Page 83 of Dark Billionaire Stalker
Josiah called it gaps. Holes in the timeline.
But what if they're not gaps? What if someone deliberately erased Linda's history?
The Brotherhood has done it before. Scrubbing records, eliminating paper trails, making inconvenient pasts disappear.It's one of the services we provide to our members—and to ourselves, when necessary.
What if Linda Marsh wasn't runningfromsomething? What if she was runningbecauseof something? Something connected to us?
The thought is unsettling. I push it aside, but it lingers at the edges of my mind, refusing to disappear.
Around noon, Josiah appears at my study door.
"I heard about Mercer," he says without preamble.
"From Hutton?"
"From my own sources. He's been making noise for months—quiet inquiries, subtle approaches. Testing the waters." Josiah steps into the room, closing the door behind him. "Now he's focused on your florist. That's not a coincidence."
"I know."
"Do you know why? Do you know what he wants with her specifically?"
"Not yet."
"Gabriel." Josiah's voice is sharp. "This is exactly what I warned you about. You've made yourself vulnerable. You've given him a target."
"He would have found a target regardless."
"Maybe. But this target lives in your house. Sleeps in your bed. Knows things she shouldn't know." He moves closer, lowering his voice. "If Zach gets to her—if he turns her against you—"
"He won't."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she's mine." The words come out harder than I intended. "She's chosen to be here. Chosen to stay. Whatever Zach offers her, whatever lies he tells, she won't betray me."
"You sound very certain for a man who's known this woman for a month."
"I know her."
"You know her body. You know her fear. But do you know her loyalty?" Josiah shakes his head. "She witnessed you commit murder. She's been coerced into your bed, into your home. If someone offered her a way out—if someone promised to help her escape—"
"She doesn't want to escape."
"How do you know?"
The question hangs between us. How do I know? Because she stopped running. Because she looks at me with something other than fear now. Because she draws serpents whispering to flowers and keeps the dahlias I give her and moans my name like it's the only word she knows.
But Josiah is right. None of that is proof. None of that guarantees she won't turn on me if given the chance.
"I know," I say, because it's the only answer I have.
Josiah stares at me for a long moment. Then he sighs.
"I hope you're right, brother. Because if you're wrong—if Zach turns her into a weapon—it won't just be you who pays the price. It will be all of us."
He leaves without waiting for a response.
I sit alone in my study, staring at the files on my desk, thinking about the woman upstairs.
