Chapter Nine - Tension
2505 Words
The first thing Elena noticed when she stepped out of the café was the black SUV parked across the street.
It had been there when she arrived for work that morning.
She had noticed it then, but she hadn't thought much about it. Black SUVs were common in Blackridge City, especially around the part of town where expensive offices stood beside small businesses like Noah's café.
But now, eight hours later, it was still there.
Same car.
Same tinted windows.
Same position.
Elena slowed down.
The evening air was cool against her skin, and the street was beginning to fill with people leaving work. Cars moved steadily along the road. A woman hurried past her with a phone pressed against her ear. Somewhere nearby, a bus honked impatiently.
Everything looked normal.
Except for the SUV.
Elena glanced at it once more before pulling her phone from her handbag.
There was one new message.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: You should be more careful about who you trust.
Her stomach tightened.
She stared at the message for several seconds.
Then she looked back at the SUV.
The vehicle hadn't moved.
“Okay,” she whispered to herself. “This is officially getting creepy.”
She quickly dialed Noah.
He picked up after the second ring.
“Hey.”
His voice immediately eased something inside her.
“Are you still at the café?”
“I'm just leaving.”
“Good. I was about to call you. I wanted to—”
“There's a car outside.”
There was a pause.
“What kind of car?”
“A black SUV.”
“Is it following you?”
“I don't know. It's been parked here since this morning.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Noah. I work here. I know what has been parked outside all day.”
She heard him exhale.
“Where are you?”
“Outside the café.”
“Go back inside.”
Elena frowned. “What?”
“Go back inside, Elena.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
Despite herself, she almost smiled.
“Noah, you don't get to order me around.”
“I know. I'm not trying to order you around. I'm telling you to go back inside because there's a strange car watching you.”
“You don't even know if they're watching me.”
“Then go inside until I get there.”
“Noah—”
“Please.”
The word silenced her.
Elena glanced at the SUV again.
The tinted windows made it impossible to see inside.
She hated the way her heart was beginning to beat faster.
“Fine,” she muttered.
She turned around and walked back toward the café.
The moment she reached for the door, the SUV started moving.
Elena froze.
The vehicle drove past her slowly.
For one terrifying second, she thought it was going to stop.
But it continued down the street and disappeared around the corner.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
“Did it move?” Noah asked.
“Yes.”
“Where did it go?”
“I don't know.”
“Stay there. I'm coming.”
“Noah, I can—”
“Stay there.”
The call ended.
Elena stared at the screen.
She hated how quickly everything had changed.
Only a few days ago, her biggest problem had been Alexander Blackwood's ridiculous marriage proposal.
Now someone was sending her threatening messages.
Someone was watching her.
And she had absolutely no idea why.
Noah arrived twenty minutes later.
He practically ran into the café, his face tense.
Elena was sitting at one of the tables near the window. She had tried to act normal while waiting for him, but she had spent the entire time looking outside.
The black SUV was gone.
“Are you okay?”
Noah walked straight to her.
Elena nodded.
“I'm fine.”
He didn't look convinced.
“Did you see the person inside the car?”
“No.”
“Did they approach you?”
“No.”
“Did they say anything?”
“No, Noah.”
“Then why are you looking at me like you're about to tell me you saw a ghost?”
Elena looked down at the message on her phone.
She hadn't told him about it yet.
She didn't know why.
Maybe because saying it out loud would make it feel more real.
Noah noticed.
“What is it?”
“Someone sent me a message.”
His expression changed immediately.
“What kind of message?”
Elena turned the phone toward him.
He read it.
His jaw tightened.
“Who sent this?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you give someone your number?”
“No.”
“Could it be Alexander?”
Elena's head snapped up.
“Why would Alexander send me something like that?”
“I don't know. You tell me.”
She stared at him.
“Noah.”
“I'm not accusing him. I'm asking.”
“Alexander doesn't need to send me anonymous messages to scare me. He can do it to my face.”
Noah's expression darkened.
“That man is dangerous.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you still considering his offer?”
The question landed heavily between them.
Elena looked away.
The café was almost empty now. The few remaining customers were speaking quietly, unaware of the conversation taking place at the table near the window.
She didn't answer.
Noah sat across from her.
“Elena.”
“I don't know.”
It was the truth.
She had told herself she had already made her decision.
She had told herself she would never marry Alexander Blackwood.
She had told herself that Daniel could serve his sentence and that she would not sacrifice her entire life for a mistake he had made.
But every time she thought about Daniel sitting in that prison cell, her certainty disappeared.
“Have you visited him again?” Noah asked.
Elena nodded.
“How was he?”
She swallowed.
“Not good.”
Noah's expression softened.
“Did he say anything?”
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing useful.”
She remembered Daniel's face.
The way he had looked at her.
The way he had avoided her eyes.
The way his fingers had trembled when she asked him what really happened.
There was something he wasn't telling her.
She knew it.
But she didn't know what it was.
“I think he's hiding something,” she said quietly.
Noah leaned forward.
“About the case?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he say he was guilty?”
“No.”
“Did he say he was innocent?”
Elena hesitated.
“He said he didn't steal anything.”
Noah's eyes narrowed.
“And you believe him?”
Elena looked at him.
“I don't know what to believe anymore.”
Noah reached across the table and took her hand.
His touch was warm.
Familiar.
Safe.
“You don't have to go through this alone.”
Elena looked at their joined hands.
For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine a different life.
A simple one.
A life where her biggest problems were bills, work, and whether Noah would remember to order the pastries he always forgot to restock.
A life without Alexander Blackwood.
Without prison visits.
Without anonymous messages.
Without fear.
Then her phone vibrated.
Another message.
Elena's hand went cold.
She pulled away from Noah and picked it up.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: He can't protect you forever.
Noah read it over her shoulder.
This time, neither of them spoke.
Alexander Blackwood's office was quiet.
He stood before the large glass windows overlooking the city, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone.
“She's being watched,” his head of security said behind him.
Alexander's expression did not change.
“By whom?”
“We don't know yet.”
“Then find out.”
“We've been trying.”
Alexander turned around.
His gaze was cold enough to make the man straighten.
“I didn't ask whether you've been trying.”
The man swallowed.
“No, sir.”
Alexander looked down at the photograph on the desk.
Elena.
Standing outside the café.
Someone had taken the picture from across the street.
She hadn't noticed.
His fingers tightened slightly.
“Where is she now?”
“At home.”
“Is she alone?”
“Yes.”
“Put someone outside her building.”
The security chief hesitated.
“Mr. Blackwood, she may notice.”
“I don't care.”
“Should we inform her?”
Alexander's eyes lifted.
“No.”
He knew exactly how Elena would react if she found out.
She would accuse him of trying to control her.
She would tell him that he had no right to interfere in her life.
She would probably threaten him again.
The thought almost amused him.
Almost.
But this wasn't about amusement.
Someone had been watching her.
And Alexander didn't like people interfering with things that belonged to him.
His expression hardened.
“Make sure she gets home safely.”
“Yes, sir.”
The man turned to leave.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
“Find out who sent the messages.”
“We'll do our best.”
Alexander's gaze returned to the photograph.
“Don't do your best.”
His voice was quiet.
“Find them.”
Elena knew something was wrong the moment she stepped out of the cab.
She had asked the driver to stop a few buildings away from her apartment.
She didn't know why.
Maybe she was being paranoid.
Maybe Noah's fear had infected her.
Or maybe the messages had finally gotten into her head.
She looked around before walking toward the entrance of her building.
Nothing.
No strange car.
No unfamiliar face.
No one standing nearby.
She released a breath.
“You're losing your mind,” she whispered.
She reached the entrance.
Then she noticed the man standing across the street.
He was dressed in a dark jacket.
His face was partially hidden beneath a cap.
He wasn't doing anything.
He was simply standing there.
Watching.
Elena stopped.
The man looked away.
Her heart began beating faster.
She turned toward him.
“Hey!”
The man walked away.
Elena took a step forward.
“Hey!”
He didn't stop.
She wasn't stupid enough to chase a strange man in the dark.
Instead, she quickly entered her building and locked the door behind her.
She leaned against it, breathing heavily.
Her phone rang.
She jumped.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
She stared at it.
It rang again.
Elena answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
She pulled the phone away from her ear.
“Who is this?”
A faint sound came through the line.
Then the call ended.
Elena stood completely still.
The apartment suddenly felt too quiet.
She walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside.
The street below was nearly empty.
The man was gone.
The black SUV was nowhere in sight.
But she knew one thing.
Someone was watching her.
And whoever it was had come close enough to make sure she knew.
The following morning, Elena was halfway through serving a customer when a man walked into the café.
She had never seen him before.
He was tall, dressed simply, and looked completely ordinary.
That was what made her notice him.
He didn't look like someone who belonged in a place like this.
His eyes moved around the café before settling on her.
For a second, Elena felt the strange sensation of being recognized.
Then he looked away.
“Can I get you something?” she asked.
“Coffee.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
She nodded and turned away.
She didn't notice the way he watched her after she left.
She didn't notice the phone he placed on the table.
She didn't notice the photograph hidden inside his wallet.
A photograph of her.
Taken two years ago.
The man remained in the café for thirty-seven minutes.
He left before Noah returned from the storage room.
And Elena never knew he had been there.
Not yet.
That evening, Alexander called her.
Elena stared at his name on her screen for several seconds before answering.
“What?”
“Where are you?”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Answer the question.”
“I'm at home.”
“Are you alone?”
Elena stood up from the couch.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because someone is watching you.”
Her stomach dropped.
She didn't speak.
Alexander continued.
“Have you received any strange messages?”
Elena's fingers tightened around her phone.
“How do you know about that?”
“Answer me.”
She hated his tone.
She hated the way he spoke as if she were one of his employees.
“Yes.”
There was a pause.
“How many?”
“Why?”
“Elena.”
“Three.”
“Three messages?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
She hesitated.
Then she told him.
Alexander was silent for a moment.
“Don't leave your apartment tonight.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“I don't take orders from you.”
“You should start.”
“Don't tell me what to do.”
“Elena, this isn't a game.”
“Neither is my life.”
“You're the one treating it like one.”
Her anger rose.
“You don't get to suddenly act concerned about me because you decided to marry me.”
“I am not concerned.”
The words came so quickly that she almost laughed.
“Of course not.”
“I'm protecting my interests.”
There it was.
The Alexander Blackwood she knew.
Cold.
Selfish.
Unfeeling.
Elena felt her anger settle into something familiar.
“Then protect your interests from a distance.”
“That's exactly what I'm doing.”
She frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Look outside your window.”
Elena slowly turned toward the window.
She pulled the curtain aside.
A black vehicle was parked across the street.
Her heart stopped.
“Is that your car?”
“No.”
“Then whose is it?”
“I don't know.”
For the first time since she had known Alexander Blackwood, his voice sounded genuinely serious.
“Stay inside.”
Elena's hand tightened around the curtain.
“Alexander—”
The call ended.
She stood by the window, staring at the vehicle.
A few seconds later, the headlights came on.
Then the SUV drove away.
Elena remained there long after it disappeared.
She didn't know who was watching her.
She didn't know what they wanted.
But somewhere in the city, someone knew exactly where she was.
And they had been watching her for far longer than she realized.
- Writer
