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1182 Words
Later that afternoon, Kai finally checked the burner phone again.
Still nothing.
Too quiet.
He hated quiet.
He stood slowly and walked toward the upstairs office overlooking the warehouse floor. His ribs ached with every movement, but he ignored it.
Pain was familiar.
Fear wasn’t.
And what he felt now was dangerously close.
Not fear for himself.
For her.
He barely knew her.
But he knew this:
She had saved him when she shouldn’t have.
And now dangerous men knew her face.
Kai stared out the dusty window, his expression unreadable.
Somewhere across the city, she was probably trying to forget him already.
Trying to move on from the blood and chaos he dragged through the ER doors.
She had no idea she’d walked straight into a war.
No idea that men were probably already asking questions.
No idea that the moment she saved him, she became connected to him.
Behind him, footsteps approached quietly.
Malik again.
“You need sleep.”
Kai didn’t turn around.
“I’ll sleep later.”
“You can barely stand.”
“I said later.”
Malik sighed heavily. “You can’t protect everybody, Six.”
Kai’s gaze hardened slightly.
“No,” he said quietly.
“But I can protect her.”
---
By the time Zariah finally clocked out, her body felt like it was carrying bricks beneath her skin.
She stood inside the staff locker room for a moment longer than necessary, staring at her reflection in the dented mirror.
Dark circles shadowed beneath her eyes.
Her hair was escaping the loose bun at the back of her head.
Exhaustion clung to her like a second skin.
But underneath the exhaustion sat something else.
Unease.
The kind that settled deep in the chest and refused to move.
Those men from earlier hadn’t looked like random visitors.
They’d looked hardened.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
And the way they’d studied her…
Like she wasn’t just a nurse.
Like she was a loose end.
Zariah exhaled slowly and changed out of her scrubs into black leggings, sneakers, and an oversized charcoal hoodie. Comfortable. Simple. Invisible.
Or at least she hoped so.
She grabbed her bag, slid her phone into her pocket, and headed toward the employee exit.
Outside, the evening air was cold and damp. The parking lot was half-full now.
A few nurses stood near their cars talking quietly.
An ambulance roared past somewhere in the distance.
Normal.
Everything looked normal.
Zariah hated that her pulse still sped up anyway.
She adjusted the strap of her bag and began walking toward the bus stop across the street.
Her apartment wasn’t far from the hospital. Usually she liked the walk. It gave her time to decompress after shifts.
Tonight, though, every shadow felt heavier.
Every parked car made her glance twice.
You’re paranoid, she told herself.
One weird patient and a couple of strange men don’t mean the world is suddenly after you.
But her body didn’t believe it.
Then she saw it.
Black SUV.
Parked half a block down.
Engine running.
Tinted windows.
Her stomach tightened instantly.
No.
It could be anybody.
People owned black SUVs.
Rich people. Soccer moms. Uber drivers.
Still, she found herself staring too long.
The light changed.
She crossed the street.
And the SUV pulled away from the curb.
A chill crawled slowly up her spine.
Don’t panic.
She kept walking.
Didn’t look back immediately.
Didn’t speed up.
But her hearing sharpened.
The low growl of the engine followed behind her steadily.
Not close enough to alarm anyone.
Close enough to make her skin prickle.
Her fingers tightened around her bag strap.
She casually glanced at a*****e window as she passed.
The reflection showed the SUV still there.
Still moving slowly behind her.
Her heartbeat kicked harder.
Okay.
Maybe not paranoia.
Zariah turned left abruptly down another street.
The SUV turned too.
Cold dread slid into her stomach.
She swallowed hard and kept moving.
Her apartment was fifteen minutes away on foot.
Too far.
Way too far.
She reached into her pocket for her phone while walking quickly now.
Think.
Call the police?
And say what?
A car is driving behind me?
It sounded ridiculous.
But her instincts screamed otherwise.
She crossed another street without waiting for the signal.
A horn blared.
The SUV kept coming.
Her breathing became uneven.
No.
No, no, no.
This was real.
She cut through a small convenience store suddenly, ignoring the confused look from the cashier as she hurried through one aisle and out the opposite exit.
Cold air slapped her face again.
She turned, and froze.
The SUV rolled slowly past the end of the alley ahead.
Waiting.
Her pulse exploded.
They knew where she was.
Her sneakers hit pavement hard as she spun and headed the opposite direction.
Faster now.
Her breath fogged in the air.
Her mind raced violently.
Who were these people?
What did they want?
Was this because of Six?
The man she couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how hard she tried.
A horn sounded behind her.
She looked back.
The SUV had turned around.
Still following.
Fear punched through her chest fully this time.
She wasn’t imagining it anymore.
She was being hunted.
---
Three blocks away, Kai stood near the second-floor window of the warehouse office, staring down at the city through dirty glass.
His burner phone buzzed once.
Unknown contact.
He answered immediately.
“Yeah.”
“They found the nurse.”
Kai went completely still.
The voice on the other end belonged to Dre.
“She just left the hospital,” Dre continued. “Black SUV trailing her.”
Kai’s jaw tightened violently.
“How many?”
“Two visible.”
“Visible?” Kai repeated sharply.
“Could be more.”
A curse left Kai under his breath as he grabbed his jacket despite the pain tearing through his ribs.
Malik looked up immediately from the table downstairs.
“You’re not moving in that condition.”
Kai ignored him.
“She’s alone?” he asked into the phone.
“Yeah.”
“Location.”
Dre rattled off the intersection.
Kai ended the call instantly.
“Six,” Malik warned.
Kai was already heading for the stairs.
“If the Vultures get to her first, she becomes leverage.”
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go,” Malik snapped. “They’ll expect you.”
Kai stopped halfway down the stairs, rage and panic warring beneath his skin.
“She saved my life.”
“And getting yourself killed won’t repay that debt.”
Kai’s expression darkened.
“You don’t understand.”
Malik stared at him for a long moment.
Then realization slowly crossed his face.
“Oh, hell no.”
Kai looked away.
That alone was answer enough.
Malik cursed quietly. “You’re attached already.”
“She’s innocent.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Kai grabbed the keys from the table anyway.
Pain screamed through his ribs as he moved, but adrenaline drowned most of it.
“She wouldn't survive this city alone tonight,” he said coldly.
Then he was gone.
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