Chapter 28 When the enemy knocks
Lucy’s apartment felt wrong the moment she stepped inside.
Nothing was out of place.
No broken locks.
No open windows.
But the air felt… watched.
She set her bag down slowly, pulse ticking louder in her ears.
Years of working rescues had sharpened her instincts, and they were screaming now.
Someone had been here.
Lucy crossed the room carefully, fingers brushing the small knife she kept hidden near the door.
She checked the bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen.
Empty.
Relief had just started to settle when she noticed it.
A single white envelope on her kitchen table.
She hadn’t left it there.
Her name was written across the front in precise, elegant handwriting.
Lucy.
Her stomach dropped.
She stood there for what felt like a few hours but was only a few minutes if not seconds. Someone had been in here.
In her apartment and she told Lucas to wait downstairs.
She didn't open it.
Instead, she stepped back, pulled out her phone, and called Lucas.
He answered on the first ring. “Talk to me.”
“There’s an envelope in my apartment,” she said quietly. “With my name on it.”
Silence on the other end—then his voice sharpened.
“Don’t touch it. Get out. Now.”
“I think he wants me to read it.”
“I don’t care what he wants,” Lucas snapped. “Lucy, leave. I’m on my way.”
Her chest tightened. “Lucas—”
“Now.”
She hesitated only a second longer, then grabbed her bag and stepped back into the hallway, locking the door behind her.
She’d barely reached the stairs when her phone buzzed again.
A text message.
Unknown Number:
You left too quickly. I hoped you’d read my note.
Her blood went cold.
Another message followed.
I admire women who don’t hide from monsters.
Lucy’s hands shook as she typed back.
Lucy:
If you have something to say, say it.
The response came instantly
.
Oh, I am. Just not where others can hear.
Headlights swept across the street below.
Lucas’s car screeched to a stop at the curb.
He was out of it before the engine cut, eyes scanning the building like he expected it to explode.
Lucy ran down the steps.
Lucas caught her, hands gripping her arms, checking her for injuries.
“Are you hurt?”
“No,” she said. “But he was inside.”
"Is he still there?"
"No, no one is in there but someone has been in there, nothing is touched or out of place"
Lucas’s jaw clenched, fury burning hot in his eyes. “I told you this would happen.”
She met his gaze, steady despite the fear curling in her stomach.
“You also told me we’d face it together.”
He exhaled sharply, pulling her into his chest.
“Damn it.”
"Come on, get in the car" Lucas said practically dragging her into it.
In the car, Lucy finally opened the envelope—gloved hands, windows down, Lucas watching her like a coiled weapon.
Inside was a single card.
No threats.
No demands.
Just words.
You have something I want.
And now I know where to find you.
Lucas crushed the steering wheel in his grip. “He’s marking territory."
Lucy swallowed. “Or baiting us.”
Lucas turned to her, voice low and deadly calm.
“He crossed a line.”
“He wants a reaction,” Lucy said. “If we lash out, we play his game.”
Lucas stared ahead for a long moment.
“You’re right.”
Then he looked at her—eyes dark with something deeper than anger.
“But he won’t touch you again or anyone else ever again.”
Lucy has never felt so safe and protected and these feelings were alien to her but very comforting, something she could get used to very easily.
Back at the safe house, Lucas doubled security immediately. Guards. Cameras. Routes changed every hour.
Lucy watched him move—efficient, controlled—but she could feel the tension coiled tight inside him.
Later, on the rooftop, the city stretched endlessly below them.
“He's too close,” Lucas said quietly. “That was my failure.”
Lucy turned to him. “No. That was his mistake.”
He looked at her, surprised.
“You think scaring me will make me stop?” she continued softly. “It won’t. And it won’t make me leave you either.”
Lucas stepped closer, hands resting on her hips.
“You should be terrified,” he murmured.
“I am,” she admitted. “But I’m also angry.”
A slow, dangerous smile curved his mouth.
“So am I.”
She leaned into him, forehead resting against his chest. “Then we use that. Carefully.”
Lucas’s arms wrapped around her, protective and unyielding.
“I love you,” he said quietly, like it was a truth he’d been holding back too long.
Her breath caught.
She looked up at him, heart pounding—not from fear.
“I love you too.”
The city lights flickered below them as if the world itself held its breath.
D’Angelo had made his move.
And now, the war was personal.