CHAPTER 11-THE FIRST MOVE
1424 Words
The warehouse had never felt this quiet.
Even the rain outside seemed softer, as though the world itself was holding its breath.
Aimaara remained frozen in front of the laptop.
The message had disappeared seconds ago, but the words continued echoing inside her mind.
Twenty-four hours.
Or Nurin dies.
Her fingers curled into trembling fists.
“No…”
She sank onto the wooden chair, tears blurring her vision.
Nurin had nothing to do with The Covenant. She was simply her best friend—the one person who had never stopped believing she was innocent.
“I did this…”
“Aimaara…”
“If I had never gone to Libreria Aurora… if I had ignored the invitation…”
Her voice cracked.
“Nurin would still be living her normal life.”
Emmeer stood several feet away, watching her.
He had seen people cry before. Victims. Enemies. People begging for mercy.
But Aimaara blaming herself affected him in a way he couldn't explain.
He walked toward her.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then he gently lifted her chin.
“Look at me.”
She shook her head.
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“If anything happens to Nurin, I'll never forgive myself.”
“Aimaara.”
She finally met his eyes.
“This isn't your fault.”
“It is. They're hunting me. They're threatening everyone I love.”
“So tell me… how is that not my fault?”
Her voice broke.
“I should've disappeared fifteen years ago. If I had, my father wouldn't have died. Nurin wouldn't be in danger.”
She hesitated.
“And you wouldn't have to risk your life because of me.”
For a moment, Emmeer said nothing.
Because her words reminded him of a promise made fifteen years ago.
---
“She's just a child, Emmeer.”
Hakim Zulkifli stood beneath the pouring rain, blood staining his shirt.
“If anything happens to me…”
He grabbed Emmeer's arm.
“Promise me. Protect her.”
“Even if she hates you. Even if she never understands why.”
“Don't let The Covenant find Aimaara.”
“Promise me.”
Emmeer had looked into his eyes.
“I promise.”
---
The memory disappeared.
“I made a promise,” Emmeer said quietly.
Aimaara frowned.
“What?”
“I don't break promises.”
She stared at him.
For the first time, she understood.
He wasn't protecting her simply because he had to.
He had chosen to.
Rayyan suddenly cleared his throat.
“This is getting awkward.”
Both of them turned toward him.
“You two keep staring at each other like you're in some tragic romance movie.”
Aimaara immediately looked away.
“I wasn't staring.”
“Then why are your cheeks turning red?”
“They're not.”
Rayyan grinned.
Emmeer sighed.
“We have bigger problems.”
“I know.”
Rayyan's expression became serious.
“I've known Boss for almost ten years. Do you know how many times I've seen him cancel a mission?”
Aimaara shook her head.
“Never.”
“Until last week.”
She looked at Emmeer.
“What happened?”
“He had a meeting worth millions.”
Rayyan paused.
“But he cancelled it because you were unconscious.”
Aimaara's eyes widened.
“You stayed?”
Emmeer looked away.
“It wasn't important.”
Rayyan raised an eyebrow.
“The meeting wasn't important?”
“No.”
“You were.”
Silence filled the warehouse.
Before Aimaara could respond, Rayyan's secure phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“What?”
His expression changed.
“When?”
He listened for several seconds before ending the call.
“They found Nurin.”
Aimaara immediately stood.
“What happened?”
“They're following her. They haven't made a move yet.”
Emmeer walked toward the wooden table and unfolded an old city map.
Several locations had been marked with red circles.
Libreria Aurora.
The abandoned railway station.
The old harbour.
Then his finger stopped at one location.
Warehouse 214.
Aimaara slowly pulled the iron key from her pocket.
The engraved number caught the light.
214.
“It has to be connected.”
“It is.”
Emmeer looked at the key.
“The question is… what exactly did your father hide?”
His phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown Number.
He answered.
Silence.
Then a distorted male voice spoke.
“You're running out of time.”
The call ended.
A second later, a photograph appeared on his screen.
Aimaara gasped.
“Nurin…”
The picture had been taken only moments ago.
Nurin was walking alone, completely unaware that someone was watching her.
Beneath the photograph were six words:
CHOOSE THE GIRL OR THE KEY.
Emmeer's expression turned cold.
“Get ready.”
Rayyan immediately grabbed his equipment.
Aimaara stepped forward.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“My best friend is out there.”
“It's too dangerous.”
“I'm not hiding while she risks her life because of me.”
Emmeer held her gaze.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Finally, he sighed.
“Stay close to me.”
“I always will.”
The words escaped her before she realised what she'd said.
Both froze.
Aimaara quickly corrected herself.
“I mean… during the mission.”
Rayyan's grin returned.
“Of course.”
Emmeer shot him a warning look.
“Not one word.”
“My lips are sealed, Boss.”
Ten minutes later, the black SUV sped out of the warehouse.
Rain poured over Kuala Lumpur, turning the city into a blur of lights and shadows.
Inside the vehicle, silence returned.
Aimaara held the iron key tightly in her lap.
She glanced at Emmeer.
His hands remained firmly on the steering wheel, his eyes constantly scanning the road.
Always alert.
Always prepared.
“Does he ever relax?” she wondered.
She noticed the faint scar near his neck and the bruise beneath his collar.
So many wounds.
Some visible.
Most hidden.
“Why are you looking at me?”
His sudden question startled her.
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was thinking.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“That's my excuse.”
She laughed softly.
Even Rayyan, sitting in the back seat, shook his head.
“I swear… if both of you survive this, I'm buying wedding clothes.”
Aimaara nearly choked.
“What?!”
“Rayyan.”
“I'm just saying.”
Emmeer sighed.
“Not now.”
Rayyan grinned.
“Fine.”
Less than two hundred metres behind them, a black motorcycle maintained a steady distance.
The rider spoke quietly into his earpiece.
“Target is moving.”
“Visual confirmed,” came the reply.
“Unit Two is in position.”
The rider smiled.
“Don't lose them.”
On the rooftop of a nearby building, a sniper adjusted his scope.
The crosshair settled on Emmeer.
His finger rested against the trigger.
“Permission to fire?”
Silence.
Then a cold voice answered.
“Negative.”
The sniper frowned.
“Sir?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Death is too merciful.”
“I want Emmeer Fahren to watch everything he loves disappear…”
“…before I take his life.”
The sniper lowered his rifle.
“As you wish.”
Inside the SUV, Emmeer's phone vibrated again.
Another photograph.
This time, it showed their vehicle from above.
Aimaara's blood ran cold.
Someone was watching them.
Beneath the photograph were seven words:
I CAN SEE YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.
“They're here,” she whispered.
Emmeer pressed harder on the accelerator.
“They've been here from the beginning.”
He glanced at the rear-view mirror.
A black motorcycle was still following them.
“Rayyan.”
“I see it.”
Suddenly, another black SUV emerged from a side street.
Then another.
Within seconds, three vehicles surrounded them.
Aimaara's heartbeat thundered.
“They're trapping us.”
Emmeer's expression remained frighteningly calm.
“No.”
His grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“They're hunting us.”
He shifted gears.
The SUV surged forward.
The black vehicles followed.
Rain hammered against the windshield as the city lights blurred around them.
Rayyan grabbed the dashboard.
“Boss!”
Emmeer's eyes remained fixed on the road.
“Hold on.”
Aimaara tightened her grip around the iron key.
Somewhere in Kuala Lumpur, Nurin was being hunted.
And somewhere ahead…
the first move had already been made.
The chase had begun.
— TO BE CONTINUED —
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