CHAPTER 17

Chloe’s POV

The warm scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, the steady hum of the espresso machine a constant comfort in the otherwise quiet Chapters & Coffee. Chloe wiped down the counter for what felt like the hundredth time, her mind wandering as she looked out the window. The rain had started pouring heavily, a dark blanket settling over the city. She liked it when it rained—there was something soothing about it, like the world slowed down just a bit.

But today, she couldn’t shake the unease that had been gnawing at her all afternoon. It was as if something, or someone, was watching her. Every time the door opened, her heart would skip a beat, her head snapping toward it, only to find that it was another regular customer or passerby seeking shelter from the downpour. But the feeling lingered, a constant pressure on her chest.

She forced herself to focus, arranging the pastries neatly in the display case. The gentle chime of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts, and she glanced up, expecting another customer. Instead, her heart nearly stopped when she saw the figure standing in the doorway.

Nicholas.

He stood there for a moment, his presence unmistakable even in the chaos of the storm. His dark eyes locked onto hers, and for a split second, the world outside seemed to fade away. But the moment passed, and the tension that had been building in her chest only intensified. What was he doing here? So early.

But something was off. His usual sharp, confident demeanor was gone. His clothes were disheveled, his usually composed hair falling messily around his face. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his skin had a ghostly pallor to it. What really caught her attention, though, were his eyes—bloodshot and wide, like he hadn’t slept in days.

Chloe’s heart thudded painfully in her chest as she stepped out from behind the counter, her mind racing. “Nicholas, what happened to you?” Her voice was soft, hesitant, but a deep, instinctive dread was pooling in her stomach.

His gaze was distant, unfocused for a moment, before he blinked and looked at her. The usual intensity that had always been there was now clouded with something else—something darker, more troubled.

He stepped forward slowly, his every movement weighted. “I didn’t know where else to go,” he muttered, his voice rough, strained. “I needed to see you.”

Chloe’s heart skipped, a sudden sense of urgency filling the air. “Nicholas, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?” she asked, her voice trembling despite herself.

He didn’t answer immediately, his gaze flickering to the door, as though to make sure no one else was watching. His jaw clenched, and Chloe saw his fingers twitch as if he were fighting back some emotion. When he spoke again, his words hit her like a blow.

“Issac… Isaac’s dead,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but the weight of it seemed to fill the entire room.

Chloe’s body froze, the world momentarily spinning as his words sunk in. “What?!” she gasped, barely able to comprehend what he was saying. Her mind raced, struggling to catch up with the flood of confusion and disbelief.

“Issac is dead,” Nicholas repeated, his voice thick with emotion he couldn’t suppress. “Someone… they killed him. I found him. He—” He choked on his words, eyes closing briefly, like he was holding back tears.

Chloe’s breath caught in her throat as she stepped toward him, her hands trembling. She reached out instinctively, but Nicholas pulled away, his face twisted in anguish.

“Who did this?” she whispered, the question coming from her lips without thought, but it was the one thing that she needed to know.

Nicholas’s face hardened, his hands clenched into fists. “Adrian Grey,” he said, the name falling from his lips like a curse.

Chloe could feel the tension radiating off him. She stepped closer, but her body felt like it was trapped in quicksand. She wanted to reach out, to comfort him, but she wasn’t sure how—she wasn’t even sure she could. The man standing in front of her wasn’t the Nicholas she knew, the confident, collected one she had become so familiar with. This man was broken. He was someone else entirely.

Chloe’s heart raced as she took a hesitant step closer to Nicholas. His face was twisted in a way she hadn’t seen before—grim, strained, and raw with emotion. He wasn’t the same man who had walked into her café before, the man who had always carried an air of controlled power. This man was unraveling, and Chloe couldn’t help but feel a knot of fear tighten in her chest.

“Here, sit down,” she urged, her voice trembling as she gestured to one of the chairs by the window. She quickly pulled it out for him, her hands moving almost automatically, her mind struggling to catch up with the gravity of what he had just said.

Nicholas didn’t respond immediately. He just stood there for a moment, his fists still clenched at his sides, his breathing shallow. Chloe’s hands trembled as she set a mug of coffee down on the counter beside him, though she wasn’t sure if he would drink it. She didn’t know what else to do but offer him some kind of comfort, something—anything—to stop the strange tension from taking over them both.

Nicholas finally sat down, his body heavy with exhaustion. His eyes, though still wide with the weight of everything he’d just shared, didn’t leave hers.

“Adrian Grey…” he said again, like the name itself was something venomous. “Stay away from him, Chloe.”

Chloe frowned, her heart hammering in her chest as she tried to process his warning. “Adrian Grey?” she repeated slowly. She had no idea who that was, but the way Nicholas said it—like it was a threat, something dangerous—it sent a chill down her spine. “Why should I stay away from him? Who is he?”

Nicholas’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, it seemed like he was fighting himself, as though every word he spoke was like pulling teeth. His dark eyes met hers with an intensity she’d never seen before, a mix of desperation and anger. “He’s not someone you want to get involved with, Chloe. He’s… dangerous. He’s not like other men. I don’t care what he says, or how he charms you, he will destroy everything around you if you give him the chance.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed in confusion. “But I don’t even know him. How can he hurt me if I don’t—” She stopped herself, unsure how to explain what she meant. How could someone she didn’t even know be a threat?

Nicholas shook his head, his hand running through his hair in frustration. “You don’t need to know him, Chloe. The fact that you’re even in the same room as me is enough. He’s been watching, planning, and now… with Isaac gone, he’s coming for anyone who’s tied to me.”

Chloe felt a knot twist in her stomach. The rain outside beat against the windows as if echoing the storm raging in Nicholas’s mind. “But I don’t even know what’s going on,” she protested softly. “I’m just trying to run my café, Nicholas. I’m not—”

“I know,” he interrupted, his voice softer now, but still strained. “I know. But now you’re part of this world whether you want to be or not.”

The weight of his words settled over her, heavy and suffocating. Chloe opened her mouth to argue, to tell him that this wasn’t her fight, that she couldn’t be a part of whatever twisted game he and Adrian Grey were playing. But when she looked into his eyes, she saw something that stopped her—fear. True, unshakable fear. Fear for himself, for her, for everyone around them.

“I can’t protect you from him,” Nicholas said, his voice low, the pain clear in his tone. “Adrian Grey doesn’t stop. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants. And right now, that might just be you.”

Chloe felt her heart stutter in her chest. She hadn’t known it was possible for fear to be so tangible, but it was, and it was crawling under her skin, making her shiver despite the warmth of the café. She reached out instinctively, her fingers brushing against his arm.

“Stay away from him, Chloe,” Nicholas repeated, his voice a mixture of command and plea. “If he knows you’re involved with me, it will only make things worse.”

Chloe opened her mouth to ask more questions, to ask what exactly Adrian wanted and why she was suddenly in the middle of all this, but Nicholas’s expression hardened, the mask of control slipping back into place.

“I need to go,” he muttered, standing abruptly, his eyes not meeting hers. “But stay out of this, Chloe. Don’t let him find you. Don’t let him get to you.”

He turned quickly, heading toward the door, leaving Chloe standing there, her mind reeling, unsure of what was real or what was just a nightmare creeping into her life.

She stood frozen for a moment, her heart still racing, her mind whirling with the weight of everything that had just been said. Adrian Grey?

Nicholas’s POV

Nicholas stepped out of the coffee shop, his jaw clenched, every muscle in his body tensed with a single, overwhelming thought: Adrian Grey was going to pay for Isaac’s death.

The cold rain slapped against his skin, but it did little to cool the fire burning inside him. Isaac’s lifeless body was still fresh in his mind, the sight of it seared into his memory. He had lost too much, and now there was only one thing left to do—find Adrian and make him pay.

Adrian thought he could break him, thought he could take everything away from him. But he was wrong. Nicholas was stronger than ever, and this was no longer about survival. This was about vengeance. He wasn’t going to let Adrian get away with this. Not this time.

Every step he took, every raindrop that fell on his face, reminded him of the weight of what had just happened. But that weight wasn’t burdening him—it was fueling him. He had to find Adrian. He had to make him feel the pain he had caused.

With his mind focused, Nicholas marched through the rain, his thoughts swirling with rage and determination. The world around him was a blur, his vision narrowing to one thing: the end of Adrian’s reign. And when that moment came, it would be Nicholas who stood victorious.

No more hiding. No more running. Adrian had crossed a line, and now it was time to make him regret it.

Nicholas’s mind raced as he moved through the downpour, his boots splashing through puddles with every determined step. The city seemed distant, irrelevant. His world had shrunk to a single goal: revenge. Isaac’s death wasn’t just an attack on his brother—it was an attack on everything Nicholas stood for, everything he was willing to protect. And Adrian, the man behind it all, was about to learn just how much that would cost him.

He didn’t need to overthink it—he needed action. He’d spent enough time feeling the weight of the loss; now it was time to make sure Adrian felt it too. And Nicholas was prepared to do whatever it took to make sure Adrian knew the true cost of crossing him.

The familiar, cold, yet comforting weight of his gun beneath his jacket was a constant reminder that he wasn’t stepping into this blindly. No, this time, he was the one in control. This wasn’t just a battle for survival—this was his fight, his revenge, and no one was going to take that from him.

As he approached his car, parked on the side of the street, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out without thinking. A message from one of his men, urgent, cold:

“Adrian’s on the move. He’s gathering his people. It’s time, boss. We’ve got the advantage.”

Nicholas’s lips curled into a cold, savage smile. Adrian thought he was ahead of the game. He thought he had control. But he didn’t know what was coming for him.

Nicholas’s fingers tightened around the phone. He shoved it back into his pocket and climbed into his car, slamming the door shut with a loud thud that echoed in the stillness of the night. The engine roared to life, and with a sharp turn of the wheel, he sped off toward the direction his sources had flagged. Adrian was making his move—but Nicholas was already a step ahead.

This wasn’t about power. This wasn’t about control. This was personal. And the moment Nicholas laid his hands on Adrian, he would make sure Adrian understood what it felt like to lose everything.

The road blurred as he sped through the rain-slicked streets, but the fire in his chest burned brighter than ever. No more waiting. No more games. Nicholas was done playing by anyone else’s rules. This was his fight, his war, and Adrian was going to regret ever underestimating him.