Chapter 86 Percy
Percy’s POV
Since the beginning of this week after Adeline left me, I had been finding excuses to be on her floor so I could catch glimpses of her. Sure, I had Alex’s shadow detail give me hourly updates of her, but hearing about her on text wasn't the same, so here I was.
This morning was no different, and I was happy I'd been doing that because she basically stumbled into the office this morning.
Her face was entirely drained of color. Her dark eyes were wide and completely filled with fear. This was not the woman that had stared me down and chose herself. Her trembling fingers lost their grip, making her bag hit the polished tile with a loud smack that spilled legal briefs across the floor.
The entire office went dead silent. I didn't hesitate. I threw the coffee I had been pretending to sip away and almost ran to her as fast as I could.
Ordinarily, I would care about how it looked because I was careful not to flaunt our relationship but also not hide it at the same time. It was a delicate balance, but none of that mattered right now.
When I reached her, I immediately brought my hands up to grip her trembling shoulders. The violent shudder that ran through her body under my touch made my blood run cold.
"Adeline," I commanded lowly so she could focus on my voice alone. I looked down into her terrified eyes. "Look at me. Baby, talk to me."
She forced her eyes up to meet mine. "He found me," she choked out, and that was all I needed to hear.
Trying to get her to talk here was pointless, so I dropped one hand to her waist, pulled her firmly against my side, and practically carried her away from the staring crowd and straight into my office.
I closed the door once I deposited her on the leather chair and let the glass wall become opaque so no one could see us.
"Who found you?" I demanded. I framed her face with my hands, my thumbs gently tilting her chin up. I missed feeling her skin, but this was not the time. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"A scout," she stammered, her chest heaving as the tears finally spilled over her lashes. "My father sent a scout. He’s been watching me. He was wearing an army jacket, and today, he followed me onto the train. He tracked me all the way to the lobby, Percy. He was just standing outside the glass..."
My posture eased a bit once I found out that was what she was scared about. It didn't reduce my anger, but it gave me some peace of mind because I knew who she was talking about, and he was not a scout.
Alex had sent me a briefing yesterday about a homeless man who had taken an unhealthy interest in Adeline. I had ordered the detail to monitor him, but I didn't realize the bastard was going to follow her onto a train and send her into a spiral.
"He’s not a scout," I told her calmly, and she blinked.
"What? How do you know?"
"Because your father isn't in New York, trust me on that."
"How?"
"The man following you is nothing but a homeless man, and he just made the worst mistake of his life."
She stared at me coldly as she cleaned her tears. "How do you know about the homeless man in Soho?"
I paused, my finger hovering over the dial screen as I debated whether to tell her the truth about the detail that I had on her or not. I figured since the worst had already happened, telling her was harmless.
"Because you walked out of my penthouse, Adeline," I said softly. "You didn't walk out of my protection."
Before she could even process the fact that I had been secretly having her followed, I made a call.
"Alex," I said. "I am coming downstairs. Have him in the alley."
I hung up the phone and slipped it into my pocket.
"Sit down," I ordered softly, pressing her down onto the cushions. I crouched in front of her, resting my hands on her trembling knees. "You are completely safe. The door is locked. No one gets in or out without my keycard. Do you understand me?"
She nodded slowly, still trying to take it all in, I guess. Before she could challenge me, I stood up and left her in the office, locking the door behind me.
On getting downstairs, I took a sharp left that led into the narrow alleyway between Royal and Associates and the adjacent skyscraper.
Alex, my lead enforcer, was already waiting there. He had the homeless man pinned violently against the damp brick wall, and the man's eyes were wide with sheer terror as Alex’s massive forearm pressed against his throat.
"Boss," Alex grunted, not taking his eyes off the man as I approached. "He tried to run when she entered the building. We grabbed him before he made it to the subway."
He was wearing the filthy army jacket Alex had described in his reports and the one Adeline had described. This was the man she had been buying breakfast for, the man whose obsession had just sent the woman I loved into a panic attack.
"Let him breathe, Alex," I commanded softly, and he immediately stepped back. The man slumped against the brick wall, gasping for air as his eyes darted wildly between the two of us. At last, he fixed his eyes on me; he must have recognized that I was the one calling the shots.
"I didn't mean any harm!" the man wheezed, holding his hands up defensively. "I swear! The angel was nice to me. I just wanted to make sure she got to work safe. I just wanted to watch out for her!"
"She doesn't need you to watch out for her because that's my job," I told him lightly.
I reached into the inside breast pocket of my suit jacket and pulled out a thick white envelope filled with money. I tossed it at his feet. He still didn't stop staring at me.
"Inside that envelope is a one-way bus ticket to Miami leaving in exactly one hour and ten thousand dollars in cash."
His eyes widened with disbelief and a little bit of distrust. "What?"
"You are going to pick up that envelope and walk directly to the bus terminal. You will not stop for a coffee and you will not look back," I instructed slowly, making sure he really heard me.
I took one step closer to him, and he backed up against the wall. "If you miss that bus or if you ever step foot in Manhattan again, if you ever so much as look in her direction, you will not survive the night, do you understand?"
The man swallowed hard, looking from Alex’s hand on his gun and back to me before nodding wildly.
"Yes. Yes, sir. I understand. I’m leaving." He quickly picked up the envelope.
"Good," I said, stepping back. "Alex, escort our friend here and make sure he leaves."
"With pleasure, Boss," Alex smirked.
I might have stopped the threat, but the real danger was waiting for me upstairs in my office in the form of Adeline.
Adeline now knew she was being followed by my men, and I wondered how she was going to handle that.