Her Obsession. Chapter 20

The water hit my back like a slap, scorching at first, but I didn’t flinch. I just stood there, palms braced against the tiled wall, watching the steam swirl around me like smoke from a fire I couldn’t put out. My thoughts drifted back to her, Sage. Specter. Ghost. My girl. God, I hated how natural that sounded in my head.

She had slipped behind my walls like it was nothing, walked through my defenses, both the literal and the emotional, with that damn calm of hers. Unbothered. Unapologetic. Unreachable. But somehow, she saw me. Not just the Irish mafia boss with blood on his hands and a reputation that preceded him. She saw me, and she hadn’t looked away. That scared the shit out of me more than any mark or ambush ever could. I let the heat soak into my skin, hoping it would burn the tension out of my muscles. But it didn’t. It never really did. So, after scrubbing off the grime and whatever weight I could shake, I toweled off, dragged on some sweats, and padded barefoot into the kitchen. The house was still too quiet, no gunfire, no arguments, no urgent calls. Just the hum of appliances and the low murmur of Nico cursing softly at his screen in the other room. Liam was likely doing inventory again, checking on the boys, maybe reworking our patrol strategy. I should have been helping. I wasn’t. Instead, I was standing at my stove, heating oil in a pan like it mattered. I cracked eggs, diced vegetables, threw together whatever was left in the fridge that didn’t look like a war crime. The motions were muscle memory, something human, something normal. But my head wasn’t in it. My mind kept flickering back to the way she’d said my name. Just once. Like it meant something.

“Are you safe?”

Not where are you or what’s next. Just are you safe. She didn’t want thanks. Didn’t want praise. Hell, she didn’t even care about credit. She just wanted to know I was breathing. I reached for a plate and caught my reflection in the dark oven glass, eyes tired, jaw tight, hair still damp. I didn’t recognize that version of myself. Not really. That man looked… tethered. Like he’d found something he didn’t want to lose. I plated the food, tossed some onto an extra plate because I knew Liam and Nico would wander in eventually. But for a minute, I just stood there, leaning on the counter, eating quietly. Still shirtless. Still raw. She could get past all of this security, no problem. I knew that now. But the way she said it, if I can, someone else can, it wasn’t cocky. It was a warning. A gift, even. She was protecting me in her own twisted, distant way. And it made me want to tear the world apart to protect her right back. Even if she wouldn’t let me. I’d just sat down at the kitchen table with my plate when I heard footsteps behind me. Liam came in first, followed by Nico, both looking like they'd been up for three days straight, which, in fairness, we probably had.

Liam's eyes landed on the food. “You cooked?” he said, like I'd performed an exorcism in the kitchen.

“Relax,” I muttered, nudging the extra plate toward him. “It’s not poisoned. Unless you count the week-old spinach.”

“Green stuff?” Nico asked, making a face as he grabbed a fork and helped himself. “You trying to kill us slowly now?”

“Wouldn’t be the worst plan,” I said around a bite. “No mess to clean up.”

Liam dropped into the seat across from me, letting out a groan as his spine cracked. “Honestly? This is the best thing I’ve eaten in days. Which is depressing.”

We ate in silence for a few minutes, the kind that felt easy between the three of us. Familiar. Safe. At least for now. Nico was the first to break it.

“She’s good,” he said, not looking up from his plate.

“Too good,” Liam added, eyeing me over the rim of his coffee cup. “You think she’s still watching?”

I didn’t answer right away, just shrugged. “Probably.”

Nico tapped his phone, then grinned. “Tell her to send more security suggestions. I’m learning more from her hacks than I did from my four years in cybersecurity.”

“She’s not your tutor, Nico,” I muttered.

“But she could be,” he shot back with a smirk. “Think about it. Ghost School. I’d pay tuition.”

Liam raised an eyebrow at me. “Still think she’s not yours?”

I paused, fork halfway to my mouth.

“She’s not a thing to have, Liam.”

“But she’s definitely yours,” he said, matter-of-fact. “The way you talk about her. The way you listen when she speaks. You don’t even do that for your accountant.”

“I do listen to...” I stopped, realizing I didn’t even know the man’s name. “Shut up.”

Liam chuckled and reached over to steal a piece of toast off my plate. I slapped his hand away.

Nico leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “So what’s next, boss? We keep tightening security. We lock shit down. But what about her?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “She doesn’t want protection.”

“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t need it,” Liam muttered.

“She is the protection,” I said, standing and gathering the empty plates. “And she knows it.”

I rinsed the dishes, watching water swirl down the drain, and spoke quieter this time. “But if she falls… we won’t see it coming.”

Silence fell again, heavier this time. More solemn.

Nico exhaled slowly. “Well. That’s not terrifying at all.”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. Because in the pit of my stomach, that fear was already settling in, cold and sharp. She might be a ghost to the rest of the world. But to me? She was starting to feel like the only real thing I had left. It was late again, and I needed sleep, but I couldn’t shake the weight pressing on my chest. Like if I closed my eyes, I’d miss something. Like the second I let my guard down, it’d all fall apart. So I dragged myself toward the surveillance room, one more time, like a ghost on repeat. Then my phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: Sleep, darling. I’ll keep watch. xx

My feet stopped cold. Of course she would. She already was. I stared at the message for longer than I should’ve, my thumb hovering over the screen, the words sinking deeper than I expected. I’d barely known her. Barely seen her. And yet... the chaos in my mind dulled at the thought of her out there, hidden in the shadows, watching over me like some kind of avenging angel. So I turned around. I took her advice, because for some inexplicable reason, I felt safe.

Safe… knowing she was still out there. Watching. Like always.