Rachel hadn't slept properly in three days.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Dominic's face. Saw his hands on her. Heard the sound of his bones breaking when Raziel beat him. Then she'd wake up and remember that there was a man standing outside her house. Watching. Always watching.
The first bodyguard was named Marcus. Rachel didn't know his full name. He didn't volunteer it. He just appeared on her porch the morning after Raziel left, and he didn't leave.
She'd tried to ignore him at first. Pretended he didn't exist. But it was hard to pretend someone wasn't there when they were standing right outside your door, visible from every window in your house.
On the second day, she got tired of it.
She went outside with a cup of coffee and handed it to him through the window. He looked at it like it was poisoned.
"It's just coffee," Rachel said. "You've been standing out here all day."
He took it. "Thank you."
He didn't smile. Didn't make conversation. Just drank the coffee and kept watching.
By the third day, Rachel was asking him questions.
"Why are you here?" she asked when she came home from work.
"To keep you safe," he said.
"Safe from what? I don't understand what's happening."
He didn't answer. Just looked at her like she should already know.
That night, she got a text on her phone. A number she didn't recognize.
"Don't ask the guards questions. You're protected. That's all you need to know. - R"
Rachel stared at the text. R. Raziel. He was texting her. That meant he had her number. Which meant he'd looked through her phone or gotten her information somehow. The thought made her uncomfortable.
She didn't text back. What would she even say?
The next morning, a different guard was there. Taller than Marcus, with a friendlier face. His name was Kai. He actually smiled when she came out to go to work.
"Morning," he said. "Have a good day."
It was such a normal thing to say that Rachel almost cried. She hadn't heard a normal greeting in days.
"Thanks," she said. "You too."
"I'll be here when you get back," he said. "Same time?"
"Yeah. Around eleven."
"I'll be waiting."
He was there when she got back. And the next day. And the next. Kai was easier to be around than Marcus. He didn't make her feel like a prisoner. He just... was there.
On the fifth day, a third guard showed up. This one was different. Cold like Marcus, but younger. His name was Alex. He didn't greet her. Didn't make small talk. Just took his position and watched everything.
Rachel realized they were rotating. One would be there during the day, another at night, another in the morning. Three different men, always watching, always present.
She started leaving them water bottles. Started making sandwiches for lunch. Started treating them like they were part of her life, because they were.
Marcus began to warm up a little. Not much. But he'd nod at her. Alex stayed cold. Kai kept being friendly.
One night, she was cooking dinner and made extra. She called out to Marcus, who was posted by the door.
"Do you want some?" she asked. "I made too much."
He hesitated. Then he came inside. He ate standing up, by the window, never taking his eyes off the street. But he ate.
"This is good," he said quietly.
"Thanks. What's your last name?"
He didn't answer that. Just finished eating and went back outside.
Rachel was starting to understand. These men weren't allowed to get close to her. They were just doing a job. A job that someone had ordered them to do.
That someone was Raziel.
She hadn't seen him since that night he showed up at her door. A week had passed. A full week of bodyguards and fear and trying to understand what was happening. And the person responsible for all of it had completely disappeared.
She wanted to call him. But she didn't have his number. The text had come from an unknown number. She had no way to reach him.
One morning, she couldn't take it anymore. She confronted Marcus.
"I need to talk to him," she said. "To Raziel. How do I contact him?"
"You don't," Marcus said. "He contacts you if he needs something."
"That's not fair. He's doing all this without explaining anything. I deserve to know why."
Marcus looked at her for a long moment. "No, you don't. You deserve to stay alive. That's it."
"I don't understand—"
"You don't need to understand," he said. His voice was firm. Final. "You need to do what you're told. That's all."
Rachel felt anger rise in her chest. "I'm not a prisoner. I didn't do anything wrong."
"No. You didn't. But Dominic Moretti thinks you did. And if the boss doesn't protect you, Dominic will find you. And he'll hurt you. Badly. That's why we're here. That's all you need to know."
He said it so calmly. Like he wasn't talking about someone trying to kill her. Like this was just how things were.
Rachel went back inside. She was furious. And terrified. And confused.
That night, she heard a car pull up.
She looked out the window. A black car, expensive. The kind of car that belonged to someone important. Someone rich. Someone powerful.
Raziel got out.
Rachel's heart started racing. She watched him from the window as he talked to Marcus. He was wearing a dark suit, like always. He moved like he owned the entire street.
Then he walked to her front door and knocked.
Rachel opened it. He was taller than she remembered. Colder too. His eyes looked at her like she was something he was analyzing. Calculating.
"You've been asking questions," he said. Not a question. A statement.
"Yes. I want to know what's going on."
"I told you. You're in danger. I'm protecting you."
"But why? You don't know me. Why do you care?"
Raziel's expression didn't change. "I don't care. I'm protecting an asset. You're being targeted. That makes you my responsibility. That's it."
Asset. Not a person. An asset.
Something in Rachel broke a little hearing that. She didn't know why. She didn't even know this man. But hearing herself called an asset hurt.
"So I'm just... property? Something you own?"
"You're something I'm protecting," Raziel said coldly. "There's a difference. Right now, you belong to me because no one else will protect you. When this is over, you're free to go."
"When will it be over?"
"When Dominic stops being a problem."
"And how long will that take?"
"As long as it takes."
He said it like it was simple. Like he wasn't talking about an indefinite amount of time where her life wouldn't be her own.
"I need to know more," Rachel said. "I need to understand what's happening."
"No, you don't," Raziel said. "You need to follow instructions. Marcus is in charge. You listen to him. You don't go anywhere without a guard. You don't talk to anyone about this. You don't ask questions. You do what you're told. Understood?"
"And if I don't?"
"Then you'll die."
He said it like he was telling her the weather. No emotion. No sympathy. Just a fact.
"You're keeping me prisoner," Rachel said.
"I'm keeping you alive," Raziel replied. "If you want to leave, you can try. But Dominic will find you. And he'll do what he was trying to do in that bathroom. Only this time, I won't be there to stop him. Is that what you want?"
Rachel said nothing.
"I thought not," Raziel said. "You'll stay here. You'll be protected. And when this is over, you'll never have to think about me again."
He turned to leave.
"Wait," Rachel said. "Why did you save me? In the bathroom? You didn't know me. Why did you care?"
Raziel stopped. He looked back at her, and for a second, something crossed his face. Something she couldn't read.
"I didn't save you because I care," he said. "I saved you because Dominic was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I was there. That's all. Don't make it into something it's not."
Then he left.
Rachel watched him drive away in his black car, and she felt completely alone even though there were three men surrounding her house.
She realized then that Raziel wasn't going to be kind to her. He wasn't going to explain. He wasn't going to treat her like a person. She was just something to protect. An obligation. An asset.
And she had no choice but to accept it.
Because the alternative was death.