Chapter 50 Adeline
Adeline's POV
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Baby, I want you to move in with me." He says it clearly this time.
I stare at him. "You want me to move in here with you?"
"No," he says. He looks around the penthouse with a critical eye. "Not here. I don't want us to live here. This place—it has too many memories of me being alone and often in bad form. I'm either alone or dealing with a crisis."
"And it mostly has to do with me."
He ignores my guilt and says. "I’m saying let's buy a house. A real one. Maybe a brownstone in Brooklyn or a place upstate near the water. Somewhere that’s just ours, where we can start our own story."
"You want to buy a house for us?"
"I want to build a home," he says. "With you. I don't want you to be a guest in my life or in my house anymore, Adeline. I want us to own it together." He squeezes my hand.
"Together?"
"So? What do you say? Ready to sign a contract that actually matters?" I look at him, and the hollowness in my chest starts to fill with warmth. How is it that he got what I was feeling? I just started to feel like a guest in his space, and he comes up with this? A place that's just ours.
"A brownstone," I muse, a small smile breaking through. "With a garden?"
"With a garden," he promises. "And a garage for our cars and bikes.
I squeeze his hand back. "Okay," I whisper. "Let's find a home together."
Two weeks later, we still haven't found the perfect brownstone yet because Percy is vetting the buildings we found aggressively. It could be a minor issue like a mold found in the house years ago, and that was enough for Percy to scrap it, so we're still living in our different places even though I'm in his place most times.
It all feels temporary now. He's packed up most of his personal effects, so he's mentally out of here. Me, too.
Currently, I'm surrounded by real estate brochures in his living room while he pours us wine.
I pick up a flyer for a townhouse with a limestone façade. It looks beautiful and safe, I know that’s important to him.
"This one has a security system," I call out. "And a wine cellar for when your dad comes over."
"He’s banned from the cellar," Percy says as he walks back. He sets the glasses down so he can loosen his tie. "I don't want him going on about the history of wine and what not."
I laugh because he's right. "You’re terrible."
"I’m practical." He kisses my temple. "How was your day? Did Melissa call?"
"No," I sigh. "Radio silence. I think she’s still stewing."
"Let her stew," Percy says. "She’ll come around when she realizes we aren't going anywhere."
He reaches for his phone to show me a listing he found, but my phone buzzes on the table first, and I frown. It's too late for work mail, and I have no personal relationships that are not my mother.
I swipe my phone open to find that it's an unknown number, and I roll my eyes, fully expecting a spam message, but what I found was much worse.
"You think you’re safe in that tower? What happened on the road was just a warning, Adeline. If you don't want your loved ones to bleed, you better start listening."
My blood runs cold, and the glass of wine in my hand suddenly feels heavy. The realization that someone has been watching me since that time is chilling. If there wasn't evidence that Mason was the one behind my accident, I'd have thought he'd been wrongfully incarcerated, but no.
This person watched me go through one of the most traumatic events of my life.
"Adeline?" Percy’s voice sounds far away. "What is it?"
My fingers tremble as a second message pops up.
"1 million dollars. Cash. Unmarked bills. I know you have it. You’re dating a rich man and playing house in his penthouse. It shouldn't be difficult for you to pay for your peace of mind."
I drop the phone, unable to take it anymore.
"Adeline!" Percy sets his glass down and grabs my shoulders. "You’re pale, what happened?"
I can't speak, I just pointed to the phone lying on the table. Percy picks it up, and I watch his face go pale from shock, then replaced by pure fury.
"Someone was watching you as that bastard ran you off the road and still has the gall to ask you for money?"
I wonder how he thinks that's the important thing right now.
"They know where we are," I choke out, pulling my legs up to my chest. "Percy, they know I’m here. They know about you."
"They’ve been watching," Percy comes to the same conclusion. Suddenly, he stops and faces the floor-to-ceiling windows that I loved so much five minutes ago. Now, they just make me feel like I'm on display.
He walks over and hits a button on the wall panel that makes shutters close over the window. It does little to make me feel safe.
"Who would do this?" I ask, my voice shaking. "I’m a lawyer, Percy. I don't have enemies like this. Mason is in jail, and Sienna is gone."
"I don't know," Percy says grimly. "But I’m going to find out."
He unlocks his phone and dials a number. I know exactly who he’s calling.
"Tiny," he barks. "There's something I want you to look into. Someone was watching my woman get run off the road."
He listens for a second and starts scanning the room for what I assume are bugs.
"I want the security detail tripled, and send a team to Melissa’s house."
"My mother?" I gasp.
Percy covers the mouthpiece. "If they know about us, Adeline, they know about everyone. I’m not taking chances." He turns back to the phone. "And Tiny? Get the detective on the line. The one who worked Adeline’s crash case. Send him these screenshots. I want to see if they can link it to anyone."
He hangs up and walks back to me to take my hands in his. "Look at me."
I meet his gaze, and he looks deadly serious.
"You are safe here," he promises. "This building is a fortress. No one gets in without my permission."
"They want a million dollars," I whisper. "Or they said people would bleed."
"You're giving them exactly what they want. You're scared, but they made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"They threatened an Akilov," he says darkly. "And they threatened you. Pack a bag."
"Where are we going?"
"We’re moving to the safe house," he says.
"There's a safe house?"
'Yes, I don't joke with your safety, so there's always a safe house. Until I know who's behind those texts, I'm not letting you out of my sight."
I don't even have the strength to argue with myself. I just do as he says and pack a bag for the night.