Chapter 32 The Cost of Loving You
The D. Corporation building looked exactly the same as it had two days ago, but Elena felt different walking through the glass doors. The paperwork was waiting in the lawyers office, the final transfer documents that would officially make her the owner.
She signed where they pointed, her hand steady even though her stomach was twisting. Her father's company was finally hers.
"Congratulations, Ms. Davis," the lawyer said, sliding the papers into a folder. "Your father would be proud."
Elena nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. She shook hands, made polite conversation, and walked out twenty minutes later with Derek trailing silently behind her.
The parking garage was dim and quiet, their footsteps echoing off the concrete. Elena was halfway to the car when Derek's hand shot out, stopping her.
"Wait," he said quietly.
Elena froze. "What?"
Derek's eyes scanned the garage, his hand moving to his jacket. "Get in the car. Now."
"Derek, what..."
"Now, Ms. Davis." His voice was sharp.
Elena moved quickly to the car, her heart suddenly racing in her chest. Derek opened her door, practically pushing her inside before sliding into the driver's seat.
He pulled out fast from the garage, tires squealing slightly.
"What's going on?" Elena twisted in her seat, looking back.
"We were being watched."
"By who?" She asked, surprised.
Derek's jaw was tight. "Definitely not one of ours."
Elena's stomach dropped. "Rodrigo's people?"
"Yeah." Derek took a corner faster than necessary. "It has to be. Three of them. They weren't even trying to hide it."
"They were just... watching?" She asked, unable to still register what just happened. "In broad daylight?"
"Looks like it."
Elena's hands were shaking, she pressed them against her thighs, trying to steady her breathing. This was different from knowing that she was in danger. This was real. This was men following her to her father's company in the middle of the day.
The ride back felt endless. Derek kept checking the mirrors, his phone already pressed to his ear. "Boss. We've got a problem."
Elena couldn't hear Pierce's response, but Derek's expression said enough.
By the time they reached her apartment, Elena's fear had transformed into something else, something that felt very close to anger.
Pierce was waiting in her living room when she walked in, his phone still in his hand, his expression ice cold.
"Are you hurt?" His eyes scanned her immediately.
"No." Elena dropped her bag on the floor. "I'm fine."
Derek stepped forward. "Three of Rodrigo's guys at the D'Corporation garage. They weren't hiding, just watching us. Wanted us to know they were there."
Pierce's jaw tightened. "You're sure it was them?"
"Positive." Derek's voice was firm. "Recognized two from the warehouse hit last month."
"Get Leo. I want every camera feed from that building. Find out how long they've been tracking her." Pierce's voice was cold and deadly. "And call Marcus. Tell him I want Rodrigo's locations mapped. All of them."
Derek nodded and stepped into the hallway.
Silence filled the apartment.
Pierce looked at Elena. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" Elena's voice rose slightly. "No, Pierce. I'm not okay."
"Elena..."
"They were watching me." Her hands were shaking again, but not from fear this time. "At my company. In broad daylight. Like I'm some kind of... of target they're just waiting to..."
"I understand."
"Do you?" She took a step toward him. "Because I can't go anywhere. I can't work. I can't go to my own company without armed men following me. And it's because of you."
Pierce went very still. "Elena."
"Don't." Her voice cracked. "Don't try to make this something it's not. This is happening because I'm with you. Because Rodrigo knows I matter to you and that makes me a weapon he can use."
"I'm not going to let him touch you." Pierce said, his voice fierce.
"That's not the point!" Elena's voice broke completely. "The point is I'm a target at all. The point is I can't have a normal life. The point is every time I step outside that door I'm in danger because of what you are."
Pierce's expression didn't change but something flickered in his eyes. "I know what I am."
"Then you know this is your fault." The words came out harsh. "I knew you were dangerous. I knew being with you meant risk. But I thought... I don't know what I thought. That it would be manageable? That I could keep some part of my life separate?"
"You can't." His voice was quiet but firm. "I told you that from the beginning."
"I know." Elena wrapped her arms around herself. "But knowing it and living it are two different things."
"What do you want me to say?" Pierce took a step toward her. "That I'm sorry? I am. That I wish I could change what I am? I can't. This is my world, Elena. This is what comes with me."
"And what if I don't want it?" She asked before she could stop herself.
Pierce's expression shifted, something raw flashed across his face before he locked it down. "Then you leave."
"Just like that?" Elena asked.
"Just like that." His voice was steady but his eyes weren't. "I won't keep you prisoner. If you want out, if this is too much, you walk away. Right now."
Elena stared at him. At this man she'd somehow fallen for despite every reason not to. This criminal who'd crashed into her life and turned everything upside down.
"I don't want to leave," she said quietly. "But I don't want this either."
"You can't have it both ways."
"I know." Elena's voice cracked. "Don't you think I know that?"
They stood there, neither knowing how to fix it.
"I can protect you," Pierce said finally. "I can make sure Rodrigo never gets close. But I can't give you a normal life. I can't give you a safe life. All I can give you is me and everything that comes with that."
"Is that supposed to be enough?"
"I don't know." He said quietly. "Is it?"
Elena didn't have an answer.
Pierce's phone buzzed. He looked at it, his expression hardening. "I need to make some calls. I have to handle this."
"Of course you do." Her voice was sharp.
He looked at her. "Elena..."
"Just go." She turned away. "Do whatever it is you do."
Pierce stood there for a moment longer, then walked to the kitchen and pulled out his phone.
Elena sank onto the couch, pressing her hands against her face, trying to breathe through the tightness in her chest.
Behind her, Pierce's voice was cold and precise. "Marcus. Double security on Elena's building. I want someone on every entrance... No, I don't care what it costs... And pull surveillance on Rodrigo's known locations. If he moves, I want to know about it."
A pause.
"Get Xander on it too. Have him coordinate with the south side crew."
Elena closed her eyes, listening to Pierce systematically cage her life like a prison she'd chosen for herself.
"I want it done tonight," Pierce continued. "And Marcus? Make it clear to everyone...she's completely off limits. Anyone who even looks at her wrong answers to me."
Elena sat there alone on her couch, Suzie jumping up beside her, purring like nothing was wrong. Like the world hadn't just tilted sideways.
She'd known what Pierce was when she slept with him. Known what she was signing up for.
But knowing and living it were two completely different things.
And right now, sitting in her apartment that no longer felt like hers, listening to the man she was falling for plan her protection like a military operation, Elena wasn't sure which was worse, the danger she was in or the cage he was building to keep her safe from it.