Chapter 685 Safe
Leo crossed the room, knelt in front of her, and took her hands in his. His gray eyes held hers.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice low and steady. "You are not my weakness."
Bella’s lips trembled.
"You are my strength." He squeezed her hands. "And no one, no one, is going to use you to hurt me. Because I won’t let them. And neither will you."
Jay stood up, his anger replaced by determination. "Bella, you’re family. We protect family. Whoever this S.P. is, we’ll find him. And when we do—"
"We’ll handle it," Jace finished, his voice quiet but firm.
Bella looked at them, seeing their protective expressions. She nodded slowly, feeling warm in her heart.
"Okay," she whispered.
Leo pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent, feeling the steady beat of his heart.
"I won’t let anyone hurt you," he murmured against her hair. "Not ever."
She nodded, her fingers clutching his shirt.
Jay picked up the note again, reading it one more time. "S.P.," he muttered. "Whoever you are, you just made the biggest mistake of your life."
Jace stood and walked to the window, his eyes scanning the darkness outside. "We need to increase security at the campus too. If he got to her bag once, he could do it again."
"I’ll handle it," Leo said, still holding Bella.
Jay folded the note and tucked it into his pocket. "I’m going to start looking into anyone with those initials. Business associates. Rivals. Even old enemies."
"I’ll help," Jace said.
They left the room, their voices fading as they walked down the hallway.
Leo held Bella for a long time, his hand stroking her hair, his heart pounding with a quiet, cold rage. The fire had died down to glowing embers, casting the room in soft shadows. Bella’s breathing had slowed, her body heavy against his, her fingers still loosely clutching his shirt.
After she fell asleep, he carried her to their room.
He moved slowly, carefully, cradling her against his chest like she was made of glass. Her head lolled against his shoulder, her hair brushing his neck, her breath warm on his skin. He laid her down on the bed, pulled the blanket over her, and settled beside her.
One hand stroked her hair, fingers threading through the soft strands, a rhythmic, soothing motion. His other hand rested on her stomach, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her breathing.
He was worried.
Not about the stalker. Not about the diamond or the note or the initials S.P. He would deal with those. He would find whoever was threatening her and make them regret ever looking at her.
What worried him was Bella.
The doctor had warned them months ago, after everything that had happened. Any trigger, any significant stress, could cause her to retreat into her little space. A protective mechanism, the doctor had called it. A way for her mind to shield itself from things too painful to process.
She hadn’t gone there again. But this, the gift, the note, the violation of someone touching her things without her knowing, this could push her back.
He knew she felt safe when he touched her. When he held her, when he kissed her, when she could feel his presence, his warmth, his love.
"My bunny," he thought, pressing a soft kiss to her nose. "I will find that person. And I will make him regret causing you stress."
Bella stirred at the touch of his lips. Her nose wrinkled slightly, and then she shifted, turning toward him, her arms reaching out blindly. She hugged him, her face pressing into his chest, her body curling against his.
Leo didn’t mind. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, and kept kissing her.
He kissed her little nose again. Then her forehead. Then her closed eyelids, one after the other. Her cheeks, soft and warm. The corner of her mouth.
Each kiss was gentle, featherlight, a silent promise. I’m here. You’re safe. I won’t let anything hurt you.
He kept going, his lips brushing her skin, until he felt her body relax. The tension in her shoulders eased. Her breathing deepened. Her fingers uncurled from his shirt.
Only then did he stop.
He pulled back just enough to look at her face.
The next day
Bella took a leave from college.
She couldn’t face the campus, not yet. Not knowing that someone had been close enough to touch her bag, close enough to slip a gift inside without her noticing. The thought made her skin crawl.
Leo launched an investigation. His people fanned out across the city, following leads, interviewing witnesses, combing through records. But Bella didn’t leave the house. She had her own way of hunting.
She sat in her study, laptop open, her fingers moving across the keyboard. The screen glowed in the dim light, lines of code flickering past. She had told Mira and Karl she wasn’t coming today, a vague excuse about feeling unwell. They had sent back concerned messages, which she appreciated but didn’t have the energy to answer.
Now she was focused.
She hacked into the campus security system first. It took less than a minute. The firewalls were weak, the encryption outdated. She was inside before the system even registered her presence.
Footage from the day before. Hundreds of hours of it.
She frowned, narrowing her search parameters. Time. Location. Her locker. Her classroom. The hallways she had walked through.
She found it.
A figure in a dark hoodie, face hidden, moving through the crowd with practiced ease. He didn’t look at anyone. Didn’t speak. Just walked, his hands in his pockets, his steps unhurried.
She watched him approach her bag. Her stomach clenched. She had been standing just a few feet away, talking to Mira, laughing at something Karl had said. She hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t sensed anything.
The hooded figure paused beside her bag. His hand moved quickly, slipping something inside. Then he walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Bella’s eyes went cold.