Chapter four

Damon didn’t sleep. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The words burned in his mind. NO RECORD FOUND. It wasn’t possible. Everyone left traces: birth certificates, school enrollments, medical files. Even criminals created paper trails. But Luca Raines? Nothing. A man without a past was guarding Damon’s present. Suddenly, every look Luca gave him felt heavier. Every quiet moment carried new meaning.

By morning, Damon had built a wall around himself again. If Luca was a mystery, Damon would treat him like one. Carefully. Professionally. At breakfast, Damon barely spoke. Luca noticed immediately. He always noticed.

“You okay?” Luca asked quietly, handing Damon a cup of coffee. Damon accepted it without meeting his eyes. “I’m fine.” It was a lie. Luca studied him for a long second, then stepped back into position. Damon hated how relieved he felt when Luca stayed close.

Later that day, Damon attended a board meeting while Luca waited outside. Inside, Matteo spoke smoothly about restructuring security contracts, efficiency, and minimizing exposure. Damon nodded along, but something felt off. When Damon asked for documentation, Matteo hesitated for just half a second too long. That tiny pause lodged itself in Damon’s chest.

After the meeting, Damon returned to his office and pulled up internal financials. What he found made his stomach tighten. Several security subsidiaries had been quietly reassigned over the last six months. All routed through shell companies. All tied back to Matteo. Damon leaned back in his chair, pulse pounding. Matteo had been rearranging Damon’s defenses from the inside. He didn’t confront him. Not yet. Instead, Damon called Luca.

“I need you.” Luca arrived instantly. “What’s wrong?” Damon hesitated. Then he said, “Walk with me.” They moved through private corridors toward the penthouse gym, empty at this hour. Luca stayed close, alert.

Once inside, Damon locked the door. Luca stiffened. “Damon?” Damon turned to face him. “Who are you?” The question landed like a blade. Luca didn’t move. “What do you mean?” 

“I ran a background check.” Luca’s jaw tightened. “There’s nothing there.” “I know.” Silence fell between them. “You don’t exist,” Damon said quietly. Luca exhaled slowly. “That’s intentional.” Damon studied his face. “Why?” Luca didn’t answer. “Was this planned?” Damon pressed. “You showing up after the attack? Getting assigned to me?” “No.” The word came too fast. Damon stepped closer. “Then explain.” Luca looked away. “I can’t.” 

Damon swallowed. For a moment, he saw not a threat but a man carrying something heavy. “You saved my life,” Damon said. “Yes.” “You’ve been honest with me about everything else.” Luca met his eyes. “Not everything.” Damon felt it then. The lie between them. Alive. Breathing. Waiting. “Whatever you’re hiding,” Damon said softly, “it’s going to come out.” Luca’s voice dropped. “I know.”

Their proximity was dangerous. Damon felt it in the way Luca’s gaze lingered too long and in how his breath hit Damon’s cheek. Damon closed the distance. Not a kiss. Just close enough to feel Luca’s warmth. “You don’t feel like my enemy,” Damon said. Luca’s hands curled at his sides. “That doesn’t mean I’m not.” Damon searched his face. “If you were here to hurt me, you would have already.” 

Luca closed his eyes. “Don’t say that.” “Why?” Because Luca already had. That night, Luca intercepted encrypted syndicate traffic. He decrypted it alone in the security office, pulse hammering. What he found made his blood run cold. Evelyn Moreau. Diplomatic communications. Offshore arms routes. Data laundering through tech subsidiaries. She hadn’t been collateral. She had been investigating. Digging into something big. And someone had noticed. 

Luca traced the authorization chain. His hands trembled when the final name appeared: Matteo Laurent. Damon’s trusted ally. The man who hugged him at memorials and offered quiet comfort. The one who controlled half his infrastructure. Luca leaned back, sick. Evelyn had been silenced. Damon had been spared—on purpose. They wanted him alive. Broken. Dependent. Controllable. 

Luca closed his eyes. He had been hired to kill Damon. But Damon wasn’t the real target. He was leverage. Luca realized something worse. He was still being used. 

Later, Luca found Damon on the balcony, staring out at the city lights. “Cold out here,” Luca said. Damon didn’t turn. “I needed air.” Luca stepped beside him. For a while, they stood in silence. Then Damon spoke. “My mother used to say cities hide secrets in plain sight.” Luca swallowed. “She was right.” Damon glanced at him. “You believe that?” “Yes.” 

Damon studied Luca’s profile. “Then tell me this. Am I surrounded by enemies?” Luca didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” Damon nodded slowly. “Are you one of them?” Luca’s throat tightened. He forced himself to answer honestly. “I don’t want to be.” Damon looked at him then. Really looked. Something fragile passed between them. Damon stepped closer. Their hands brushed. Neither pulled away. The moment was soft, electric, wrong, and right. 

Luca’s breath hitched. Damon lifted his gaze. And then Damon kissed him. Not desperate or rushed. Just a quiet, aching press of lips. Luca froze. Then he broke, kissing Damon back and deepening it before guilt slammed into him like a wave. He pulled away abruptly. “We can’t.” Damon stared at him. “Why?” Luca shook his head. “I’m not safe.” Damon’s voice whispered. “Neither am I.” 

They stood there, hearts racing, pretending they hadn’t just crossed a line neither could uncross. 

Later that night, Luca received one final message from Adrian: Finish the job. Or I expose everything. Luca looked across the room at Damon, asleep on the couch, and realized he was running out of time.