Chapter 4 You Were Never Random

My hands shook so badly the phone nearly slipped from my fingers.

The photo on the screen was unmistakably me.

Inside the hidden room taken only moments ago, the angle was high enough to mean one thing.

Whoever sent it was inside the building watching us and watching me.

A suffocating silence filled the room as I slowly lifted my eyes toward Alex.

For the first time since meeting him…

He looked genuinely unsettled not scared.

Men like Alex Laurent probably didn’t scare easily. But tense.

His jaw tightened as he grabbed the phone from my hand again, staring at the image carefully.

“Who is it?” I whispered.

No answer.

“Alex.”

His eyes lifted toward the security camera positioned in the corner of the room.

Then without warning, he walked toward the wall and pressed something hidden beneath the shelf.

A sharp click echoed through the room. The camera light turned off instantly, and my stomach twisted.

“You can turn the cameras off?”

“All internal feeds run through me.”

That did not comfort me AT ALL.

He typed something quickly into his phone before looking back at me.

“We’re leaving.”

“What?”

“Now.”

Before I could argue, Alex grabbed my wrist and pulled me from the hidden room.

The sudden urgency in his movements made panic rise faster in my chest.

The executive floor was strangely empty as we moved through it.

Even the assistants who had been working earlier were gone.

“Where is everybody?” I asked nervously.

“No idea.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes.”

I almost screamed.

How was this man both terrifying and infuriating at the same time?

The elevator doors opened immediately the moment we approached, as if someone had already called it for us.

That made my skin crawl.

Alex pushed me gently inside before stepping in after me.

The doors closed. For a second, silence surrounded us. Then, the elevator suddenly stopped the lights flickered once, twice then darkness swallowed everything.

My breath caught instantly.

“Oh my God.”

The elevator jerked violently beneath us.

I stumbled forward automatically straight into Alex’s chest. His hand gripped my waist immediately to steady me. It was strong warm and solid 

The contact sent a confusing wave of awareness through me before fear took over again.

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

Alex’s arm tightened slightly around me as another violent shake ran through the elevator.

His voice remained calm.

“We’re being delayed.”

“Delayed by WHO?”

No answer of course.

A sharp metallic sound suddenly echoed above us, like something scraping across the elevator shaft.

My pulse skyrocketed.

“Did you hear that?”

“Yes.”

That single word somehow made it worse.

The emergency lights flickered on dimly, bathing the elevator in soft red light.

And suddenly, standing this close to Alex felt dangerous for entirely different reasons.

His face looked sharper under the crimson glow its was more intimidating, handsome, and more terrifying. 

I quickly stepped back from him.

Bad idea.

The elevator jerked again, harder this time, and another frightened gasp escaped me as I nearly lost balance.

Alex caught me instantly again.

“Careful.”

His voice lowered slightly.

Gentler this time.

That should not have affected me the way it did.

I hated how safe his arms felt despite everything.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured.

“Because I’m trapped in a broken elevator with a man who secretly stalks me!”

A faint smile almost touched his mouth.

Almost.

“At least your survival instincts still work.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

“This is funny to you?”

“No.”

The softness disappeared instantly.

Then his gaze shifted upward again toward the ceiling, listening and waiting.

That’s when I noticed it. A tiny fear almost invisible but there.

Alex Laurent was worried. And for someone like him was worried…

Then I definitely should be terrified, the metallic scraping sound returned.

Closer now.

Something moved above the elevator.

My breathing became uneven.

“Alex…”

His eyes met mine immediately.

“When I tell you to stay behind me, you listen.”

Ice slid through my veins.

“What does that mean?”

Before he could answer—

BANG.

Something slammed violently onto the roof of the elevator.

I screamed.

The lights flickered wildly.

Another loud impact followed, strong enough to make the walls shake.

“What the hell is that?!”

Alex stepped in front of me instantly. In a very protective, possessive way. 

Then—Complete silence.

My heartbeat thundered painfully inside my chest as we waited for three seconds. Suddenly, a distorted voice crackled through the elevator speaker.

“You should’ve left her alone, Alex.”

Every hair on my body stood upright.

The voice sounded wrong and cold.

Alex’s expression darkened instantly.

“Show yourself.”

A low chuckle echoed through the speaker.

“She still doesn’t know, does she?”

I looked between the speaker and Alex rapidly.

“Know WHAT?”

Neither answered.

The voice continued calmly.

“You spent years hiding her. Watching her. Protecting her.”

My stomach twisted violently again with that word.

“But eventually,” the voice continued softly, “people always find what belongs to them.”

A horrible silence followed.

Then the speaker went dead.

My chest tightened painfully as I stared at Alex.

“What is happening?”

His eyes lingered on me for a long moment before he answered quietly:

“You were never random, Blair.”

The elevator lights suddenly flickered back to normal.

A second later, movement returned beneath our feet.

The elevator began descending again as though nothing had happened.

I pressed myself against the wall, trying to process everything.

“You keep saying things that make no sense.”

Alex remained silent.

“That person knew you.”

Silence.

“They knew me.”

Anger suddenly burst through my fear.

“No. Stop doing that!” I snapped. “Stop acting like I’m supposed to magically understand whatever insane situation this is!”

The elevator doors finally opened into the underground parking garage it was dark and nearly empty. 

Alex stepped out first immediately scanning the area carefully.

Like he expected danger.

I followed more slowly, nerves twisting tighter with every second.

Then I noticed something.

A black car parked near the far corner, engine running, headlights off, and waiting.

Alex noticed it too. His entire body stiffened instantly.

“Get behind me.”

Fear crashed through me immediately.

The passenger door of the car opened slowly.

A woman stepped out, tall and elegant. Dark hair moving slightly in the cold air.

Even from a distance, I recognized her instantly.

Vanessa Hale.

Relief nearly escaped me until I noticed the gun in her hand. My blood froze.

And then Vanessa looked directly at Alex and said:

“You need to run.”