Chapter 5 SHADOWS ON THE STAIRS

Absolutely. Let's dive

The morning air felt wrong.

Too still.

Too quiet.

Eva stepped outside her apartment, sunglasses hiding the bruises under her eyes-fatigue, fear, and something else she couldn't name.

She wasn't the same woman she was two nights ago.

Now, she was watched. Claimed. Caught in a game she didn't know the rules to.

And today, for the first time, she felt like prey.

She walked to the café near 5th Street, same as always. Ordered the same bitter coffee. Sat in the same corner table facing the street. But something was different.

The man in the gray hoodie across the room?

He hadn't touched his drink in fifteen minutes.

The woman near the counter with the oversized sunglasses?

Too still.

She texted the number Dominic had left scribbled on a napkin.

**Eva:** _Are these yours?_

Seconds later:

**Dominic:** _No._

Her pulse spiked.

He sent another message.

**Dominic:** _Leave through the kitchen. Now. Don't run._

She didn't hesitate.

Eva stood, walked calmly toward the back, pushed past the "Employees Only" door, and slipped into the alley.

A black SUV screeched to a stop a moment later.

The back door flew open.

Dominic wasn't inside.

But the man who was?

She didn't recognize him.

Tall. Suave. Scarred knuckles. Dead eyes.

"Eva Torres," he said, as if it wasn't a question. "Get in. He wants to talk."

"Who?" she asked.

He smiled. "Someone who thinks you've been very curious."

She turned to run-

-but he was already out of the car, grabbing her wrist with steel-like force.

"You've got a choice," he said, too close to her face. "Come quietly and maybe you walk out. Make a scene and we'll clean it up with bleach and bleach only."

Before she could scream-

A single gunshot cracked through the alley.

The man dropped instantly, blood blooming on his shoulder.

Eva shrieked and stumbled back. She looked up-

Dominic stood at the end of the alley, gun raised, eyes murderous.

"I told you," he said through gritted teeth, storming forward. "Don't run."

He grabbed her arm-not rough, but firm-and dragged her toward his car.

"Who was that?" she gasped.

He shoved her into the passenger seat, slammed the door, and peeled away.

"That," Dominic said, voice ice-cold, "was your first warning."

She looked over at him, shaken, adrenaline flooding her.

"What's the second?"

He glanced at her, something dangerous flickering behind his eyes.

"There isn't one "

The car tore through the city like it owed him something.

Dominic didn't speak. Not for blocks.

His hands gripped the wheel like he was holding back more than just rage.

Eva sat in stunned silence, pulse still echoing in her ears. She kept replaying it: the cold stare of the man who tried to take her. The snap of the gunshot. The way Dominic didn't hesitate.

"You shot him," she whispered.

He didn't look at her. "He'll live."

"You didn't aim to kill."

"I wanted him to remember the pain." He finally glanced her way. "You were almost taken."

"And you were *watching* me," she snapped. "You let it get that close?"

His jaw ticked. "I didn't let it happen. I got there in time."

"In time for *what*? For the drama? Or the power play?"

That made him brake-hard.

The car skidded to the curb and stopped. Dominic turned to her, eyes like obsidian.

"You think this is a game to me?" he said. "You have no idea the kinds of people circling your name. If I hadn't been there-if I hadn't put a man outside your apartment last night-you'd be gone."

She swallowed hard. "Why me?"

His eyes dropped to her lips, lingered for just a second too long.

"Because you saw something you shouldn't have," he said. "And because the moment I looked at you, I knew I wasn't going to let anyone else have you."

The car fell into silence again, heavier now, weighted with something darker than fear.

Possession.

Desire.

Obsession.

Dominic exhaled slowly and reached into the glove box. He handed her a burner phone.

"From now on, use this. Nothing traceable. I'll text you instructions. If I say don't leave the house, you *don't* leave the house."

She stared at the phone. "And if I decide I want out?"

His lips curled-not a smile. Something colder.

"You're already in, Eva. The only way out now... is through me."

He started the car again, driving toward the edge of the city, past familiar streets and into something less safe. Less mapped.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

His voice was calm. Controlled.

"To the only place you're still safe."

They drove in silence for almost an hour.

The city gave way to nothing-abandoned roads, broken fences, woods that looked like they'd swallowed secrets and never spit them out.

Eva glanced at Dominic. He didn't fidget, didn't explain, didn't even blink more than necessary. His face was a wall-and she was dying to know what was behind it.

Finally, they pulled into a gravel driveway.

A gate opened by itself. Cameras tracked the car's every move.

"This looks like a safehouse," she said.

"It is," he answered. "Mine."

The building was sleek and modern-steel and black glass carved into the hillside. Stark. Isolated. Beautiful, in a brutal kind of way.

He led her inside, past clean corridors and silent rooms. No guards. No staff. Just tension.

"How many people know about this place?" she asked.

"Two," he said, unlocking a door at the end of the hall. "Me. And now you."

That hit her like a punch.

He pushed the door open. A bedroom. Minimal. Cold. But stocked-like he'd prepared it for her days ago.

"You think I'm staying here?" she asked.

"I *know* you are," he said.

She spun to face him. "You can't just hide me away like I'm your secret."

"You're not a secret," he said, stepping closer. "You're a target."

Her breath hitched as he boxed her in, voice dropping.

"And until I know who ordered that grab today, you don't leave this place unless I say so."

Eva narrowed her eyes. "You think locking me up will make me trust you?"

"No," he said. "But it'll keep you alive long enough to decide if you want to."

He turned to leave, then paused in the doorway.

"You asked why you," he said, without facing her. "Why I didn't let them clean it up."

She didn't speak. She waited.

He looked over his shoulder. And this time, his voice wasn't cold. It was haunted.

"Because when I saw you, Eva... I saw something I haven't seen in years."

"What?"

He met her gaze.

"Someone worth saving."

Then he walked out, and the door clicked behind him.