned parking garage on the edge of the city. Jax stood by his car, tossing a cigarette to the ground as they approached.

"He's been sloppy," Jax said, holding up a folder. "And I found a weak link."

Lucas flipped it open. Mia leaned closer and her stomach dropped.

A picture of a woman. Late twenties. Elegant. Sofia.

Mia's voice trembled. "Who is she?"

Victor's ex. The only person he ever trusted.

And the only one who had a reason to hate him as much as they did.

"She'll know where he's hiding," Lucas said. "And if she doesn't, I'll make her talk."

Mia shivered at the cold edge in his voice but a darker part of her wanted Victor to suffer.

"Let's find her," she said softly.

Lucas's gaze burned into hers. "No mercy."

And this time?

Victor wouldn't see them coming.