Chapter 217.
I don’t even make it far. I’m still walking down the hallway, replaying everything in my head.....his face, the way he looked at me, that tension I left him with.....when I feel it, like someone’s right behind me before I can turn....a hand grabs my arm hard, I barely get a breath in before I’m spun around and my back hits the wall earning a gasp from me.
"Z..."
My words die in my throat because his hand is already at my neck. Not really choking me but holding me ther In a firm grip.
My heart jumps straight into my throat.
He’s right in front of me.
"You think this is funny?" he says, his voice low, rough, nothing like the calm control from earlier.
I swallow, trying to steady myself.
"I didn’t....."
"Don’t," he cuts me off immediately. "Don’t act like you don’t know what you’re doing."
His fingers shift slightly against my neck....not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me I’m not going anywhere.
My pulse is racing now but I don’t look away.
"You’ve been pushing me," he continues, quieter now but heavier somehow. "Since you walked into that office."
I inhale slowly, trying to keep my voice from shaking.
"Maybe you needed to be pushed."
The moment it leaves my mouth, I know I shouldn’t have said jt.
"Careful," he murmurs.
And then.....His other hand comes up beside my head, bracing against the wall, boxing me in completely.
And before I can even think....His lips are on mine in a hard kiss. There’s nothing gentle about it, nothing soft.
It’s all heat and frustration and everything he’s been holding back...it knocks the air out of me and i freeze completely caught off guard.
Then my body catches up before my brain does and my hands grip his shirt, pulling him closer instead of maybe pushing him away. Because I should stop this, I know I should but I don’t.
His hand at my neck tightens just enough to tilt my head back, to deepen it, to take exactly what he wants and I let him.
God, I let him.
The kiss is messy and unncontrolled, the kind that doesn’t give you space to think. Mh head spins somewhere in the middle of it and I moan Into his mouth as our tongue touch and he sucks on mine. My chest feels tight and my breathing uneven with verythin blurring except him.
When he finally pulls back....I’m actually dizzy, like I might lose my balance if the wall wasn’t behind me.
My lips feel swollen and my grip is still on his shirt, like I forgot how to let go.
He’s still close, close enough that I can feel his breath and close enough that if he leans in again....i don’t think I’d stop him.
And I hate it. I hate how much I want him to do it again.
Hus eyes drop to my lips for a second, thn back to my eyes and something in his expression tightens like he sees it too and he knows.
Then suddenly....He lets go just like that, his hand leaves my neck and the absence hits immediately.
I suck in a breath, trying to steady myself, trying to get my head back on straight as he steps back puutting space between us.
"Enough," he says.
His voice is back to being controlled now, like he’s locking everything back up, like none of that just happened.
I stare at him, still trying to process it and still trying to breathe properly.
He runs a hand through his hair, looking away for a second before his eyes snap back to mine.
"Move your things," he says.
My brows knit.
"What?"
"Back to our room," he repeats. "You’re not staying separate anymore."
My heart skips and i don’t even know why, maybe because of how suddenly everything just shifted, maybe because I’m still standing here trying to recover from what he just did.
He doesn’t wait for me to respond, doesn’t ask if I agree he just turns....And walks away, leaving me pressed against the wall with my vreath uneven and lips still tingling, completely thrown off.
———
I don’t remember falling asleep, i just remember lying there... staring at the ceiling, my lips still tingling, my chest still tight from everything that happened.
And then.....Nothing.
The sound of my phone ringing drags me out of sleep. It’s loud, too loud enough that I flinch, my brows pulling together as I reach blindly across the bed.
My body feels heavy like I didn’t sleep properly at all. Which I didn’t.
I finally grab my phone, squinting at the screen through half-open eyes.
Lucas.
That wakes me up a little more as I push myself up, my head pounding faintly as I swipe to answer.
"Hello...?" My voice comes out rough, still thick with sleep.
"Finally," Lucas mutters on the other end. "You sleep like the dead or what?"
I let out a quiet breath, rubbing my face with my free hand.
"I just woke up," I mumble. "What time is it?"
"Late enough," he replies. "You good?"
"I’m fine," I say, even though my throat still feels dry. "What’s up?"
There’s a brief pause on his end then he exhales.
"I don’t have much," he starts. "But I’ve got a little update."
That wakes me up properly as I sit up straighter, pushing the blanket off my legs.
"About what we talked about?" I ask.
"Yeah."
My grip on the phone tightens slightly.
"Okay... tell me."
I swing my legs off the bed, my feet touching the cold floor as I stand slowly, pacing without even realizing it.
"So," he continues, "I reached out to Mia again."
Mia...Just hearing her name still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
"And?" I press.
"She still had some of it," he says.
I stop pacing.
"...some of what?"
"The substance," he replies. "The stuff she was putting in your drinks."
My stomach twists, even now, even after everything, it still doesn’t feel real.
"That doesn’t make any sense," I say quietly. "Why would she still have it?"
"She said she didn’t want to throw it away," Lucas answers. "Didn’t want anyone finding it, didn’t want it traced back to her. So she kept it hidden."
I let out a slow breath.
"Okay..." I say, trying to stay focused. "So what did you do with it?"
"I took it to a lab," he says.
"You what?"
"A private one," he adds quickly. "Before you start. Not some random place. People I trust."
I nod slowly, even though he can’t see me.
"Alright... and?"
There’s a small pause. Then....
"It’s not normal," he says.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it’s not something you just get anywhere," he replies. "The guy at the lab said it’s rare. Like....really rare. Not something people casually come across."
A chill runs down my spine.
"Rare how?"
"Hard to source," he explains. "Expensive. And not something you’d use unless you knew exactly what you were doing....but it’s very good because it’s slow and nearly untraceable."
I swallow.
"So... someone planned this," I say quietly.
"Yeah," Lucas answers bluntly. "This wasn’t random. Whoever did this knew what they were doing, knew what they wanted it to do, and made sure it wouldn’t be easy to trace."
I start pacing again.
"So what now?" I ask.
"I’m trying to track where it came from," he says. "If I can find the source, I can find who had access to it. And from there.....maybe the buyer."
My heart picks up slightly.
"That’s good," I say. "That’s really good, Lucas."
"Don’t get ahead of yourself," he mutters. "It’s not that simple. Stuff like this doesn’t come with a receipt and a name tag."
"I know," I say quickly. "But it’s something. It’s more than we had before."
He hums quietly in agreement.
"I’ll keep digging," he says. "I’m not dropping this."
"I know you won’t," I reply.
And I mean it.....Lucas doesn’t let things go, not when it comes to family.
There’s a brief silence between us.
"Hey," he says.
I pause.
"Yeah?"
There’s a small hesitation and immediately...
My stomach drops.
"What?" I ask, my voice tightening. "What is it?"
"It’s grandpa," he says.
My heart stutters.
"What about him?"
"He’s in the hospital," Lucas says quietly.
I stop moving completely.
"...what?"
"He collapsed last night," he continues. "They rushed him in. The doctors are saying it’s not looking good."
"What do you mean not looking good?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lucas exhales.
"I mean... they don’t know if he’s going to make it," he says.
"No," I say immediately. "No, that doesn’t....he was fine. The last time I saw him he was fine."
"He’s old, Elaine," Lucas says gently. "Things change fast."
I shake my head, even though he can’t see me.
"No... no, he’s strong. He’s always been strong."
"I know," Lucas replies. "But this time... it’s different."