Don’t Trust Him
996 Words
Marina couldn’t stop shaking.
The stranger pulled her through the dark service hallway while alarms screamed overhead. Somewhere behind them, people were still running through the terminal in panic.
Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
“What is happening?” she demanded breathlessly.
“Keep moving.”
“That’s not an answer.”
The man pushed open a metal exit door, and cold rain immediately crashed over them.
Marina gasped as they stepped into the storm behind the terminal building. Wind whipped through her hair while emergency sirens echoed across the runway.
The burning plane lit the night sky orange behind them.
It looked unreal.
Like a nightmare she hadn’t woken up from yet.
The stranger grabbed her arm again and hurried her toward a black SUV parked near the fence.
Marina yanked herself free this time.
“No.”
The man stopped. Rain poured down both of them.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“I’m not getting into a car with someone whose name I don’t even know.”
For the first time, he looked directly at her.
“Adrian.”
“That could be fake.”
“It is fake.”
Marina stared at him in disbelief.
“Oh, great. That’s comforting.”
Something that almost looked like amusement flashed across his face before disappearing again.
“We need to leave.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
That answer caught her off guard.
Adrian looked back toward the airport. His expression tightened.
“They’ll lock this place down any minute.”
“They?”
“The people who just blew up your plane.”
A chill crawled up Marina’s spine.
Rain soaked through her coat, but suddenly the cold had nothing to do with the weather.
“I don’t understand any of this,” she whispered.
Adrian’s eyes moved back to her face.
“Did your father ever tell you what he really did for Vincent Moretti?”
The name hit her like ice water.
Marina stepped back automatically.
“No.”
But the lie sounded weak even to her own ears.
Because she knew that name.
Her father used to whisper it during late-night phone calls when he thought nobody could hear.
Vincent Moretti.
One of the richest men on the East Coast.
Dangerous.
Untouchable.
Dead three years ago.
Adrian noticed the fear on her face immediately.
“So you do know him.”
“My father worked in finance,” Marina said carefully. “That’s all.”
“Your father stole something.”
“I said he worked in finance.”
“And I said he stole something.”
His voice sharpened this time.
Marina folded her arms tightly around herself. “Even if that’s true, what does it have to do with me?”
Adrian stared at her for a second too long.
Then quietly said, “Because before he died, your father gave it to you.”
The rain suddenly felt freezing.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.” Marina shook her head immediately. “My father died almost four years ago.”
“And right before he died, your life conveniently fell apart.”
Her stomach twisted.
The debts.
The threats.
The sudden pressure that forced her into Calvin’s marriage proposal.
At the time, she thought it was horrible luck.
Now
now she wasn’t so sure.
“You’re lying,” she said softly.
“I wish I was.”
Adrian opened the SUV door.
“Get in, Marina.”
She didn’t move.
Every instinct screamed at her not to trust him.
But another part of her knew something worse—
he knew things nobody else should know.
About her father.
About the money.
About tonight.
And whoever destroyed that plane clearly wanted her dead.
A sharp burst of shouting suddenly echoed nearby.
Security officers.
Too close.
Adrian cursed under his breath.
“We’re out of time.”
Marina looked back toward the airport instinctively.
And froze.
A familiar black car had just pulled up near the entrance.
Her breath caught painfully.
Calvin.
Even from a distance, she recognized the way he moved when he got out of the vehicle.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Rain soaked through his dark coat almost instantly as security rushed toward him.
Marina’s chest tightened so hard it hurt.
For one insane second, she wanted to run to him.
Tell him everything.
Let him protect her.
But then she remembered the call.
Your husband doesn’t know the truth.
Adrian followed her gaze.
His expression changed immediately.
“Do not go near him.”
Marina looked at him sharply. “Why?”
“Because if they’re watching him, they’ll find you.”
“They?”
“The same people trying to kill you.”
She shook her head. “Calvin would never hurt me.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“I’m not saying he would.” His voice lowered. “I’m saying he might not know who around him would.”
Fear twisted through her stomach again.
Across the parking area, Calvin suddenly stopped walking.
As if he sensed something.
Slowly, his head turned toward the darkness behind the terminal.
Toward her.
Marina’s breath caught.
Even from this distance, she could feel him.
The intensity.
The pull.
God, why did it still affect her like this?
Adrian grabbed her wrist before she could move.
“Get in the car.”
“I need to talk to him.”
“No, you need to survive.”
Calvin took a step forward suddenly, eyes scanning the shadows.
Closer.
Too close.
Panic hit Marina hard.
If Calvin saw her now
everything would explode.
Adrian practically shoved her into the SUV.
“Wait”
The door slammed shut.
A second later, the engine roared to life.
Marina twisted around just as the SUV pulled away from the terminal.
And through the rain-covered window
she saw Calvin.
Standing motionless beneath the storm.
Watching their vehicle disappear into the night.
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