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Unknown: Define, here.

I hid my smile and casually sipped through my straw.

Cameras, then.

I fixed my eyes on the security camera in the corner of the coffee shop, watching as its red dot blinked a few times before it slowly swept across the room.

It swiveled back and stopped.

Seeing it land on me sent the vein in my neck to drum, and I settled my breathing. He was toying with me.

The invasion of privacy should have definitely concerned me, but it didn’t. It intrigued me more than anything. It’d been years since the first message, and he still knew exactly where to find me. I even took the time to drive to the opposite side of town and venture into a new coffee shop. How the hell did he do that?

Stupid, Sutton, you’re utterly stupid.

I dipped my hand into my coat pocket and pulled out the chess piece. The white marble queen sat cold in my palm, the black felt beneath catching on my skin as I turned it over.

It looked custom. Expensive.

Nothing like all the other worn chess pieces I’d played with in the past. I imagined it belonged to a frosted chess board with matching marble players. Did my admirer like chess? I’d definitely add it to his list, right next to being nosy as fuck.

Curiosity forced me to send another text.

Me: Why the queen?

Unknown: It’s the most powerful piece on the board. Every other piece adjusts around her presence.

Me: Are you saying I’m the queen? If I’m the queen, what are you?

Unknown: The rook.

A shiver of cold fear raced down the length of my spine, as I knew the rook patiently waited for openings until the pawns cleared a path. They didn’t dance around the board in chaos; they waited for it to settle before making their move. They claimed territory.

Was I the territory he was claiming? Or was he making way for me to claim my own? Were we even on the same team? More and more questions blazed through me. His gifts were always cryptic, leaving me more confused, and bitter annoyance simmered in my veins. Just as I lifted my phone to send another text, Amelia walked in, and I shoved the queen back into my pocket.

“Sutton!” she squealed, then let out a groan. “Sorry I’m late. But thank God you’re here. I missed you.”

I stood and greeted her with a smile.

Amelia’s ash-brown hair flowed gracefully over her shoulders. She wore a tailored sweater and dark jeans beneath a long, cream-colored trench coat. Her heels clicked softly against the floor, and as she leaned in for a hug, the scent of lilies and the faintest trace of amber wafted between us.

She smelled expensive.

Where Amelia was nothing but old-money elegance, I contrasted her with dark waves of hair, hazel eyes, and a decidedly different wardrobe. Still refined, still expensive, I was just less… put together. Today I wore a striped blouse and faded jeans.

“I’ve hardly seen you this summer,” she complained and threw that silken wave of hair back over her shoulder. “I wish you would have taken at least a couple of weeks off.”

“I wanted to finish up those classes first.” I shrugged, toying with the ring on my finger. “Plus, I have time off now. Since I completed my fall classes this summer, my next round won’t begin until spring.”

“Yes, well, I had to spend the summer with my mother at the law firm. Has… your dad let you work the casinos yet?”

I scrunched my nose. “No. He still refuses.”

I majored in math and market design, and for the last two years, I’d been hounding my father about letting me intern at one of his casinos. Every year, without fail, he extended the opportunity for finance students to gain experience in the field of accounting. Except for me.

“Isn’t that the point?” I’d hissed at Father weeks ago. “That I got a math degree so I could eventually help you run the casinos someday? Just let me intern. Please. If you won’t give me that, then at least let me switch majors.”

I just wanted to prove myself, to earn something beyond a fleeting conversation since business was all he was interested in. For a time, I was determined to keep asking to intern until he agreed, but that had changed recently. Amelia didn’t know that with only two classes left, I’d planned on packing my bags and moving away from Vancouver. I was going to complete my remaining classes online.