Do you have eyes on Charlotte right now?
Luther’ pov
“Do you have eyes on Charlotte right now?” I asked sharply, holding the phone to my ear while I waited for the lift to arrive.
“Yes, sir. She is at a pool party,” Daren answered.
“And you did not think to tell me?” I stepped into the lift, car keys gripped tightly in my left hand.
“I informed Mateo, sir.”
I pressed the button for the basement, jaw clenched. “Do not let her out of your sight. If any boy even thinks about getting too close, deal with it. I am on my way.”
Without waiting for a response, I ended the call and rang Mateo directly from memory.
“You cannot just call at this time of night,” Mateo said, clearly in a joking mood. “What if I were in bed with my wife?”
I ignored the comment, eyes fixed on the floor numbers as the lift descended. “Why did you not tell me she was at a party, after Daren told you?”
I forgot he was my brother at that moment. When it came to Charlotte, nothing else mattered.
“Relax. She is just hanging out with her friends. What is so wrong with that?” he replied casually, as if I was the one overreacting.
“Everything, Mateo. Everything is wrong.” I threw my free hand in the air, trying to release some of the anger boiling inside me. “There is someone out there, possibly following her, someone dangerous. I trust Daren to watch over her, but you chose to hide this from me.”
My breathing turned rough. I could barely speak through the tension tightening in my chest.
“I am sorry, all right? Daren is good at what he does. I just did not want to stress you out. Besides, if she wanted you to know, she would have told you herself.”
I had to shut my eyes for a second and bite back the urge to jump into my car and head to Mateo’s place just to punch him.
“You better pray nothing happens to her, Mateo. You better pray,” I said as the lift doors opened. I walked straight to my silver Mustang, heart pounding with worry.
I followed the location Daren had shared and got there as fast as I could. The first thing I noticed was that the place was gated, but there was no security. Students were going in and out freely. Anyone could have entered anyone with bad intentions.
The music was blaring. The crowd filled the large compound, laughing and dancing, completely unaware of the risk. It smelled like sweat, smoke, and something worse. I felt sick just standing there, but I ignored it.
No one looked at me, but I knew I stood out. I did not care. My only focus was Charlotte.
I scanned the area around the pool, and then I saw her.
She was in the water, wearing something that barely covered her. I did not waste another second. I walked straight toward her, my flip-flops slapping against the pavement as I crossed the messy lawn.
She saw me before I reached her and climbed out of the pool quickly. Her friends looked startled, giving me awkward little waves as I approached.
“What are you doing here?” she shouted over the music.
“I have come to take you home,” I replied, wishing I had thought to bring something to cover her with.
“I am not going anywhere. You cannot control whether or not I attend a party.” She stood her ground, arms crossed tightly over her stomach.
“I do not have a problem with you having fun, baby. Not at all,” I said, taking a deep breath to calm the tension in my chest.
“And yet you are here, insisting I go home,” she said, raising her eyebrows with defiance.
“Can we not have this argument in front of everyone?” I muttered, rubbing my forehead as I glanced around. Thankfully, no one seemed to care. Everyone was caught up in the loud music and wild energy.
“Then leave,” she said flatly, and that was when I caught the sharp smell of alcohol on her breath.
“Charlotte… you have been drinking,” I said in disbelief. With the noise around us, I had not realised it before, but now that I was looking directly into her eyes, it was obvious.
“Of course I have. What is a party without alcohol?” She shrugged lazily and let her arms fall to her sides.
“You are not supposed to be drinking,” I scolded, my voice growing stern. This felt like hmm…just like the last time I caught her in my club.
“Says who? Are you my father now, Luther? Come on,” she dragged her words, then let out a loud burp.
“Well, that depends,” I replied, trying to ease the tension. “Do you want me to be your daddy?”
I knew I was pushing it, but I needed to calm her down before she did something worse. She was already acting out, and with alcohol in her system, it could spiral quickly.
“Oh, why not?” she smirked, lifting her voice louder. “I can shout right now and tell everyone that you’re my daddy, and that you f**k me so good.”
“Hey, Luther,” Kate stepped in just in time, supporting Charlotte with help from another friend. “She had a bit to drink earlier. She said she was stressed and needed to forget for a while.”
“How much did she drink exactly?” I asked, sharper than I meant to.
“She had one cocktail when we arrived, but when some guy came over, she started drinking more,” Kate replied.
A chill crept over me at her words. That guy. I had seen him during the video call. Something about him had not sat right with me. His energy, even through the screen, felt wrong. That was a big reason why I came here.
“Stop talking like I am not here,” Charlotte said with irritation. “And yes, that man made me uncomfortable. I will not lie. He gave me a bad feeling. So, I drank to push it away.”
Even though she was pretending to be calm, I could see past it. Her voice trembled slightly, and her eyes kept darting around.
“All the more reason to come home with me.”
“I do not want to,” she said quickly. “Can’t you see? I feel like he is still watching me, just waiting for me to move away from the crowd.”
It was clear now, this was deeper than just a party or a few drinks. Her fear was real, and it ran deep. That man had shaken her. And it confused me. She had met strangers before. Even Gavin, for all his drama, had never left her this shaken.
“I am with you now. You need to trust me, Charlotte. The longer you stay here, the more danger you are in.”
I should not have said that word, danger, but it came out before I could stop myself. In a place like this, her stalker could blend in easily. We had no idea what he looked like. If he decided to act, no one would be able to stop him, not even Daren.
“Huh?” Charlotte gave me a strange half-smile, while Loveth, one of her friends, stared at me curiously.
“Can I talk to you, sir?” he asked suddenly, making me glance at him sideways.
Kate gently pulled Charlotte away, murmuring something about getting her water. Loveth gave her a small wink, and I nodded at him to speak.
“Please call me Luther,” I said.
“When you said the word danger just now,” Loveth began, “something clicked. I have been noticing a black Cadillac following me for a few days. At first, I thought I was just imagining it, but two days ago, I saw the same car parked outside Charlotte’s house while I was driving by.”
My heart pounded..
“I am pretty sure it is not me they are after,” he continued. “I think it is Charlotte. The van disappears whenever I pass by without stopping. But when Charlotte is with us, especially after school, it follows from a distance. Today, it kept tailing us the whole way. The girls have not noticed anything yet, and I have not said anything because I do not want to scare them. But I figured you should know, since you run a security firm.”
This was further proof that the man knew exactly what he was doing. It meant he had access to Charlotte’s school schedule, down to the time she left her last class. Whoever he was, he either had direct access to the college, was close to someone who did, or had been watching Charlotte closely for a while. Mateo and I needed to step up. We weren’t just dealing with a random stalker. This man was always one step ahead.
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