Chapter 3 - The Woman Adrian Wasn’t Supposed to Love
The threat changed everything.
Grace was moved into a secure wing.
Her sister Emily was brought to the estate before sunset.
Emily arrived furious.
She hugged Grace first.
Then turned to Adrian.
“You.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“Me.”
“My sister has been missing for six hours.”
“She was protected.”
“Kidnapped is another word.”
Grace stepped between them.
“Emily.”
Her sister glared.
“You owe me details.”
“I know.”
Emily looked at Adrian.
“You hurt her?”
“No.”
“Will you?”
“No.”
“Are you the reason she's in danger?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Emily smiled bitterly.
“That means yes.”
Adrian accepted the accusation without argument.
“I will keep her alive.”
Emily's expression softened slightly.
“Then do it.”
She turned to Grace.
“You're staying.”
“I know.”
Emily hugged her again.
When she left, Grace looked at Adrian.
“She likes you.”
“She threatened to stab me with a fork.”
“She does that when she likes someone.”
For the first time, Adrian laughed.
The sound surprised Grace.
His laugh was deep.
Warm.
Completely different from the controlled man everyone feared.
Over the following weeks, they became companions.
Not lovers.
Not yet.
Something stranger.
Two people who spent too much time together because danger wouldn't let them separate.
Grace helped Adrian recover.
She forced him to eat breakfast.
She mocked his obsession with work.
She discovered he hated tomato soup.
He discovered she watched terrible reality television.
She taught him how to make grilled cheese.
He pretended not to like it.
She knew he loved it.
The staff began whispering.
Daniel noticed first.
“They're good for you.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Don't.”
“I'm just saying.”
“She is not part of this world.”
Daniel's expression became serious.
“That's exactly why she is.”
Adrian knew what he meant.
Grace wasn't corrupted by power.
She wasn't impressed by money.
She didn't fear his reputation.
And worst of all, she made him want a life outside the darkness.
But the enemy hadn't forgotten her.
A package arrived one afternoon.
Inside was a photograph of Grace entering her apartment.
On the back were three words.
She knows now.
Adrian's face hardened.
Grace saw it.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Don't lie.”
He handed her the photograph.
Her blood ran cold.
“That was taken three days before the crash.”
“Yes.”
“They were watching me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We don't know yet.”
Grace stared at him.
Then she noticed something.
A car in the background.
A silver sedan.
She remembered it.
“It was outside the hotel.”
Adrian leaned closer.
“When?”
“Three times.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Find the owner.”
The investigation uncovered a name.
Marcus Rourke.
A former associate of Adrian's father.
Now the head of a rival organization.
Rourke had a history of violence.
But there was more.
Rourke had once been engaged to a woman named Eleanor Miller.
Grace's grandmother.
Grace stared at the file.
“This is impossible.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“How could my grandmother know him?”
“Maybe she knew more than you thought.”
Grace's world shifted.
Her grandmother had died when Grace was nineteen.
She had always described her as strict, private, and fiercely protective.
Now Adrian told her the woman had connections to Chicago's underworld.
Grace felt sick.
“I don't understand.”
“We'll find out.”
That night Grace confronted Adrian.
“You knew my name before I met you.”
“I knew after the rescue.”
“Did someone tell you?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My father had a file on your family.”
She stared.
“What?”
Adrian looked away.
“Your family and mine have been connected for decades.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't know whether it was relevant.”
“It is relevant.”
“Yes.”
“Adrian.”
He finally looked at her.
“I was afraid.”
Grace went silent.
“The first thing I thought when I saw your name was that someone sent you.”
“What?”
“That you were part of a larger plan.”
“And now?”
“Now I know I was wrong.”
She searched his face.
“How?”
“Because no one would design a plan like you.”
She laughed despite herself.
“That might be the strangest compliment I've ever heard.”
“I mean it.”
Silence.
He took one step closer.
Grace didn't move.
“You scare me,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“Not because you're dangerous.”
His eyes darkened.
“Then why?”
“Because I don't know what you make me feel.”
Adrian exhaled slowly.
“I've been trying not to feel it either.”
He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of him.
Grace looked at his mouth.
Then his eyes.
Neither moved.
Adrian raised his hand.
He stopped before touching her.
“Tell me to stop.”
Grace shook her head.
“Don't.”
He kissed her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like someone afraid a single careless movement might destroy everything.
Grace's fingers curled into his shirt.
For the first time in her life, she felt desired without feeling consumed.
When they separated, Adrian rested his forehead against hers.
“This changes things.”
Grace smiled.
“Everything about you seems to.”
He laughed softly.
Then the window shattered.
Adrian pushed Grace to the ground.
Gunfire erupted.
Security flooded the room.
Adrian covered Grace with his body.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He looked at her.
Blood appeared on his sleeve.
Grace's eyes widened.
“You've been shot.”
“It's a graze.”
“You're bleeding.”
“I'm fine.”
Grace grabbed his face.
“Stop saying that.”
He froze.
She realized what she'd done.
But she didn't pull away.
Adrian stared at her.
Then whispered,
“I think I'm in love with you.”
Grace's heart stopped.
Outside, alarms screamed.
Inside, everything went quiet.
And somewhere beyond the shattered window, Marcus Rourke smiled.
May you like
Because the plan had worked.
Adrian Vale had finally given the enemy something worth killing.
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