Chapter 7: The Man Who Stays Awake

It was after seven in the evening by the time they returned to the Sterling residence.

The house looked exactly as it had that morning.

The lights beside the entrance, the paintings lining the vast foyer, the staircase rising to the second floor—nothing had changed.

What had changed was the number of people standing inside it.

The west service gate had been closed. Additional surveillance equipment had been installed near the gardens. More security officers had been posted in places where they normally would have gone unnoticed, and Audrey counted three before she even reached the front door.

When Nathan stepped out of the SUV, he did not immediately follow her inside.

Instead, he stopped to speak briefly with the head of household security.

Tonight’s positions. Shift changes. The latest perimeter checks.

None of it was a conversation Audrey needed to be part of.

So she kept walking.

“Audrey.”

Her mother’s voice came from beside the staircase.

Eleanor Sterling had apparently just returned from a foundation meeting. She wore a pale gray dress and still carried a slim document case in one hand.

As Audrey approached, her mother simply looked at her.

“I’m fine.”

“I thought you might say that.”

Eleanor did not press her.

Instead, she looked past Audrey toward Nathan, who was still speaking with the security chief several yards away.

“That’s him?”

“Nathan Mercer. Dad hired him to handle my protection.”

“He watches everything, doesn’t he?”

Audrey glanced back.

Even while talking, Nathan briefly looked toward a member of the household staff entering through the foyer and checked what the man was carrying.

“He barely looks at me.”

The comment came out more casually than she intended.

Eleanor turned to her.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Why?”

“His job isn’t to admire you.”

Audrey let out a small breath.

“I think he said almost exactly the same thing this morning.”

“Then he sounds competent.”

Audrey was not entirely convinced her mother should make that judgment based on one sentence, but she had no evidence to argue otherwise.

The three Sterlings had dinner together.

Richard took several calls during the meal, receiving updates from hotel security and the police. When he learned about the latest threatening message, he immediately argued that Audrey should work from home beginning the next morning.

She refused just as quickly.

In the end, Nathan explained that the current threat level did not yet justify restricting her movements completely, and Audrey was allowed to go to the office as planned.

Richard did not look pleased.

Audrey found the decision mildly surprising.

She had assumed that a man hired by her father would naturally favor the most cautious option, especially if it aligned with Richard’s wishes.

Nathan did not.

He had kept the promise he made that morning.

Explain the risk.

Take the necessary precautions.

Take nothing else away from her.

After dinner, Audrey returned to her bedroom.

She reviewed the next day’s documents, showered, and finally got into bed sometime after eleven.

She could not sleep.

Once the lights were off, the dressing room from the night before returned to her mind.

The room that should have been empty.

The white envelope on the table.

The red circle over her chest.

And the message she had received earlier that evening.

A bodyguard won’t change anything.

Whoever was behind this knew Nathan was there.

Which meant they also knew her security had been increased.

Midnight passed.

Eventually, Audrey gave up and got out of bed.

Maybe a glass of water would help.

She pulled on a light cardigan and stepped into the hallway.

The second floor was silent.

She had just started toward the stairs when she noticed a figure standing near the window farther down the corridor.

Her body stopped before her mind caught up.

Then she recognized him.

“Nathan?”

He turned.

His jacket was gone, but otherwise he wore the same clothes from earlier: dress shirt, dark trousers, no tie now, his cuffs slightly loosened.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I couldn’t sleep.”

Nathan looked back through the window.

From there, part of the front drive and the gardens were visible.

“You’re still working?”

“Daniel has the perimeter. I’m rotating out soon.”

So he was not planning to stay awake by himself all night.

For some reason, that reassured her.

“I thought bodyguards actually stayed awake twenty-four hours a day.”

“Anyone who does that is useless by the second day.”

“So you do sleep.”

“When possible.”

Audrey smiled slightly.

It was the first answer she had heard from him all day that sounded almost human.

She had intended to go downstairs, yet somehow she remained where she was.

“The message today.”

Nathan looked at her.

“If I’m afraid, does that mean I’m giving them what they want?”

He considered the question before answering.

“Being afraid isn’t the problem.”

That was not what she expected.

“Pretending you aren’t afraid and making a bad decision because of it is more dangerous. Fear is your body telling you there may be a threat. The important thing is not letting it make every decision for you.”

Audrey looked out at the dark garden.

“Do you get used to it?”

“You shouldn’t.”

She turned toward him.

“You shouldn’t?”

“People who get used to danger start skipping precautions.”

Nathan paused.

“You can get used to knowing what to do about it.”

He was not trying to comfort her.

That was probably why she could accept what he said.

“I suppose I can work with that.”

“You should.”

For several seconds, they stood looking through the same window.

Nothing moved in the darkness outside.

Audrey knew now that seeing nothing did not necessarily mean no one was there.

“I was going downstairs for water.”

“You can make it to the kitchen alone.”

Audrey looked at him.

“I’m honored to have your permission.”

“As long as you don’t fall down the stairs.”

“Would that really be your responsibility too?”

“I’d rather not write ‘fell down staircase’ in a protection report.”

His face remained completely serious.

A second passed before Audrey laughed.

“Was that a joke?”

“Half of one.”

That surprised her more than it should have.

“So you can make jokes.”

“When necessary.”

“Was it necessary?”

Nathan did not answer.

But for the briefest moment, she thought she saw the corner of his mouth move.

Audrey chose not to pursue it.

She headed toward the stairs.

After descending several steps, she looked back.

Nathan was no longer watching her.

His attention had already returned to the darkness beyond the window.

Just as it had all day.

Not watching her.

Watching for anything that might come near her.

And yet, strangely, simply knowing he was there made the house feel less vast than it had the night before.

Maybe she would be able to sleep.

Audrey did not tell him that.