She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 475

Lyra woke up the next morning feeling utterly on edge.

She blamed her anxiety on the impending dinner with Rowan.

As evening approached, Lyra dragged her feet, desperately wanting to cancel. She wondered if her sheer terror of the man was making her physically ill.

Or was there another reason for this suffocating sense of dread?

She rode with Caleb to the upscale restaurant.

They ran into Maddie at the grand entrance.

After exchanging greetings, Caleb walked ahead, leaving the two women trailing slightly behind.

As Lyra placed her foot on the first step of the sweeping staircase, she froze.

That same heavy, piercing gaze from the club the night before locked onto her.

The raucous laughter of a rowdy group cascaded down the stairs.

Her body went rigid. She forced herself to look up.

A group of menacing men swaggered down the steps. The one leading the pack had a jagged scar across his face, radiating pure brutality. The rest looked like textbook cartel thugs.

Trailing at the very back was a man in a worn leather jacket. He had captivating, predatory eyes with a distinct, faint mole at the corner of his left eye. He gave Lyra a fleeting, apathetic glance before looking away.

Lyra was certain he was the one who had been staring at her.

She couldn't look away from him.

Sensing the danger rolling off the men, Maddie shrank back and yanked Lyra toward the wall, whispering frantically, "Don't stare. They look like absolute psychos."

Right on cue, one of the thugs whistled lewdly at Lyra.

Thankfully, they seemed to be in a rush, laughing off the crude gesture as they continued out the door.

Once they were gone, Maddie let out a breath. "What kind of dive did your brother book? How are degenerates like that allowed in here?"

But Lyra was still trapped in the memory of that brief, chilling eye contact. She tugged on Maddie's sleeve, her voice trembling. "That guy in the leather jacket... did you see him?"

"Yeah, I saw him."

"He looks so familiar," Lyra said, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. "Have we met him before?"

Maddie shook her head firmly. "Nope. Never seen him in my life."

Lyra's panic spiked.

Why did his face trigger such a visceral reaction?

A phantom grip clamped around her heart, squeezing hard.

"It's just a guy, Lyra. Chill out."

Maddie teased, "Did his good looks completely paralyze you? Don't tell me it was love at first sight!"

Was he a notorious criminal? Or...

A fallen hero?

Lyra began to tremble violently as the truth slammed into her.

The memory snapped into agonizing focus.

Her father's tears.

Her own overwhelming sorrow when she looked up the news on her computer.

He was an undercover narcotics detective.

A cop on the brink of death.

"No..."

"No, no, no!"

Lyra shuddered violently, her pupils contracting in sheer terror. Forgetting her surroundings, she shoved her designer bag into Maddie's arms, spun on her heel, and bolted down the stairs, sprinting out the doors like a woman possessed.

...

She stumbled onto the busy street, her eyes darting frantically through the dense crowd, hunting for that single figure. Her heart thrashed against her ribs so violently she thought it might break through her chest.

Running purely on instinct, she picked a direction and sprinted. The sidewalk stretched out endlessly, completely void of the man she desperately needed to find.