Midnight

Chapter 9

I told myself I was only staying in Sebastian Montefalco’s suite because it made sense.

Nothing more.

It was practical.

Safe.

Necessary.

That was what I kept repeating in my head as I changed into the hotel robe and sat at the edge of the guest bed, staring at the city lights outside the window.

But no matter how many times I told myself this arrangement meant nothing, my heart refused to calm down.

Maybe it was because of the men on the road.

Maybe it was because of the strange phone call.

Or maybe it was because, for the first time since Donn left me at the altar, I was in the same room as a man who made me feel too much.

Sebastian was dangerous in a different way.

Not because he shouted.

Not because he threatened.

But because every time he looked at me, it felt like he could see straight through the walls I had spent months building around myself.

I lay down eventually, though sleep didn’t come easily.

My mind kept replaying the night.

The investor recognizing me.

Sebastian defending me.

The blocked call.

The men in the street.

His voice saying, I’m scared for you.

I turned onto my side and squeezed my eyes shut.

This was a mistake.

I shouldn’t be noticing the way his voice softened when he thought I was shaken.

I shouldn’t be remembering how warm his hand felt on mine at dinner.

And I definitely shouldn’t be wondering what it would feel like if he touched me like that again when we weren’t pretending.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

At some point, I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew, I was waking to a sound that didn’t belong.

A click.

Soft.

Metallic.

I sat up instantly.

For a second, I stayed completely still, my breath trapped in my throat.

Maybe I imagined it.

Maybe it was plumbing.

Maybe—

Another sound.

Closer this time.

The faint scrape of a shoe against the floor outside my room.

Cold panic rushed through me.

I threw off the blanket and stood, my bare feet silent against the carpet. My heart pounded so hard it felt painful.

Someone was in the suite.

I moved toward the bedroom door slowly, then stopped when I saw a shadow pass under it.

Not Sebastian’s voice.

Not the sound of a television.

Just movement.

Wrong movement.

My hand shook as I reached for the doorknob, then stopped myself.

No.

Don’t open it.

I backed away, grabbed my phone from the bedside table, and realized with growing horror that I had left it on silent mode.

My fingers trembled as I unlocked it and stared at the screen.

No signal.

“What?” I whispered.

I moved toward the window, lifting the phone higher, but it didn’t help.

Then I heard it—

the guest room doorknob turning.

My blood turned to ice.

Someone was trying to open the door.

I stumbled backward.

The knob moved again, harder this time.

A small, desperate sound escaped my throat.

“Sebastian,” I whispered.

Then louder.

“Sebastian!”

The turning stopped.

For one terrible second, there was silence.

Then everything happened at once.

A deep voice shouted from outside, “Avah!”

Sebastian.

At the same moment, the door jerked violently as if someone had slammed into it from the other side.

I cried out and rushed backward just as a loud thud shook the wood.

“Avah, open the door! It’s me!”

My legs nearly gave out from relief. I ran forward and unlocked it.

The moment the door opened, Sebastian stepped inside and pulled me behind him in one swift motion.

He was barefoot, wearing only dark lounge pants and a black shirt, his expression hard and alert in a way I had never seen before.

“Stay behind me,” he said.

My hands grabbed the back of his shirt without thinking.

There was another sound from the living area.

A crash.

Sebastian moved forward immediately.

“No—” I started, but he was already gone, crossing the room fast.

I stood frozen in the doorway, every muscle locked with fear.

A sharp voice rang out from the suite.

Then the sound of struggling.

Furniture scraping.

A grunt.

My heart was pounding so violently I thought I might faint.

“Sebastian!”

No answer.

I took one shaky step into the room and saw movement near the entryway. Two men dressed in black were struggling with Sebastian near the overturned chair. One of them swung at him, but Sebastian ducked and drove his shoulder into the man’s chest with brutal force.

The second man moved toward me.

I gasped.

Before he could get close, Sebastian caught him by the arm and slammed him into the wall so hard the framed artwork rattled.

“Don’t touch her,” Sebastian said, his voice low and deadly.

Something in the man’s expression changed.

Fear.

Not of security.

Not of being caught.

Of Sebastian.

The first man cursed and shouted something in a language I didn’t understand. Then both of them bolted for the main door.

Within seconds, they were gone.

The suite fell silent except for my ragged breathing.

Sebastian stood still for a moment, chest rising and falling hard.

Then he turned to look at me.

And all the steel in his face broke.

He crossed the room in three long steps.

“Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, but my body had started trembling uncontrollably.

“I—I think they were trying to get into my room,” I whispered.

Sebastian reached for my face, his hands gentle despite the tension still radiating from him.

“Look at me.”

I tried.

My vision blurred.

“Avah.”

His voice was softer now.

Steadier.

“You’re safe.”

That was it.

That was all it took.

The fear I had been holding back all night cracked wide open.

A sob broke out of me before I could stop it.

Then another.

And suddenly I was crying so hard I couldn’t breathe properly.

Sebastian pulled me against him instantly.

One arm wrapped tightly around my back, the other cradling the back of my head as if shielding me from the whole world.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”

I clutched his shirt with both hands.

I hadn’t cried like this since my wedding day.

Maybe not even then.

Because this fear was different.

This wasn’t heartbreak.

This was terror.

And somehow, in the middle of it, Sebastian Montefalco was the only thing keeping me standing.

“I thought they were going to—” My voice broke.

“They didn’t,” he said firmly. “They didn’t touch you.”

His hand moved slowly through my hair, calming, steady.

“I should have checked the suite again. I should have—”

“This isn’t your fault,” I whispered.

His arms tightened around me.

For a long moment, neither of us moved.

I could hear his heartbeat under my ear.

Fast.

Hard.

Almost as unsteady as mine.

When I finally pulled back enough to look at him, his face was closer than I realized.

Too close.

His eyes searched mine with an intensity that made the air between us feel charged.

No anger.

No suspicion.

Just fear.

Fear for me.

My breath caught.

“Sebastian…”

His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth.

Then returned to my eyes.

For one dangerous second, I thought he was going to kiss me.

And the most terrifying part was—

I wanted him to.

A loud knock at the suite door shattered the moment.

“Mr. Montefalco? Hotel security!”

Sebastian stepped back immediately, his jaw tightening.

But his hand remained around my wrist, as though he needed to make sure I was still there.

Still safe.

Still his to protect.

And standing there in the wrecked silence of his hotel suite, with my heart still racing and his touch still burning against my skin, I realized something I wasn’t ready to admit.

I was already falling.

And if I didn’t stop now, Sebastian Montefalco was going to break me in ways his brother never could.