Chapter 140 Gripping fear
Come on baby, I said it’s nothing,” he repeated, more firmly this time.
Lucas pulled his hand back slightly, hurt flickering across his face. “Nothing?” he echoed. “You expect me to believe that?”
Alex ran a hand through his hair, frustration creeping in, not at Lucas, but at the situation. “Hey, I’m handling it,” he said.
“That’s not the point!” Lucas snapped, his voice rising just a little. “The point is you’re not letting me in!”
Silence fell again.
After some seconds, Lucas’s eyes softened a bit, but the hurt was still there. “Alex, I thought we were past this,” he said quietly. “I thought… You trusted me enough.”
Alex looked at him, and those words made it worse, because he didn't trust him very much. Which was exactly why he couldn’t tell him.
“I do,” Alex said, his voice lower now.
“Then prove it,” Lucas replied immediately.
Another silence stretched. This time it was tighter even to breaking point.
Alex’s lips parted slightly like he was about to spill everything, but instead, he closed them again.
“I just don’t want you worrying over nothing,” he said finally.
That was the moment Lucas knew. It was something serious but he wasn’t going to drag it.
So he took a small step back, disappointment settling in. “Okay,” he said softly. Though it didn’t sound okay at all.
The distance between them wasn’t physical but it was there.
And for the first time since they got back that night, everywhere felt tense.
The silence between them hadn’t even settled when the lights flickered. It happened once, twice, then steadied.
Both of them froze.
Lucas frowned slightly, glancing up. “What’s wrong with the power?”
Alex’s chest tightened as he put in, “Probably just a power fluctuation,” he said quickly, but his voice wasn’t as steady as he wanted it to be.
Lucas looked back at him but felt uneasy somehow. He walked over to bed but before he could settle down, Alex’s phone vibrated again.
This time, Lucas heard and saw it. His eyes dropped instantly to Alex’s hand.
Alex hesitated, for some seconds.
“Alex…” Lucas called him.
Then he checked, and it was Mac. His stomach dropped as he opened the message.
“Alex dear, you should really fix your lights.”
Alex’s blood ran cold but Mac wasn't done because another message came in almost immediately.
“They might make it hard to see sometimes.”
A sharp chill shot down his spine.
Slowly, really slowly, Alex lifted his head. His eyes moved toward the window. The curtains were slightly parted. Just enough to see the sky outside. It was dark and still, but something about it felt wrong.
“Alex,” Lucas said again, his voice lower now. “What is it?”
Alex didn’t answer. He stepped forward… One step, then another.
Every instinct in him is screaming.
“Alex, you’re scaring me,” Lucas added, getting up from the bed.
Alex reached the window. His hand hovered near the curtain. For a moment, he hesitated, then he pulled it aside.
Outside, across the street was a car parked, the engine and light were off. It hadn’t been there when they returned and it wasn't familiar to him.
Alex’s jaw tightened. His phone buzzed again. He didn’t look away from the car as he opened the message.
“There you go, my darling.”
A pause before another message buzzed in yet again.
“Told you… I’m watching.”
Lucas stepped closer behind him now, trying to see past his shoulder. “Alex, what are you looking…”
“Stay back,” Alex said sharply.
Lucas froze. That tone was too odd. He had never heard it from Alex before.
Slowly, Alex turned to face him.
And what Lucas saw in his eyes, made his stomach drop. It wasn’t just tension anymore. It was fear. A
real fear.
“He’s here, isn’t he?” Lucas stuttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Alex didn’t respond. He didn’t have to because, in that instant, as they watched the car’s headlights suddenly flickered on.
Both of them flinched slightly at the sudden brightness cutting through the dark. For a second, the beam of light hit the house directly.
Like a signal and a warning.
Then just as suddenly as it came, the lights went off again. The car remained still and Mac kept watching.
Lucas instinctively moved closer to Alex, his hand gripping his arm.
“Alex…” he whispered.
“Let’s go and ask him what he wants from us?”
Alex’s gaze hardened, his jaw clenching as he stared into the darkness. “No, we can't do that, what if he is armed?”
“Oh dear goodness,” Lucas whispered as it dawned on him.
As it was with them at that minute, there was no doubt. Mac wasn’t just a voice. He wasn’t just a threat. He was too close, right in front of them but fear won't even let them confront him.
Just as Alex kept his eyes locked on the car where Mac was, every instinct in him was screaming danger, and his phone suddenly buzzed.
Both he and Lucas flinched at the sharp sound. Alex exhaled, jaw tight, as he checked the screen. It was Dan.
He answered immediately. “Yes, Dan.”
“Boss, we have James in sight. He was on the dance floor earlier, but he just slipped out through the east exit. My men are tailing him now.”
Alex’s gaze darkened.
“Don’t lose him,” he said coldly. “I want eyes on him every second. No mistakes this time.”
“Understood, boss,” Dan responded before the call ended.
For a second, Alex didn’t move but his thoughts spiraled. He just got the real proof that Mac and James are different people but Mac was still a mystery he couldn't place his hand on.
Nothing in life had ever given him this kind of scare. Not even when James blackmailed him. Why would Mac ask him to break up with Lucas? Was his interest actually Lucas and he was pretending to be a victim?
Lucas stepped closer, his voice low but tense. “James? The same guy Annie saw?”
The words pulled Alex back and he nodded, still staring at the car ahead. “Yes. And if he’s here,” he paused, his eyes narrowing slightly, “then this isn’t a coincidence.”
Lucas followed his gaze back to the parked car. His chest tightened.
“Mac.”
The name hung heavy between them. At that exact moment, the headlights of the car flickered once.
Then went off.
Both men froze as a shadow shifted inside. Lucas grabbed Alex’s arm instinctively. “He knows we’re watching.”
Alex didn’t pull away this time. His lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
“Good,” he murmured. “Because now… I know he’s real and wanted me to know.”
Before Lucas could respond, another buzz. Alex opened it.
And his expression changed instantly. Lucas noticed. “What is it?”
Alex slowly turned the screen toward him. It was a picture.
It was taken just seconds ago from behind them. Standing right where they were.
Lucas’s breath hitched.
Beneath the image, a single line:
“Turn around slowly.”
The words burned into Alex’s mind. For a split second, neither of them moved. Their heart thudded in their chest.
Then, slowly and cautiously Alex turned.