All Chapters of Step Brother's Deadly Obsession : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Naomi’s Pov; By evening, the base felt too tight. Too many people, too many whispers, too much movement. The kind of crowdedness that didn’t come from bodies but from pressure invisible, quiet, heavy. Everyone sensed a shift. They didn’t know it was personal. They didn’t know it had nothing to do with the mission and everything to do with the way Cassian had looked at me in that warehouse, like I’d just peeled open something he had spent years burying. I stayed busy. Checked inventory. Cleaned my gun twice. Helped Mara reorganize surveillance footage. I wanted to outrun my own thoughts, but they kept catching up. It didn’t help that I could feel Cassian’s presence even when he wasn’t in the room. That was new. Scary. Unavoidable. And every time I passed a doorway or rounded a corner, some part of me wondered if he might be there not because I needed him to be, but because some part of me wasn’t ready to admit I wanted him close. Rubio found me in the tech room, wires and

Naomi’s Pov The ride back to the base was quiet, but not empty. The silence between Cassian and me felt warm, like something had settled in it, something neither of us was brave enough to name yet. His hand stayed close to mine on the console, not touching but not retreating either. When we pulled into the underground parking, he finally moved it. Not far. Just enough to remind me the world outside the car still existed. Rubio hopped out and muttered something about checking the perimeter. He disappeared before I could ask if he needed help. I think he left on purpose, giving space he wasn’t supposed to know we needed. Cassian stayed in his seat for a moment, one hand gripping the steering wheel, eyes closed like he was thinking too hard. “You alright?” I asked. He didn’t answer right away. Then he opened his eyes, and the look in them made my chest tighten. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. I nodded once. “Same.” We both stepped out of the car. The air inside the garage wa

Naomi’s Pov By the time we got back to the base, the air felt like it had weight. Heavy. Thick. As if the darkness from the docks followed us inside. Cassian walked ahead of me, tense and silent, shoulders pulled tight like he was holding something in place that kept trying to break loose. Rubio and Mara were already in the war room when we stepped in. Rubio’s face was flushed, hair damp with sweat. Mara had her hands on her hips, breathing hard. “What happened at the airstrip?” Cassian asked. Rubio tossed a folder on the table. “Everything. Or nothing. Depends on how you look at it.” Mara crossed her arms. “They were there, but they weren’t loading anything. No cargo. No trucks. Just a few guards and a plane that never took off.” “A decoy,” Cassian muttered. “Exactly,” Rubio said. “They wanted us to split. Wanted us chasing shadows.” I took a seat, still feeling the ghost of Cassian’s hands on me from earlier, the way he’d pulled me back, held me against him as the world c

Naomi’s POV We barely spoke on the drive back. Not because there was nothing to say but because there was too much. The sight of those girls in the container stayed glued behind my eyes. Their small hands. Their quiet breathing. Their fear trying to hide under blankets that couldn’t hold anything warm. Cassian gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles went white. I’d seen him angry before. I’d seen him furious. I had never seen him quiet like this the kind of quiet that feels like the inside of a storm right before it strikes. Rubio rode in the back, tense and restless, tapping his foot against the floor. Every now and then he’d curse under his breath, like he needed to release the anger before it ate him alive. When we pulled into the base, Cassian didn’t wait for the engine to stop. He pushed out of the car and slammed the door behind him. Not at me. Not at Rubio. Just at the world. I followed him. I didn’t know why. Maybe because something in my chest was still ta

Naomi’s POV Nights before missions are never quiet, even when they look that way. The halls were dim, the lights on low power, the air-conditioning humming softly. But inside me? Nothing was quiet. Every sound felt louder. Every thought sharper. Every breath heavier. I walked back to my room after the planning session, but sleep wasn’t even a possibility. My body was restless, my mind too full. I changed into a loose T-shirt and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the wall like it might give me answers. It didn’t. All I kept seeing were the girls in that container. And Cassian’s face when he saw them. Something in him had fractured. Not in a dangerous way — in a human way. A way he didn’t know how to handle. A knock sounded on my door. Soft. Slow. Not urgent. Just… there. I stood, heart rising to my throat, and opened it. Cassian. He didn’t barge in. Didn’t fill the doorway with command or authority. He just stood there, hands in the pockets of his sweats, hair slight