Damon moved fast. He grabbed Celia's arm and pulled her away from the windows, pushing her toward the center of the room where no one outside could see them."Stay low," he said, his voice tight but controlled.Celia's breathing quickened as the reality hit her. Someone was watching them right now. Someone had been close enough to take that photo through the window just seconds ago."He's outside?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "Right now?"Damon was already on his phone, calling Anthony. "We've got eyes on the house. Someone's watching from outside. Get your team here now and look around the outside. I want whoever took that photo found in the next five minutes."He ended the call and turned back to Celia. "Come with me. We're going upstairs where there are no ground-level windows."They moved quickly up the stairs, Damon keeping himself between Celia and any possible sightlines. Once they reached his bedroom on the second floor, he locked the door and checked every window to mak

Damon pulled up to the private airfield with his headlights off, parking about fifty yards from where Rachel's car sat motionless near a small hangar. The three security vehicles behind him spread out into position, blocking any easy escape routes."Stay in the car," Damon told Celia as he reached for the door handle. "Lock the doors after I leave and don't open them for anyone except me or Anthony.""Wait," Celia grabbed his arm, her eyes filled with worry. "What if Marcus is in there waiting for you? What if this whole thing is designed to get you alone so his people can kill you?""That's exactly what it is," Damon said calmly. "But Rachel risked everything to warn us and I'm not leaving her to die because Marcus wants to play games.""Then let Anthony's security team handle it," Celia pleaded. "You don't have to be the one who goes in there."Damon turned to face her fully, his expression serious. "Yes, I do, because Marcus made this personal when he threatened you. If I send som

Celia's hands flew to her mouth when she saw the photo of her parents. "No, no, no, he can't do this. My parents have nothing to do with any of this!"Damon was already dialing Anthony who answered immediately. "I need a full security team at the Greene residence right now, and I mean right now. Marcus Blackwell has eyes on Celia's parents and he's threatening to kill them if we interfere tomorrow.""I'm sending a team there immediately," Anthony said, his voice tense. "But boss, if Marcus is threatening them, he might already have people positioned nearby ready to move. We need to get Mr. and Mrs. Greene out of that house tonight.""Do it," Damon said without hesitation. "Take them to one of the safe houses and don't tell anyone where, not even me. If Marcus tries to get that information out of me tomorrow, I can't give up what I don't know."After ending the call, Damon turned to Celia who was shaking with fear and anger. "Anthony's team will have your parents secured within the nex

Marcus stared at the roofline where the shot came from, his face turning red with anger. "You planned this! You brought a sniper to kill me!"Damon shook his head, still looking at the message on his phone. Someone else was protecting Celia, but who was it? The text said "her" but didn't mention any name. Maybe it wasn't about Celia at all."I didn't bring anyone," Damon said, putting his phone away. "That wasn't my doing.""Liar!" Marcus shouted, his voice cracking with rage. "You think you can intimidate me with cheap tricks? You think shooting at my men will make me back off?""The shot wasn't mine," Damon repeated calmly. "But if you keep pushing, the next one might be."Marcus's hands were shaking now, not from fear but from pure fury. He'd spent months planning this, invested money and resources, called in favors from his family connections, and now this nobody was standing in front of him acting like he'd already won."You have no idea what you've done," Marcus said through gri

Celia stood up from the couch so quickly that she nearly knocked over the coffee table. Her face was flushed with anger and disbelief as she stared at her mother."How could you say that to him?" Celia's voice shook with emotion. "Damon just risked his life to save all of us and you're calling him bad luck? He had nothing to do with any of this!"Mrs. Greene opened her mouth but no words came out. The guilt was already starting to show on her face, but Celia wasn't finished."Do you have any idea what he went through today? Marcus had armed men ready to kill him at that airfield and he went anyway because he wanted to keep me safe. He wanted to keep you and Dad safe too, even though none of this was his responsibility!"Mr. Greene placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, his own expression troubled. "Honey, Celia's right. What you just said was completely unfair to Damon.""I know," Mrs. Greene said quietly, wringing her hands together. "The words just came out. I didn't mean them the wa