CHAPTER 5: TENSION BREAKS.

Noah’s POV

Silence hung heavy in the aftermath.

My hands were still fisted in on his shirt. His breath still ghosted my lips. Too close, Too dangerous,Too much.

And yet, neither of us moved.

Adrian’s pulse thudded against my palm like a live wire, his pupils blown wide with something he didn’t bother trying to hide anymore: attraction, yes! Most definitely! But also defiance. Always defiance.

He wanted me to break first.

And for a moment, I almost did.

But the job, the rules, came slamming back into place like steel shutters over my chest.

I released him, almost pushed him away from me. Stepped back and put space between us like a drowning man clawing toward air.

“This doesn’t happen again,” I said, voice low, ragged around the edges. “Do you understand me Vale?”

Adrian’s mouth curved, slow and bitter. “Oh, I understand perfectly. It most definitely won't” he winked.

Seriously?

He sure does drive one insane, and not in a good way at all.

He smoothed his shirt, cool as glass despite the flush still burning across his cheekbones. “Rules, rules, rules. Seriously, is there anything in your life you don’t try to control, Noah?”

“You want to stay alive Vale?” I snapped. “Then start following the Goddamn rules.”

He laughed. Sharp. Mean. “No wonder you’re so alone. Don't always act so tough when you're just a big softy. It really doesn't suit you at all.”

He's said this before.

The words hit me harder than a riptide splashing through my face. His words shouldn't have had any effect on me, but they did.

I began questioning myself, my worth!

‘A person repeatedly says something only when it's true’

“Bullshit” I muttered in my head.

I felt I was being gaslighted into believing I was alone, even though it was painfully true.

I turned away before I said or did something worse. Double-checked the locks. The cameras. My weapon. My breathing. Every defense I knew how to build, I reinforced in those next minutes.

Adrian lingered in the doorway, watching me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t decide whether to solve or smash to pieces.

“You think distance is going to save you Noah,” he said, quieter now. “You think pushing me away makes this easier. But it doesn’t, does it? You can only lie to yourself for so long”

“This isn’t about me Vale.”

“Actually it is, It’s always about you. About control. About pretending you don’t want the things clawing under your skin.”

Strong witted, I faced him fully. “You’re reckless Vale and you’re arrogant too. You think because people fall at your feet, I will too. But I’m not here for that, Adrian. I have a purpose here and that doesn't include getting involved with you.”

He held my gaze, something brittle flickering beneath the bravado. “No, you’re here to save me. Whether I want it or not. Whether I like it or not. I don't even get to have a say in any of this.”

Before I could stop him, he shoved past me.

“Move!”

He grabbed his coat. Headed for the door with fury stamped into every line of his too-perfect posture.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I said.

“Watch me.”

“Adrian.”

He didn’t listen. Didn’t look back. The door slammed behind him like a shot fired straight at my chest.

The street swallowed him fast. City lights bleeding into puddles. Strangers pressing past like shadows with teeth.

I followed, fury burning cold beneath my ribs. I should’ve locked the damn door. I should’ve tied him to the radiator. Anything but let him walk out like this—angry, exposed, easy prey.

I spotted him half a block ahead, shoulders hunched against the night, breath rising sharp in the chill.

Reckless. Always reckless.

He cut down a side alley without looking. I cursed under my breath and quickened my pace.

And that’s when I saw them.

Two men. Moving too fast. Too quiet. One already reaching beneath his coat for something gleaming in the dark.

“Adrian—”

Too late. They grabbed him. One hand over his mouth, the other yanking him back against bone and breath and violence.

I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate.

Gun out. Safety off. Steps fast and silent.

“Let him go.”

The taller one spun, eyes widening just enough to confirm what I already knew: amateurs. Not the sniper’s crew. Not precision killers. These were desperate men hired by someone who didn’t care if they failed—as long as Adrian suffered first.

“You don’t want to do this,” I said, gun steady, voice like ice sliding over steel.

The one holding Adrian sneered. “You think you scare me?”

“I don’t think. I know.”

The man shifted, tightening his grip on Adrian’s throat. Adrian’s eyes locked on mine, wide, furious, terrified. His breath hitched behind the hand clamped over his mouth.

“Last chance.” I took a step closer. “Let him go, and you might walk out of here breathing.”

They hesitated. Fear crept in like smoke. They hadn’t expected backup. They hadn’t expected me.

I pulled the trigger. Not to kill, yet. Just a shot into the pavement, sparking concrete and panic in equal measure.

They bolted. Cowards, after all. They shoved Adrian away like garbage and vanished down the alley with curses spilling behind them.

I was on him in seconds.

“Adrian.”

He staggered, breath rasping, hands clutching at nothing until I caught him. Pulled him in. Checked him over. No blood. No bruises. Just shock riding high beneath his skin.

“You okay?” My voice roughened without my permission. “Talk to me.”

He nodded, once, twice. Then something cracked inside him and he grabbed fistfuls of my coat like I was the only solid thing left in a world that wanted him dead.

“Don’t let go,” he said.

Soft. Broken. Terrified.

Not Adrian Vale, billionaire and heir.

Just Adrian. A man shaking in my arms, asking for something I wasn’t sure I could give.

But I held him anyway. Tight. Fierce. Like my life depended on it.

Because maybe it did.