~~ Chapter Six ~~
527 Words
Enzo didn’t follow Janessa
He remained in the hallway long after she disappears, the noise of passing students fading into a dull hum. Winter said something, he didn’t register what. His phone vibrated in his pocket, sharp and relentless.
He stepped away and checked the screen.
JAMES (5 missed calls)
SEAN (3 missed calls)
His chest tightened.
Enzo turned the phone face down, but it buzzed again. And again.
Winter noticed. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Enzo said quickly. “Family stuff.”
She nodded, unconvinced, and walked away.
The moment she was gone, Enzo answered.
“Where are you?” James demanded.
“At school,” Enzo said. “I told you not to call me here.”
“You told us a lot of things,” Sean cut in calmly. “None of them help us now.”
Enzo closed his eyes. “What happened?”
“The shipment’s gone,” James said. “Not stolen. Seized.”
Enzo’s grip tightened around the phone. “Customs?”
“Worse,” Sean replied. “Internal tip. Someone talked.”
Silence pressed in.
“You need to disappear,” Enzo said immediately. “Burn the phones. Move the cash. No contact for at least two weeks.”
“We already did,” James replied. “Too late.”
Enzo leaned against the wall, breath shallow. “Is my name clean?”
A pause.
“For now,” Sean said. “But if they start digging....”
“They won’t,” Enzo snapped. “Not if you follow my instructions.”
“And if we don’t?” James asked quietly.
Enzo said nothing.
They all remembered who he used to be.
Across campus, Janessa walked quickly, trying to outrun the frustration tightening in her chest. She barely noticed the black SUV idling near the curb until it rolled forward, slow and deliberate matching her pace.
Her heart skipped.
The window slid down.
“Janessa Estrada?” a man asked.
“Yes?” Her voice betrayed her.
“Do you know an Enzo Steel?”
Her stomach dropped. “Yes. Why?”
“We’d like to ask you a few questions. Nothing serious.”
Nothing serious was never said like that.
“I’m late,” Janessa said, stepping back.
“That’s fine,” the man replied calmly. “We’ll find another time.”
The window rolled up. The SUV pulled away.
Janessa stood frozen, pulse racing.
Enzo’s phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: They’re asking her now
Enzo stared at the screen.
The past hadn’t just caught up.
It had found a way into Janessa’s life.
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