Adrian's POV
"Two," Cameron says, his gun steady on Daniel's head. "One..."
I burst through the diner's back door with Marcus right behind me, both of us shouting.
Cameron spins toward us, his gun swinging in our direction. In that split second of distraction, Daniel wheels backward hard, slamming into Cameron's legs.
Cameron stumbles. The gun fires.
The bullet hits the ceiling. Plaster rains down as people scream and dive under tables.
I tackle Cameron before he can recover, my years of surgical precision making my movements exact and controlled. I pin his gun arm, twist hard. The weapon clatters to the floor.
Marcus kicks it away, then grabs Cameron by the throat, lifting him up against the wall like he weighs nothing.
"You made a mistake," Marcus growls. "You threatened her."
"Marcus, don't!" I shout, because I can see murder in his eyes. "We need him alive!"
Sirens wail in the distance. Someone must have triggered a silent alarm.
Cameron laughs, even with Marcus choking him. "You think... this ends me? The Collector... will finish what I started. He wants her... more than I do."
"Who is The Collector?" I demand.
Cameron just smiles, blood trickling from his mouth where Marcus hit him.
The police crash through the door, guns drawn. "Everyone down! Hands where we can see them!"
Marcus releases Cameron, who crumples to the floor. We raise our hands. Across the restaurant, Elena does the same, her face pale but determined.
Dr. Sarah Kim stands slowly, hands up, the flash drive still on the table.
"Officers," she says clearly. "My name is Dr. Sarah Kim. That man on the floor is Cameron Marsh. He's wanted for human trafficking. I have evidence." She points to the flash drive. "Everything you need is right there."
The cops look confused, but one of them—an older detective with sharp eyes—picks up the flash drive carefully.
"We'll need statements from everyone," he says. "Starting with you." He looks at Cameron. "And you're under arrest."
As they cuff Cameron and read him his rights, his eyes lock on Elena.
"The Collector already has plans for you," he whispers, loud enough for us all to hear. "He's been in your house. Touched your things. Knows everything about you. And he always gets what he wants."
Elena's face goes white.
"Get him out of here," the detective orders, and two officers drag Cameron away.
Three hours later, we're at the police station. Separate rooms. Separate statements. I've told my story five times—how we were investigating Cameron, how we split up, how we arrived just in time.
I left out the part about the arrangement. About Daniel's proposal. About everything personal.
The detective interviewing me—Detective Morrison—doesn't seem convinced.
"So you and Mr. DeVille just happened to arrive at the exact moment Mr. Marsh was threatening Mrs. Hart?" he asks skeptically.
"Dr. Kim texted us," I lie smoothly. "Told us where to come. We got there as fast as we could."
Morrison writes something down. "And you're just friends with Mrs. Hart? Nothing more?"
My stomach tightens. "I'm her husband's best friend. And his doctor. I've been helping with his care since the accident."
"Uh-huh." Morrison doesn't look convinced, but he closes his notebook. "You're free to go. But don't leave town. We'll have more questions."
I find Marcus in the hallway. He looks exhausted, his knuckles bruised from hitting Cameron.
"Where's Elena?" I ask.
"Still being questioned. Daniel too." Marcus runs a hand through his hair. "Adrian, this isn't over. Cameron's locked up, but what about The Collector? What if he really has been watching her?"
The same fear has been eating at me. "We need to see what's on that flash drive. Find out who The Collector is before he makes his move."
"The cops have the drive," Marcus points out.
"Dr. Kim is a therapist," I counter. "She keeps backups. Patient confidentiality and all that. If she gave the cops one copy, she might have another."
We find Sarah Kim sitting in the waiting area, looking broken and guilty. When she sees us, she stands.
"I'm so sorry," she says immediately. "For everything. I violated Elena's trust. I put her in danger—"
"Do you have another copy of those files?" I interrupt.
Sarah blinks. "What?"
"The flash drive you gave the cops. Do you have a backup?"
She hesitates, then nods slowly. "In my office. But the police said—"
"The police are moving slow," Marcus cuts in. "Paperwork. Procedures. By the time they go through all those files, The Collector could grab Elena. We need to know who he is now."
Sarah looks between us. "If I give you those files, I could lose my license. Go to jail for obstruction—"
"If you don't, Elena could die," I say flatly. "Your choice."
Sarah's face crumples. Then she nods. "My office is twenty minutes from here. I'll get you the backup files. But you have to promise me something."
"What?" Marcus asks.
"You protect her," Sarah says fiercely. "You keep Elena safe. That's all I care about anymore."
"Deal," I say.
We're heading for Sarah's car when my phone rings. It's Daniel.
"They're releasing us," he says. "Elena and me. They're calling it attempted kidnapping. Cameron's being charged. But Adrian..." He pauses. "Elena wants to go home. She's exhausted. Terrified. Can you and Marcus meet us there?"
"Actually," I say, looking at Marcus, "we have something to take care of first. We'll be there in an hour. Keep the doors locked. Don't let anyone in."
"What are you doing?" Daniel asks suspiciously.
"Getting answers," I tell him, and hang up.
Sarah's office is in a small professional building. Empty at this time of night. She unlocks the door, disarms the alarm, and leads us to her private office.
"The files are on my computer," she explains, booting it up. "Give me a minute to transfer them to a new drive."
While she works, I look around her office. Diplomas on the wall. Photos of her with patients—faces blurred for privacy. A bookshelf full of psychology texts.
And then I see it.
A photo on her desk, partially hidden behind a lamp. Sarah younger, smiling, with her arm around a man.
I pick it up. The man is handsome. Familiar somehow.
"Is this Cameron?" I ask.
Sarah glances up and freezes. "No. That's... that's someone else. From before Cameron."
But her voice wavers.
Marcus moves closer, studying the photo. Then his face goes pale.
"Adrian," he says slowly. "Look at the background."
I look. Behind Sarah and the mystery man is a house. A very specific house.
Elena's house.
"When was this taken?" I ask carefully.
Sarah's hands shake on the keyboard. "Seven years ago. Before Elena and Daniel bought it. When it belonged to—"
"To who?" Marcus demands.
Sarah's eyes fill with tears. "To my ex-boyfriend. The one I dated before Cameron. The one who broke my heart and disappeared without explanation."
My blood runs cold. "What was his name?"
Sarah takes a shaky breath. "Victor. Victor Price. He was a real estate developer. Wealthy. Powerful. He owned dozens of properties, including that house. When he vanished, his entire estate went into some kind of trust. The house eventually went to auction. That's where Daniel and Elena bought it."
"Victor Price," I repeat. The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it.
Marcus is already googling on his phone. His face goes from pale to gray.
"Adrian," he says, showing me his phone. "Victor Price. Real estate mogul. Disappeared seven years ago under suspicious circumstances. The police suspected foul play but never found a body. He was known for..." Marcus swallows hard. "For collecting rare and beautiful things. Art. Jewels. And according to these articles, he had rumors of a darker collection. Women."
The pieces click together in my mind with sickening clarity.
"The Collector," I breathe. "Victor Price is The Collector. And he didn't disappear seven years ago."
"He went underground," Marcus finishes. "Built a new identity. A new operation. And now he wants his house back. Along with its current occupant."
Sarah's computer beeps. The file transfer is complete. She hands me the flash drive with shaking hands.
"There's something else you should know," she whispers. "Victor—The Collector—he doesn't just take women. He studies them first. Obsesses over them. Makes them into perfect possessions. And according to Cameron's files, The Collector has been preparing for Elena for three months."
"Preparing how?" I ask, though I'm terrified of the answer.
Sarah opens a file on her computer. Security camera footage. Dozens of videos.
Of Elena. In her house. In her bedroom. In her shower.
"He's been inside," Sarah says. "Multiple times. Installing cameras. Watching her. Learning her routines. And according to the timestamps..." She points to the most recent video. "He was there this morning. While you were all at the police station."
The video shows a figure in black moving through Elena's house. Touching her things. Sitting on her bed. Holding one of her photographs.
The figure turns toward a hidden camera and lifts his mask slightly.
The face underneath makes my heart stop.
Because I've seen that face before. Recently.
"Oh my God," Marcus whispers, seeing it too.
The man in Elena's house, The Collector, Victor Price—he's someone we know.
Sarah closes the laptop, her face gray. "You need to get to Elena right now. Because according to Cameron's files, The Collector makes his final move tonight. He's planned it for weeks. And whatever he's planning..."
Her phone buzzes. She looks at it and drops it, her face going white with terror.
"What?" I demand. "What is it?"
"It's a text," she whispers. "From Victor. He says..." She can barely get the words out. "He says to tell you thank you. For leaving Elena alone at home with her crippled husband. It'll make collecting her so much easier."
Marcus and I run for the door.
But deep down, I already know.
We're too late.