Chapter 3 - RECOGNITION AND RETREAT
Nicholas stood just inches from her, his chest rising and falling in a steady, slow rhythm. Up close, the faint scent of rain, salt, and sandalwood radiated off his skin. He didn't lean over her to intimidate her; he simply stood there, studying her face with cold, calculated precision.
His eyes moved from her wide, trembling brown eyes, down to the trembling line of her jaw, and finally to the brass nametag pinned to her black lapel.
Then, just as abruptly as he had seized her, Nicholas released her wrist.
He took two deliberate steps backward, giving her space, his hands coming up in a open, neutral gesture.
"You're new," Nicholas observed quietly, his dark eyes scanning her uniform.
Clare pulled her wrist back against her chest, her fingers instinctively rubbing the skin where he had held her. Her body was shaking, but she forced herself to stand upright, pressing her back against the solid wood of the closed door.
"Three... three months," Clare whispered, her voice trembling.
Nicholas tilted his head, his gaze steady. "What's your name?"
"Clare," she choked out, swallowing hard to force air back into her lungs. "Clare Bennett."
Nicholas repeated the name silently, his lips barely moving. He glanced down at the hardwood floor near his bare feet, where her dropped housekeeping tablet lay face up, its screen glowing with the hotel's floor layout.
His eyes shifted upward, looking at the reverse side of the room number plaque mounted near the upper frame of the door.
He didn't ask her why she was there or if she was working for his enemies. He could see the raw, unscripted terror in her posture—the genuine shock of a low-wage worker who had simply made a terrible mistake on a Tuesday afternoon.
"Stay here," Nicholas said softly.
May you like
He turned his back on her without a trace of fear, stepping back into the master bathroom.
Clare stood pressed against the door, her lungs burning, her mind racing through a thousand impossible scenarios as she listened to the soft rustle of clothing coming from inside the bathroom.
