CHAPTER 10 Caught Between Two Devils

She glared at me. “You think everything is about you.”

“It’s not about me. It’s about us.”

“There is no us!” she cried. “There never was!”

I looked at her. “You can keep saying that. But you and I both know what happened between us wasn’t an accident.”

Her lip shook. “Then what was it?”

“Fate,” I whispered.

She shook her head furiously. “Don’t say that word to me. Not after everything.”

“Then tell me the truth,” I said. “Do you still love me?”

She looked at me like I’d just torn open a wound she’d been trying to heal.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t make me answer that.”

I stepped closer until there was barely any room between us. “Then I already know.”

Her breath hitched.

I wanted to kiss her. To pull her close. To tell her that whatever else we were, we were real. But before I could move, I heard footsteps.

Heavy. Rapid. Getting closer.

Ava’s eyes widened. “Nathaniel”

I turned, scanning the shadows.

“They’re here,” I said.

“How do you know it’s them?”

“Because Charles’s men don’t hide when they hunt.”

Her breathing quickened. “What do we do?”

“Get in your car,” I said. “Drive out the back exit. Don’t stop for anything.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll distract them.”

Her eyes filled with fear. “They’ll kill you.”

I smiled weakly. “They’ll have to catch me first.”

“Nathaniel, please”

“Go!” I shouted.

She paused for a second too long, her eyes locked on mine. Then she ran. I watched her slip into her car, struggling with the keys.

I turned toward the sound of footsteps. Shadows moved near the stairwellthree of them, armed, intentional.

I slipped behind a wall, holding my phone tightly. My mind raced. Isabella’s warning was right.

Charles wasn’t just coming for me. He wanted to erase every piece of proof tying me to Ava.

And he’d started tonight.

I sent a quick message to Isabella: You were right. He made his move.

No reply.

The men were getting closer now.

I could hear one of them say, “Boss said the woman’s priority. Don’t let her leave.”

A cold rush went through me. Ava.

I stepped out from behind the rock, my heart racing.

If they wanted her, they’d have to go through me first.

The screech of tires echoed through the garage as Ava’s car sped toward the exit. The men turned. One of them lifted his gun.

I yelled her name too late.

A single shot rang out.

The sound of the gunshot still echoed in my mind.

Even after the silence returned, my heart kept beating like it hadn’t gotten the message that I was safe.

Nathaniel’s hand was holding the steering wheel tightly as we drove through the night. His fingers were white. His jaw was hard. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead like he couldn’t afford to move.

We didn’t speak for a long time.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what to feel.

Anger. Fear. Guilt.

They all twisted inside me until I couldn’t tell one from the other.

Finally, I whispered, “Was that really them?”

His voice was rough when he answered. “Charles’s men. Three of them.”

I swallowed. “And if you hadn’t stopped them”

“They would’ve stopped you,” he said softly. “For good.”

My breath caught. I turned my face away, looking out the window, but the darkness outside didn’t make me feel any better.

We reached the safehouse half an hour later. He killed the headlights, parked, and sat still for a moment.

“Get inside,” he said softly.

I wanted to fight. I wanted to ask where we were, why we had to hide. But his tone left no room for debate.

Inside, I paced back and forth. My heart wouldn’t calm down.

“Nathaniel,” I said slowly. “You need to tell me what’s going on.”

He didn’t answer right away. He took off his jacket, tossed it on the chair, and ran a hand through his hair.

I stepped closer. “Stop shutting me out. I deserve to know.”

He looked at me then, and his eyes were tired like he’d carried a thousand nights of anger without sleep.

“You want to know?” he asked. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

He sat down on the edge of the table. His voice was calm, but his words weren’t.

“Charles didn’t just ruin my reputation,” he started. “He destroyed my family.”

I frowned. “Destroyed how?”

His eyes darkened. “He bankrupted my father’s company. Every deal we had, every backer we trusted was gone. Charles made sure of it.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I said quietly. “Charles isn’t”

“Not the man you think he is?” Nathaniel cut in. “He’s not the savior everyone paints him to be. He’s a hunter. My father trusted him. I believed him. But Charles saw weakness and used it.”

I shook my head, my voice shaking. “You can’t just accuse him of that without proof.”

“Oh, I have proof,” Nathaniel said, his tone sharp. “Emails. Fake audits. Wire transfers to foreign accounts under fake names. He made it look like my father was embezzling funds.”

I stared at him, shocked. “That’s impossible.”

He leaned closer. “It’s not. And because of that, my father lost everything. His business. His name. His will to live.”

My stomach dropped. “Nathaniel…”

His voice broke as he said the next words. “He killed himself, Ava. Because of your beautiful, flawless Charles.”

The room went quiet.

My hands shook. “No,” I whispered. “That can’t be true.”

“I buried him with the debt Charles left us in,” Nathaniel said, his eyes wet now. “And I swore that one day, he’d lose everything the same way he made my father lose it.”

I pressed a hand against my mouth, trying to steady my breathing. “So this… this whole thing about your company, your charm, your friendship with me was all revenge?”

He didn’t answer right away.

I stepped closer. “Tell me the truth, Nathaniel.”

“Yes,” he said finally. “At first, it was.”

The words cut through me like a knife.

“At first?” I repeated weakly.

He stood up, his eyes locked on mine. “Until you happen.”