Kane Mercer

LIANA

The moment my mother whispered his name, the entire shop felt colder.

“Oh God,” she said again, her voice trembling. “Kane Mercer.”

I looked between her and the man walking toward the door, confused by the fear in her eyes. The robbers had just left us shaking and traumatized, but somehow she looked even more frightened now.

The man stepped inside the shop calmly, rainwater dripping from the shoulders of his black coat. He looked around slowly at the broken display cases and scattered jewelry trays on the floor. His expression barely changed.

Most people would have looked shocked.

He looked annoyed.

Not scared.

Not surprised.

Just calm.

My mother quickly stood up from behind the counter, wiping tears from her face like she suddenly didn’t want him seeing them.

“Kane,” she said quietly.

His eyes moved to her. They were dark, sharp, and strangely unreadable. “Evelyn.”

The way he said her name made my stomach tighten. Like this wasn’t the first time they had met.

I swallowed nervously and stepped closer to my mother. Up close, the man was even more intimidating. Tall. Broad shoulders. Expensive watch. Dark hair slightly wet from the rain. He looked young, maybe late twenties, but there was something heavy about him. Something dangerous hidden underneath how calm he seemed.

Then his eyes landed on me.

For one strange second, it felt like the entire room disappeared.

His gaze slowly moved over my face, almost studying me, before he finally spoke.

“You’re hurt.”

I blinked, confused. “What?”

He nodded toward my arm.

I looked down and realized the robber’s grip had left red bruises on my skin.

“Oh.” I pulled my sleeve down quickly. “I’m fine.”

His expression darkened slightly, like he didn’t believe me.

My mother suddenly stepped forward. “What are you doing here?”

The question sounded sharper than I expected.

Kane looked at her calmly. “I heard about the robbery.”

“Heard from who?” she asked immediately.

His eyes flickered toward her. “Does it matter?”

“Yes, actually, it does.”

The tension between them became so thick that I could almost feel it pressing against my chest.

I frowned. “Mom…”

Kane looked back at me before speaking again, his voice calmer this time. “I have connections with the police. Security too. I can help.”

My mother’s face immediately hardened. “We don’t need your help.”

“Mom,” I whispered, shocked.

“We’re fine.”

“No, we’re not,” I argued softly. “They robbed the entire store.”

Kane’s gaze stayed on my mother. “You should let me handle it.”

“I said no.”

His jaw tightened slightly, but he still stayed calm. “Evelyn, these weren’t random thieves.”

A chill ran through me instantly.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

Kane finally looked at me again. “They knew what they were looking for. They came too prepared.”

I remembered the way the robbers searched the back of the shop like they expected something else to be there.

And the way they spoke to my mother.

Still here after all these years.

My stomach twisted.

“You know something,” I said slowly.

Kane stayed silent.

My mother grabbed my wrist quickly. “Liana, go clean the cuts on your arm.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Please.”

The way she looked at me made me hesitate.

Reluctantly, I walked toward the small sink in the back room, but I could still hear their voices faintly.

“You shouldn’t be here,” my mother whispered harshly.

“And you shouldn’t still be in this city.”

My chest tightened.

What the hell did that mean?

I peeked around the corner carefully.

Kane stood near the broken display case with one hand inside his pocket while my mother looked seconds away from a panic attack.

“You’re scaring her,” she hissed.

His eyes moved toward me instantly.

I quickly looked away, pretending to clean my arm.

A second later, I heard footsteps approaching.

When I turned around, Kane was standing much closer than I expected.

“Let me see,” he said quietly.

I froze.

Before I could answer, he gently took my wrist.

His hand was warm.

I should have pulled away. A smart person would have. But somehow, I didn’t.

He examined the bruises carefully, his expression growing colder the longer he looked at them.

“Did they touch you anywhere else?” he asked softly.

The question made my cheeks heat with embarrassment. “No.”

His jaw flexed slightly like he was holding back anger.

“I’m okay,” I said quickly.

His eyes lifted to mine then.

And God.

Nobody had ever looked at me that intensely before.

Not like they were trying to memorize every detail of my face.

“You don’t look okay,” he said quietly.

Something about his voice made my chest ache unexpectedly.

I barely knew this man.

So why did I suddenly feel safer standing beside him?

My mother suddenly walked toward us. “Liana, come here.”

Kane slowly released my wrist.

The second he stepped back, I noticed how much bigger the room suddenly felt.

“We already called the police,” my mother said stiffly.

Kane gave a small nod. “And how long ago was that?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“And they still haven’t come.”

Neither of us answered.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed someone immediately.

“This is Kane,” he said calmly. “Hayes Jewelry on Brookline Street. I want officers here now.”

Silence.

Then his expression darkened slightly.

“No,” he said colder. “Not tomorrow. Now.”

Even through the phone, whoever he was speaking to sounded nervous.

My eyes widened slightly.

Who was this man?

He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket like nothing happened.

“They’ll be here in five minutes,” he said.

My mother looked furious instead of grateful.

“You shouldn’t throw your name around here.”

His eyes locked onto hers. “My name already exists here whether you like it or not.”

Again.

That strange tension.

Like they were having a completely different conversation underneath the words they were actually saying.

I looked between them nervously. “Have you two met before?”

My mother answered too quickly. “No.”

Kane stayed silent.

That silence told me more than words could.

A few minutes later, police lights flashed outside the shop windows.

Two officers hurried inside apologizing repeatedly for the delay. But the strangest part wasn’t the apology.

It was how nervous they looked around Kane.

One of them immediately straightened when he saw him. “Mr. Mercer.”

Kane gave a small nod.

The officer turned to us quickly. “We’ll do everything we can to investigate this.”

My mother stared at them bitterly. “You weren’t saying that earlier on the phone.”

The officer awkwardly cleared his throat.

Kane calmly stepped closer to him. “Increase patrols around this block.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sir?

I frowned harder.

The police officer looked more afraid of Kane than the armed robbers.

While the officers questioned my mother, I quietly watched Kane from across the shop.

He spoke very little, but somehow everyone listened when he did.

Even standing still, he carried this strange kind of control around him. Not loud. Not obvious.

Just there.

Dangerously there.

Like he was used to people obeying him.

Suddenly, he looked up and caught me staring.

Instead of looking away, he walked toward me slowly.

“You should go home and rest,” he said.

I let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight.”

“No,” he agreed softly. “Probably not.”

For a second, neither of us spoke.

Then he glanced at the textbooks sticking out of my bag near the counter. “College student?”

I nodded. “Business major.”

“Smart.”

I smiled awkwardly. “Debatable.”

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

It was such a small smile, but somehow it completely changed his face.

“You should let me take you to dinner sometime,” he said suddenly.

I blinked.

“What?”

“A date.”

My heart stumbled so hard it actually hurt.

Behind me, I heard my mother sharply inhale.

Kane’s eyes never left mine.

“What do you say, Liana?”