Chapter 4

~ Norah ~

"Julian is following you," Declan’s voice said in my ear. "Do not go out the front."

I didn't answer. I shoved through a group of women in feathered masks.

"Wait!" Julian’s voice cut through the music.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw him at the top of the stairs, scanning the crowd. He looked furious.

"Service exit," Declan ordered. "Kitchen. Go."

I turned left, ducking under the arm of a waiter carrying a tray of champagne.

I hit the swinging doors of the kitchen and burst through.

The staff froze as I ran past them in my black gown.

"Hey!" a chef shouted. "You can't be in here!"

I ignored him, spotting the heavy metal exit with a red *Emergency* sign above it. I slammed my hip into the crash bar.

The door flew open, and I stumbled out into the cool night air.

"I'm out," I whispered, touching the earpiece. "I'm at the back."

"Keep moving," Declan said. "Go right. There's a path leading to the lower road. I'm there."

I turned right. My heels sank into the soft grass, slowing me down. I kicked them off, leaving the expensive shoes behind.

Behind me, the kitchen door banged open.

"Stop!"

It was Julian.

I didn't look back. I ran faster, barefoot.

The grass ended, replaced by a jagged gravel path that went down the cliff.

"You can't run!" Julian shouted.

I ignored him. I sprinted onto the rocks. A sharp stone sliced into the sole of my left foot. I gasped, stumbling, but I didn't stop. Another rock cut my heel. Warm blood slicked my skin, making the path slippery, but the adrenaline pushed me forward.

I reached the bottom road.

The black SUV was idling there, the lights off. The passenger door flew open.

"Get in," Declan said.

I jumped into the seat. Declan hit the gas before I even had the door closed.

I slammed the door shut and slumped back against the leather seat, my chest heaving.

"He followed me," I said, my voice shaking. "He chased me all the way to the kitchen."

Declan watched the rearview mirror. No one was following us.

"Did you plant it?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "Under the desk."

"Good."

He didn't ask if I was okay. He didn't ask what had happened. He just cared about the chip.

I looked out the window. My hands were shaking in my lap.

"He was just sitting there," I whispered. "In the dark."

Declan’s jaw tightened. "Did he see the chip?"

"He almost did," I said. "It fell on the floor. He was going to pick it up."

Declan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

"So how did you stop him?"

I hesitated.

"I distracted him," I said.

"How?"

"I kissed him," I said quietly.

The car went silent.

Declan went completely still. He stared straight ahead at the road, but the air in the car felt suddenly suffocating.

"You kissed him," he repeated.

"I had to," I said. "He was reaching for the chip. If he saw the Sutton mark, he would have known it was you. I had to stop him."

"Did he touch you?" Declan asked. His voice was quiet, terrifyingly so.

"He pushed me away," I said. "But... he smelled me. He knows I have no scent."

Declan hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.

"He knows I'm a Ghost," I said. "He knows I'm valuable."

Declan accelerated.

"He won't touch you," Declan said. "You're with me."

"He knows I'm working for someone," I said. "He guessed it. He knows the Suttons sent me."

"Then the war has started," Declan said. "We got the bug in. That's what matters."

He pulled a small tablet from the center console and handed it to me.

"Check the signal," he said.

I looked at the screen. A green dot was blinking on a map of the Krane estate.

"It's working," I said.

Declan nodded. He looked relieved, but he didn't relax.

We drove in silence for ten minutes. The adrenaline faded, and the pain in my feet sharpened. I looked down. My feet were covered in dirt and blood from the gravel path.

"Take me back to the Tower," I said. "I'm tired."

"We're not going back to the Tower," Declan said. "Julian knows a Ghost infiltrated his home. He will assume I took you back to my headquarters. He’ll have spies watching the Tower right now."

"So where are we going?"

"A safe house," Declan said. "Territory that isn't on the maps. Somewhere they won't look."

He turned off the main highway onto a narrow dirt road that wound into the forest.

The car slowed. We pulled up to a small cabin nestled in the trees.

Declan stopped the car.

"Inside," he said.

I got out. I winced as my cut feet touched the ground, limping toward the front door.

Declan unlocked it, and we stepped inside.

It was dusty. Sheets covered the furniture. It looked like no one had been here in years.

I shivered. The black silk dress provided no warmth against the chill.

Declan locked the door behind us. His eyes went to my shivering arms, then down to the blood pooling on the floor where I stood.

He took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

"Sit," he said, pointing to the covered sofa.

I sat. He disappeared into the back room and came back with a first aid kit.

He knelt in front of me. He didn't ask, just lifted my foot. The sole was cut up from the rocks.

He started cleaning the cuts with an antiseptic wipe.

I hissed at the sting.

"Sorry," he muttered.

He was gentle. His large hands held my foot steady, his thumb brushing against my ankle.

I watched him. The moonlight highlighted the scar on his brow.

"Why are you angry?" I asked.

He paused. His grip on my ankle tightened.

"About what?"

"About the kiss," I said. "You haven't looked at me since I told you."

Declan looked up. His grey eyes locked onto mine.

"He touched you," Declan said. His voice was low.

"I told you, I had to distract him," I said. "It didn't mean anything."

"It meant something to him," Declan said. "I heard him shouting after you. He sounded desperate."

He dropped the wipe and stood up. He stepped closer.

"Where did he touch you?" he asked.

"He... he didn't," I whispered. "Just my lips."

Declan reached out. His fingers brushed my jawline. Then his hand moved up.

He cupped my jaw.

His touch sent a jolt straight to my stomach. He tilted my face up to his.

He leaned down. His face was inches from mine.

"You're my asset, Norah," he said. "My weapon."

His thumb brushed the corner of my mouth, tracing the faint bruise where the thug had hit me back at the diner. His gaze dropped to my lips.

My fingers curled into the dusty fabric of the sofa. I didn't pull away.

"Nobody else gets to put their hands on you," he whispered.

"Is that all I am?" I asked. "A property?"

Declan froze. The moment hung in the air, heavy and dangerous.

Suddenly, a loud beep cut through the silence.

It was the tablet on the coffee table. The screen lit up.

Declan pulled away instantly. He grabbed the tablet.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The bug," Declan said. "It just picked up a voice."

He tapped the screen, and Julian's voice filled the small cabin, clear and angry.

"Find her," Julian was saying. "I don't care what it costs. Find the girl in the black dress. I want her alive."

Declan looked at me. Whatever heat had been in his eyes a moment ago was gone.

"He's not just looking for a spy," Declan said. "He's hunting you."

Another voice spoke on the recording. Alpha Krane.

"Forget the girl," Krane said. "We have the encryption keys. Initiate the cyber attack on the Sutton shipping lines tonight.

Burn them to the ground."

Declan’s grip on the tablet tightened until the plastic creaked.

"Tonight," he whispered.

I looked at the tablet, then at Declan.

We weren't safe. The war hadn't just started. We were already losing.