Page 103 of Faking Ties

A wet nose nudges my arm, breaking through my panic. Minnie nudges me again through a small opening in the shower curtain. I reach out a hand and scratch behind her ears.

“Are they gone?” I whisper, desperate for any sign of safety. Of course, she doesn't answer. Instead, she lies on the floor while I cling to the bathtub, the porcelain a cold comfort against the fear still coursing through me. It feels safer here than anywhere else, for now.

“Ella?” Hunter shouts, his voice laced with raw panic.

Minnie barks in response,and a strangled cry escapes my lips in relief.

Hunter’s frantic footsteps pound on the stairs; each step feels like a physical manifestation of his worry.The bathroom door explodes open the next instant,the shower curtain whipping back as he crashes in.He scans me from head to toe, face pale. “Are you hurt?” His hands hover above me, as if afraid to touch me if I’m injured.

Tears well in my eyes,but I manage to shake my head.He scoops me up from the cold porcelain,his arms a haven against the lingering terror.

“What happened?” He sits on the bed, keeping me cradled against his chest.

“Two men broke in. I don’t know if there were more.” Shivers wrack my body at the thought of them. “They mentioned something about looking for Stella’s replacement, but I’m not sure what that means. Minnie scared them away and then they left.”

“What the fuck?” He kisses my hair and tightens his arms around me. “Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m going to video call Stella.” He dials her number, and she answers on the third ring. Her face is pale, and her mouth is compressed into a straight line.

“Now’s not a good time,” she forces out.

“Someone just broke into my house,” Hunter says.

“Fuck,” she says, closing her eyes for a brief moment. “Are you okay? I also just had a break-in attempt.”

“Shit, we’re managing. Ella was home. What about you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Kai stopped them before they could get up the elevator.” She looks at something to her side, and her eyes widen before Kai takes the phone out of her hands.

“I just got word,” Kai says, “that some videos are going viral as we speak that focus on the differences between the two of you over the past few months.”

“No,” I gasp. Hunter tightens his hold on me.

“It gets worse,” Kai says. “There’s officially a conspiracy out there that there are two Stellas, and that video comes from Jax. Someone has reposted hisvideo and has made a challenge to find Stella’s replacement and out her. Millions of people have liked it and one of the comments promises a monetary prize to whoever discovers this. That comment has hundreds of thousands of likes already and it’s been up for only an hour. We need to get Elodie out of Skyrise ASAP. It’s too risky for her to stay with Hunter. And, Hunter, I’ve assigned you some of my men for protection. They’re on their way as we speak.”

“I don’t need protection,” Hunter says. “I’ll be fine.”

“They’re going to help you whether you like it or not,” Kai says. “I suspect there will be more break-in attempts as well as random people following your every move, trying to catch you slipping up. It’s going to be a challenge to even extract Elodie.”

Hunter nods once, sharply. “And what about Elodie? Can we get someone to watch over her while she’s home?”

“It shouldn’t come to that if she keeps a low profile,” Kai says. “But you two shouldn’t try to sneak around and see each other while we’re dealing with this. Everything’s too easily tracked, from your car, to your schedule, to your plane’s route. We should also get everyone some burner phones to communicate on. We need to be smart and safe right now.”

“Okay,” I say. “I’ll go to my mom’s house and stay under the radar. I won’t mess it up.”

“I’m so sorry this is happening,” Stella says.

“It’s not your fault,” I say. “It’s Jax’s. You also need to make sure you’re safe.”

“I will be,” she says. “I have Kai.”

Kai glances at Stella before saying, “I’ll be in touch with the next steps.”

We hang up shortly after, and I stare at Hunter in shock.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I whisper, still not fully able to process everything that just happened.

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