Two weeks ago, he had cornered one of Lena’s housekeeping staff in the parking garage, demanding to know her schedule.The woman had been terrified.I had considered killing him then, but Lena did not know about any of it, and I had not wanted to upset her with news of her deranged ex.
Last week, he had broken into her office after hours.Security footage showed him going through her desk, photographing documents, pocketing a scarf she had left draped over her chair.He had pressed it to his face and inhaled.
That was when I gave Petrov the order.The next time Joe set foot on hotel property, hold him for me.
My men had spotted him at the gala last night.Now Petrov had him in the basement.
Kill him.My wolf snarled.He threatened our mate.End him.
The basement security office smelled like fear when I arrived.Petrov stood by the door, his face expressionless, and two of my men flanked a chair where Joe sat bound and bleeding.
He had put up a fight.That would make this easier.
“You found him where?”I asked, not looking at him yet.Making him wait.
“Service corridor near the kitchen.”Petrov handed me a tablet.“He had these.”
I scrolled through the photos.Lena at the gala.Lena in her office.Lena on the terrace, my hand at her waist.Each image was a violation.Each one made my wolf’s rage burn hotter.
“There’s more.”Petrov’s voice was grim.“Notes.Schedules.He knew when she would be alone, where she would be vulnerable.And these.”He pulled out a bag of items.“Access codes written on hotel stationery.Someone gave him inside information.”
I finally looked at Joe.He was sweating, his eyes wild, a bruise already forming on his jaw.
“I can explain,” he said, his voice cracking.“Someone at the hotel told me she was in danger.They said you were the threat, that I had to protect her.”
“Someone.”I stepped closer.“Who?”
“I never saw their face.Just texts from a blocked number.They said they worked at the hotel, said they were worried about her, sent me the codes.”
My wolf was howling now, but some small part of my mind registered the words.Someone at the hotel.Someone with access.But Joe was here, in front of me, with evidence of his obsession spread across the table.
“You put your hands on what’s mine,” I said quietly.
“I was trying to help her.”His voice rose, desperate.“I loved her first.Before you.I would never hurt her.”
“And yet here you are.”I picked up one of the photos.Lena smiling, unaware she was being watched.“Stalking her.Following her.Taking pictures because you cannot accept that she chose someone else.”
“She was supposed to choose me.”His face twisted with bitter resentment.“We were together for years.I waited for her.I was patient.And then she marries you?Some Russian criminal who probably threatened her into it?”
My fist connected with his face before I consciously decided to move.The impact was satisfying, bone against bone, his blood on my knuckles.
“Bring him,” I told my men.“The warehouse.”
My men dragged Joe to the SUV while I followed, my wolf pacing beneath my skin.The drive took twenty minutes.Long enough for Joe to realize what was happening.Long enough for his fear-scent to fill the car until I could taste it on my tongue.
The warehouse was one of our disposal sites, soundproofed and equipped for exactly this kind of work.The kind of place where problems disappeared.
My men chained Joe to a support beam and stepped back to wait for my orders.
I removed my jacket and rolled up my sleeves, taking my time, letting his terror build.
“Please,” he said.“Please, you don’t understand.She’s in danger.Someone is working against her.I was trying to warn her.”
“You were stalking her.”I circled him slowly, watching his eyes track my movement.“You broke into restricted areas.You took photos of her in private moments.You left notes.You followed her.”
“Because it was the only way to protect her.”His voice broke on a sob.
Joe had been obsessed with Lena since before I met her, and when she married me, that obsession had curdled into madness.