“Holy shit.” Ezra mutters into the other line. “I think I just saw my soulmate.”
I hang up.
I don’t stay in the room.
I don’t look back.
I’ve got more important things to do.
And Ezra will handle the mess I left behind.
A block down the street, I slide into the back of the car and close my door while Paul pulls into traffic. Only when I know he doesn’t need me do I unlock my phone and press on Asher’s name.
He answers on the first ring. “Sir.”
“The timeline’s moved up,” I say.
A pause. That’s all. Not shock. Not hesitation. Just that brief recalibration he always gives me before adjusting the plan without complaint.
“Understood,” he says. “The country estate is prepped. Surveillance is in place. Do you want her brought in directly or?—”
“No,” I interrupt. “No middlemen. I’ll take her myself.”
Another pause.
“Of course.” Like he knew that would be my answer.
“She won’t come quietly.” I give him what I know he wants.
“They never do.” Asher’s chuckle earns him a rare flicker of amusement from me. It vanishes as quickly as it arrives. “I’ve already made arrangements for your assistance to get her out of the apartment. It’ll be on ice before you go.”
“Once she’s in the house, lock it down completely. No one in or out. No devices that aren’t air-gapped. No exits. She doesn’t even leave the room without my say-so.”
“And after that?”
“She’ll understand,” I say.
“She’s not like the others,” Asher says carefully. “You’ve never tracked someone this long before. Never watched. Never… waited.”
“She’s not like the others,” I echo, voice low. “And that’s why I won’t stay on the sidelines any longer.”
What goes unsaid is that she’s the last woman I’ll track.
The last I’ll ever obsess over.
The only woman I’ll ever claim as mine.
It feels like I’ve been watching her, waiting for her, forever.
From the car across the street.
From the shadowed alley behind the coffee shop.
From a rooftop once, two nights ago, just to see her from above. Just to watch how she moved when she thought no one was paying attention.
She’s always alone.
Even in crowds.
