CHAPTER THREE

Unspoken Glances

DANIEL’S POV

Neo Vale was going to be the death of me.  Fguratively and literally. It had only been a week since I started working for the golden boy everyone adored, and I couldn’t even blame them. For some unknown reason, I’d already grown accustomed to his messy, dirty-blonde hair in the mornings, the strands sticking up in every direction, and the way his emerald-green eyes seemed to stare into nothingness when he was lost in thought. I hated that I noticed. I hated that my focus slipped to things that had nothing to do with my job.

When my agency offered me this contract, I was hesitant. It had been two years since my last assignment.  A clean, successful finish with a client who never gave me trouble. Neo Vale was the exact opposite of that. He made it his personal mission to test me. When I said “right,” he went left. When I said “left,” he went right. And he enjoyed every second of it.

Now, we were in the hotel’s private gym. I stood off to the side, arms crossed, trying to look every bit the professional while my eyes refused to behave.

Neo was at the dumbbells, moving like he had something to prove. For someone with such a lean frame, the strength that rolled off him was unexpected. His hair clung damply to his forehead, sweat trailing down his temple as his biceps tightened with each lift. His chest rose and fell with measured breaths, veins standing out faintly under his skin. I shouldn’t have noticed the way his muscles flexed beneath the weight. And I most definitely had no business noticing the sheen of sweat catching the light against his pale skin. But I did. Every detail lodged itself in my head, whether I wanted it there or not.

He set the dumbbells down with a deliberate clink and glanced over his shoulder at me, eyes glinting with mischief.

“You’re staring, big boy,” he said, voice low and teasing. “Keeping watch… or checking me out?”

The corner of his mouth curved into a smirk, and then he went for the kill, a slow, deliberate wink. It snapped me out of whatever trance I’d fallen into, heat crawling up the back of my neck before I crushed it down.

“I’m not into men,” I said, tone clipped and even. “And I wasn’t staring.” His grin widened like he didn't believe a single thing I had said.

He was right. I was staring. And no, I wasn’t into men but something about him drew me in anyway. More often than I cared to admit, I caught myself letting my gaze linger on a certain blond-haired somebody longer than I intended.

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t realize he had slipped out of the gym without my notice. My entire body tensed, instincts kicking in. I strode out the door, scanning the open space for him. Couldn’t he behave for just one day?

After a frantic sweep of the grounds, I finally spotted him moving hastily toward another building. I quickened my pace, adrenaline spiking with every step, until I caught up to him. Without thinking, I grabbed his arm and shoved him against the narrow wall between two buildings.

My breath came out of me in heavy bursts, ragged and uneven, mixing with his own quick breathing.

“Which part of never leave without me don’t you understand?” I snapped, voice low and sharp.

For a split second, my eyes betrayed me, flicking down to his pink, luscious, parted lips before I forced myself back under control. The heat radiating off his body seeped into mine, his frame pressed flush against me, fitting far too perfectly.

“Careful, big guy. Someone might take this the wrong way,” he said, smirking up at me, still refusing to look away.

I stepped back, forcing some space between us. “You don’t listen.”

I’d just finished the sentence  when something flickered at the edge of my vision, a shadow, quick and deliberate, like someone was  watching from the distance.

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

My hand slid to the gun at my side as I scanned the area where I’d seen the shape. Nothing. No one stood there.

But my instincts screamed otherwise. I wasn’t imagining things. Someone had definitely been there. They must’ve bolted the second I caught on.

I returned to where I had left him. Heart racing, nerves on edge. He stood there, arms crossed, looking like he just came out of a magazine. “You're chasing ghosts now?, he said, brows raised. 

My brows furrowed. “Someone was there”

His smirk faltered for a bit, then came into place “maybe they’re watching you. Who knows. You don’t look bad”. 

I didn’t waver. My mind was still on the fact that someone was watching our every move.

We walked back to the hotel suite together. Neo was leading the way, with me trailing right behind him. My eyes constantly roamed the place, unease settling deep in my gut. He broke the silence, “By the way, you’re the only one who has ever chased after me.” More like a whisper to himself than to me, but I heard it, low and clear.

Later that night, as I lay in bed, I replayed memories of the day in my head. Neo had seemed vulnerable, even though he liked to carry that enthusiastic, bubbly energy wherever he went. His words kept playing in my mind over and over again: “You’re the only one who has ever chased after me.”

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. Something far more important demanded my attention. Someone was after Neo, and they wouldn’t stop until they got him.

I already knew the stakes involved when I took this job even though I initially thought it was just the normal obsessive fan stalking. After all, Neo was  a well-known artist. But from what I sensed today, this was not a normal fan stalking. It involved much more than that and I wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing.