My heart started racing. "Trouble?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lukas didn't sit. He leaned on the desk, his hands gripping the edge like he was holding himself back.
"You think Berlin is just… a fresh start?" His tone was sharp. "It's not. The people who know you're here—" he paused, his jaw tightening, "—they're not the kind you want knowing anything about you."
I shook my head. "I don't even know anyone here."
"That's what you think." He straightened up, walked over, and stopped so close I could see the tiny drops of rain still clinging to his hair. "You left New York thinking you were running away from one man. But this is bigger. Much bigger."
A cold shiver ran down my spine. "Why me?"
"Because you're connected to me now," he said, almost like it was my fault.
My phone buzzed again. Evelyn. I didn't dare pick it up.
"Put that away," Lukas said. "From now on, you answer to me. No one else."
I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was protecting me… or trapping me.
"You still haven't told me what's going on," I said, my voice shaking.
He walked back to the desk, tapped something on a small tablet, and a file appeared on the screen. My name. My picture. My old address in New York. My school. Even the hospital I'd been to last month.
I froze. "How did you get all that?"
"I'm not the only one who has it," he replied. "But I'm the only one willing to use it to keep you alive."
The air in the room felt heavier. "Lukas… are you in trouble?"
He looked at me, his gaze unreadable. "I'm a billionaire, Ava. Trouble is my shadow."
Before I could answer, the phone on his desk rang once. He picked it up, listened for a moment, then said, "Bring the car around. Now."
He grabbed his jacket again and turned to me. "We're not safe here anymore."
"Safe from who?" I asked, my voice trembling.
He didn't answer. He just opened the door and held it for me, his eyes cold and serious.