2

I swallowed hard, nodding before backing away.

His gaze stayed on me longer than necessary, and I could feel his eyes burning into my skin, even after I turned my back.

I returned to the counter, pretending to busy myself with the register, but all I could think about was him.

Why did he make me feel this way?

I didn’t even know him, but it felt like he was seeing right through me, into my soul.

4

AMIR

She was scared.

I could see it in the way she moved, the way she tried to put space between us.

It was good.

Fear would make her more aware of me, more conscious of the connection I was about to create.

I watched her fumble with the cash register, her hands trembling slightly.

I liked that.

She didn’t know who I was, but soon she would.

I wasn’t just a man passing through her shop.

I was her shadow, the one who watched her every move.

I could see how innocent she was, how untouched by the world’s darkness.

I wanted to be the one to change that, to be the first to pull her into something far more dangerous than she’d ever imagined.

I wasn’t in a hurry.

The longer this played out, the deeper she’d fall into my world.

And once she was in, there’d be no escaping me.

With one last glance at her, I turned and left the shop.

She wouldn’t forget me.

I’d make sure of it.

5

MARIANA

The door closed with a soft chime, and I exhaled slowly, realizing I’d been holding my breath.

The man was gone, but the feeling he left behind lingered like a shadow.

My heart was still racing, and I couldn’t shake the chill that had settled over me.

I tried to go back to work, but something about him kept creeping into my mind.

His eyes, the way they followed me, the quiet menace that hung in the air.

It was unsettling, but there was something else too—something I didn’t want to admit.

Part of me wanted to see him again.

6

AMIR

The streets of Mexico City stretched before me like a maze, but I knew every corner, every alley.

This city was mine, and soon, she would be too.

My feet carried me through the busy crowd, but my mind was back in that quiet little bookshop with her.

Mariana.

I hadn’t meant to approach her so soon.

I’d planned to stay hidden in the shadows a little longer, to let the tension build.

But when I saw her today, standing there with her soft eyes and gentle smile, I couldn’t resist.

She was everything I had imagined—pure, innocent, untouched by the darkness I carried with me.

I wanted to break that.

I wasn’t a good man.

I never pretended to be.

The things I’d done in my life, the blood on my hands, they were part of me.

But for her, I could be something else—something more dangerous.

She’d already felt it, the pull between us, the way her breath hitched when I looked at her.

She might not know it yet, but she belonged to me now.

I kept walking, but my mind stayed on her.

It wasn’t just obsession anymore.

It was something deeper, something darker.

She didn’t understand the world I lived in, but she would.

I’d make sure of it.

I reached my car, a sleek black vehicle parked on the side of the road.

Slipping inside, I sat in silence for a moment, staring out at the bustling streets.

I could have anything I wanted—money, power, control.

But none of it mattered if I didn’t have her.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed a number.

“Keep an eye on the girl,” I said, my voice low and firm. “I want to know everywhere she goes, everything she does. Don’t get close—just watch.”

I hung up, gripping the steering wheel.

She had no idea what was coming.

7

MARIANA

The evening light was starting to fade, casting long shadows across the cobbled streets as I closed up the bookshop. 

The day had been slow, and my thoughts kept drifting back to him.

The man from earlier.