Lahat ng Kabanata ng STEP CLOSER, MY STEP BROTHER : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

Roman's POVThe cracked phone sat in my palm like a shattered promise.I stared at it, the screen spiderwebbed with damage, Ariana's wallpaper faintly visible beneath the destruction. Her smile. My hoodie. Her eyes looking up like she had no idea the world could burn.Now it was."It's hers," I said, my voice like ash.Alex stood beside me, his jaw clenched tight. "Fuck. Her location cut out here, right?""Yeah." I tucked the phone into my pocket like it was sacred. "Which means this is where it happened."The street was abandoned. A stretch of cracked asphalt and flickering streetlights. The silence around us didn’t feel empty. It felt watched.Alex crouched near the curb, scanning the area. "No blood. No struggle marks. Just the phone. She probably didn’t even see it coming."My fists clenched.I wasn’t just angry.I was terrified.And that was worse. Because I didn’t know how to be scared."Pull the traffic cam feeds," I barked. "This street's got a city cam at the corner. Trace ev

Roman’s POVI hadn’t slept in Fourty Eight hours.Not really. Just short, useless blinks in the car. Long enough to see her face behind my eyelids. Long enough to wake up choking on air.Her phone still in my jacket pocket. Cracked. Silent.Like her.Alex sat beside me in the passenger seat, eyes red, tapping on his laptop. We’d parked in front of a third gas station, one of dozens we’d stopped at in the last two days.“I’m going to need another Red Bull,” he muttered, dragging his hand through his hair. “And maybe a priest.”I didn’t respond.Because if I opened my mouth, I’d scream.Just then my phone rang.Her name lit up the screen Ari’s MomI stared at it like it might explode.Then I answered.“Roman?” Her voice broke before she could finish my name.“I’m here,” I said, throat tight.“Where is she?!” she sobbed. “Roman, I’ve been calling and calling she’s not home. She hasn’t answered anyone. It’s been three days and I. . .”She broke down crying. Deep, shaking gasps like someth

Roman's POVWe stepped out into the shadows, each of us in black. I had a pistol holstered at my waist, another tucked into my ankle. A switchblade sat warm in my palm. Alex was silent beside me, scanning the darkness.“There,” he whispered. “Perimeter—two guards. Rifles. One smoking.”I followed his line of sight. Two large men circled the gate. One had a scar across his temple. The other wore a black beanie and held an M4 like he was born with it.I crouched lower. “We need one alive.”Alex nodded.The silence before violence always felt sacred. Like the moment before a storm touches ground.We moved.Alex went wide while I crept behind a fallen beam. The scar-faced one turned and I lunged.I slammed into him with full force. He grunted, rifle falling as my blade sank into his thigh. He screamed, and I slammed the hilt into his temple. He dropped.The second one raised his gun.Crack!Alex shot first. One clean bullet to the shoulder. The man went down yelling curses in Russian.I r

Ariana's POVI needed to see him again, the only thing i could think of was him. After i went to his ward and came back mom told me i shouldn't disturb him that he needs rest and he lost alot of blood but... still went to himThe soft beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room.I slipped in through the door as quietly as I could, the hoodie I wore swallowing me whole. My feet were bare, aching against the cold hospital tiles. Every inch of my body still throbbed from bruises, scrapes, and sheer exhaustion but none of it mattered.Not when I saw him.Roman.Lying there shirtless, wrapped in fresh bandages across his shoulder and torso, one arm draped over his stomach. His lips were parted slightly as he breathed, the kind of sleep that only comes after blood loss and chaos. I stood at the door for a full minute, just watching him breathe making sure he was real.I choked back a sob and moved to the edge of the bed, curling into the chair like I was seven again. His face w

Roman's POVIt’s been two weeks.Two weeks since she kissed me in that hospital room like she didn’t care about anything else.Two weeks since she looked at me like I wasn’t a monster.And now?She’s gone cold. No replies. No calls. Nothing but silence that feels like a fucking slap.I stared at my phone, the unread messages.Nothing. Not even a "seen."I haven’t left this city, even though I should’ve. Even though my father has been calling nonstop, telling me to come back home where he can keep me under his so-called protection. Whatever that means.But I’m not going anywhere.Not until I see her.Not until I understand why she’s pulling away from me like I burned her.She was supposed to be mine.I slide my jacket on, grab the keys, and head out. I don’t care what excuse I’ll have to make to get past whoever’s watching the house. I need answers.Not tomorrow. Not later.Now.Ariana’s POVI didn’t know what was wrong with me.Every time I smelled food, my stomach turned. Every time