Chapter 185: Locked Inside My Heart

Justin’s POV

"Babe, where are you?"

Harper’s soft, unmistakable voice came tumbling through the speaker the exact second I pressed the phone to my ear.

A quiet, involuntary smile broke through the crushing exhaustion on my face despite everything we had just witnessed. "I’m still at the lawyer’s office."

There was a short, heavy pause on the line. "You’re still there?"

"Yeah." I leaned back against the leather headrest, rubbing the bridge of my nose as the adrenaline slowly drained out of my veins. "I really thought I’d be back home to you much sooner."

"Me too."

I could hear the distinct, adorable little pout in her tone, picture the exact way her brows were knitting together in our quiet kitchen.

"I’m so sorry, baby," I murmured, my voice dropping into a warm, gentle register. "I stayed way longer than I expected. Something urgent came up with the case files, and I had to stay back and resolve it."

"Are you almost done there now?"

"Yeah, babe. I’m right here."

"Okay..."

She went quiet for a moment, the faint rustle of her sweater coming through the line. Then, I heard her let out a long, heavy sigh.

"I’ve actually been trying to open the front door for some time now."

My eyebrows pulled together instantly, every protective instinct spiking back to life. "What?"

"The front door," she repeated softly.

I darted a quick, sharp glance over at my lawyer, who was watching me silently from across the desk. "What about the door, Harper?"

"I can’t get it to open. The handle won’t turn, and the keypad isn’t responding."

I sat straight up in my chair. "Can you try it again for me?"

"Justin, I’ve tried several times."

"Please, try it right now."

I held my breath, waiting in the silence. A few agonized seconds ticked past on the wall clock before her voice returned.

"It still isn’t opening," she said, her frustration bleeding into confusion.

I dragged my hand around the back of my neck, swallowing hard. "Okay..."

"Justin." Her tone shifted completely, the lightness vanishing. "What happened?"

"Nothing, baby "

"Then why can’t I open my own front door?" The first edges of real worry began creeping into her voice, tight and fragile. "You... you didn’t lock me in there, did you?"

"No, no! Of course I didn’t lock you in."

"Then what happened?! This has never, ever happened before!"

I hesitated, the truth hanging heavy and suffocating in my throat. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about the man who had just been taken down by a tactical team on my grandparents’ lawn. I couldn’t bear the thought of pouring that dark, sickening fear into her innocent head while she was sitting in our living room alone.

"Something came up," I finally said, keeping my tone as smooth and measured as possible. "A potential risk popped up, so I had the private investigator initiate a remote central lockdown on the smart system."

A deep, hollow silence stretched across the line.

"Justin..." her voice came back much, much quieter.

"Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?"

My eyes drifted back to the laptop resting on the desk. The security feed was quiet now. The police cruisers were pulling away. Diane’s father was in heavy steel cuffs. My grandparents were safe on the highway. The immediate nightmare was officially over.

But Harper was sitting in the dark, completely blind to the war being fought to protect her.

"Yeah," I said softly, pouring as much warmth into my voice as I could muster. "Everything is fine now."

"Fine now?" She caught the slip of my tongue instantly, the concern exploding in her chest. "What does ’fine now’ mean, Justin?!"

I let out a heavy, tired breath. "It was just a temporary security precaution, Harper."

"A security precaution?!"

"Yeah," I insisted, keeping my cadence calm and steady. "We’ve handled it completely. Everything is okay. You are 100% safe."

She didn’t respond immediately, her soft breathing filling my ear. When she finally spoke, she sounded so small, so vulnerable, it shattered my heart.

"I don’t like being alone in this big house right now, Justin."

A sharp, painful knot tightened right in the center of my chest. "Harper "

"No, seriously!" I could hear the slight, tearful whine catching in her throat. "You just casually told me there was a security concern, and now I can’t even open my own front door to step outside! How am I supposed to feel right now?!"

A faint, affectionate smile touched my lips despite the gravity of the situation. "You’re safe, baby. I swear it."

"I know you keep saying that, but you’re not here with me!"

"I’m coming back."

"When?"

I glanced down at my watch. "I’ll be back soon."

"How soon, Justin?"

I sighed softly, leaning into the phone. "Give me an hour."

"An hour?!"

"Please," I softened my voice, pleading with her gentle spirit. "Just give me one hour, babe. I promise you, I will be walking through that door."

She went quiet again, processing. Then, she muttered beneath her breath, "I don’t like this at all."

"I know you don’t."

"I’m scared."

The faint smile vanished instantly from my face, replaced by a raw, overwhelming wave of tenderness. "I know, baby."

God, I wished more than anything I could reach through the phone screen, pull her into my arms, and bury my face in her hair.

"But I promise you, you are completely safe," I swore to her. "Nothing is going to touch you. Nothing is ever going to happen to you. Everything is over now."

"You promise me?"

"I promise you with my entire life."

There was another long pause. Then, she let out a defeated little sigh. "Fine."

I smiled softly. "Fine?"

"But I’m locking myself inside the master bedroom!"

I couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that escaped my chest. "Baby, you are already inside a double-locked, high-security smart fortress."

"I don’t care!" she snapped, her stubborn, feisty spirit flaring back to life. "I’m locking every single window in this house too! I’m closing all the heavy blinds! I’m manually checking every single lock!"

I chuckled again, the heavy dark clouds in my mind clearing just a bit. "Okay."

"And don’t you dare laugh at me, Justin!"

"I’m not laughing."

"You are! I can hear it in your voice!"

"I promise I’m not."

"You are literally laughing at me right now!"

I couldn’t hold it in anymore, a warm, genuine laugh bubbling past my lips. "You’re just so cute when you’re scared and trying to be tough."

"Justin!"

"Okay, okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"

She huffed loudly through the speaker. "Seriously though... I’m going to lock everything and wait right by the bed for you."

"Good. That’s my girl."

"And you better actually come back in an hour."

"I will."

Her tone suddenly shifted, softening into something far sweeter. "Oh... and I saw the plate of food you put in the microwave for me before you left."

"Good," I murmured, my chest swelling. "Did you eat?"

"Not yet, but thank you."

"You’re very welcome, babe."

"And the coffee machine was already prepped."

"I knew you’d need a cup the second you opened your eyes."

"You’re sweet, you know that?"

I smiled into the quiet office. "I try my best for you."

A quiet, tender moment hung between us over the airwaves.

Then she whispered softly, "I love you, Justin."

A deep, beautiful warmth flooded my chest, washing away every last trace of the horror we had watched on screen. "I love you too, Harper."

"I’ll wait for you."

"I’ll be home real soon, okay?"

"Okay."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

The line went quiet as the call ended.

I slowly lowered the phone, staring blankly at the dark screen for a long, quiet second, holding her love close to my ribs.

Then I turned my head and looked back at my lawyer. He was already sitting there, watching me with a raised eyebrow and a faint, knowing smirk.

I shook my head, clearing my throat. "Alright... let me wrap up my crazy life for today."

He let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Finally."

I reached down, pulling the next thick legal file across the mahogany desk. "Let me get this paperwork signed and finished so I can get the hell back to my girl."