Chasing The Forbidden

Chapter 4

“Through the Shadows”

"Think again, Sophie; if you believe you could walk away from this." Nolan's voice was low, aggressive, a mix of irritation and something deeper I couldn't quite put in place. But the harshness in his words shivered my spine, a warning I was unable to ignore.

I attempted to back off from him, but his hold on my wrist tightened. Though defensive, his touch seemed possessive, even stifling. His breath warmed my ear, and for a brief while everything inside me shouted to go, yet something anchored me to the ground.

"You do not understand," he said softly now, yet the strain persisted. You are not pulling yourself out of this. Not without me.

I wanted to yell, to tell him I could manage whatever was coming, that I did not need him to survive. Deep down, though, I understood the truth: right now, he was the only one able to guard me.

His comments carried weight that pressed down on me like a stifling force. My heart agonizingly in my chest, the emotional strain between us mounting by the second. My body failed me as my thoughts shouted at me to fight back. All I could do was stand there, looking up at him, lost in direction or belief now.

"I never asked for this, Nolan," I said, speaking genuinely. "I never asked to be caught in the cross-roads of your war."

Though he tightened his jaw, he held back. Rather, he drew me closer, dark eyes reflecting an emotion I understood. Though you did not ask for it, here you are. You will get dragged in. I cautioned you from the beginning. You have to decide now whether to stick by me or be left behind.

I opened my lips to reply, but before I could say anything, the sound of approaching feet sliced through the tension like a dagger. My pulse skipped a beat as my head veered to the side.

Under his breath, Nolan said, "Damn it," staring down at the darkness where the footfalls were from. His hand moved to my behind, pushing me into him.

The weight of the moment closing in on us seemed real; this was no game anymore. As more tall and scary people emerged from the darkness, my pulse accelerated. There was nowhere to flee; they were coming near.

"We have little time," Nolan said, his voice sharp and urgent. Keep behind me. Whichever occurs.

I nodded, but frigid and choking horror creeped up my spine. I identified several of the soldiers as they were close now. I was suddenly extremely conscious I didn't want to face dangerous faces, individuals Nolan had known.

One guy advanced with cold, calculated eyes. Although I had no clue where they had discovered us, I could not confuse his contempt with anything else.

"Nolan," the guy murmured, his voice silky yet tinged with poison. You have spent much too long ghosting. Time is running out to finish this. Here is what we are picking.

I stepped back involuntarily, but Nolan grabbed my arm with a ferocity that burned my flesh. His jaw tightened in wrath as his gaze never turned from the man who had spoken.

"You will not touch her." His voice served as a pledge, a challenge.

The guy laughed quietly and amusedly, as though Nolan's comments had no meaning. You believe you might stop us? You count less than others.

Nolan's lips turned into a sinister grin. If I'm outnumbered, it makes no difference. You're not grabbing her.

Thick with a promise of violence, the words hovered between us. Every instinct screaming at me to escape the tension growing around us, my pulse was hammering in my ears. Still, there was no getaway. Not at all anymore.

The man who had spoken to Nolan came closer, a glimmer of metal catching the low light as he pulled a revolver from his belt. My breath stopped, and I grabbed Nolan's arm harder automatically, as though the contact would somehow keep me safe.

You truly believe you could stop this? Once more, the guy questioned with a tone full of incredulity. She already performs as well as us.

I wanted to yell, to tell them I had no one to call home. My throat felt tight, though, and my mind flew as I attempted to organize everything. Why then was this occurring? Why me, though?

Another voice, icy and demanding, sliced through the tension before I could respond. Sufficient.

The words came from behind me and I turned, my heart falling as Julian emerged from the darkness. His eyes fixed on Nolan, his face inscrutable.

"You're wasting your time," Julian remarked, his tone calm but certain. Long enough has gone on here.

I stopped breathing. Though I had no understanding what was going on, one thing was clear: Julian was not there to support us.

"You think you've won, don't you, Nolan?" Julian went on, his voice kind yet contemptuous. It's over.

Nolan stiffened next to me, his hand barely moving as though getting ready for something. Julian hissed, his body language a threat in itself. You're mistaken, Julian. "Until I say it is, this isn't over."

Tension permeated the air between them, the atmosphere heavy with unresolved animosity, treachery, and a past I could not even start to grasp. And then Julian did the unimaginable just when I felt things could not get any worse. Pulling a revolver from his coat, he

My heartbeat stopped.

"No!," Desperate to stop him from firing, I yelled and moved forward without thinking. Though I had no clue what I was doing, I couldn't merely watch Julian, the man who had once professed to love me, poised to take it all away.

Nolan's hand flew out before I could get going, seizing me and dragging me back into his chest, his hold strong as if he were attempting to protect me from the anarchy. His speech was urgent, his breath laboring on my ear.

"Don't move, Sophie," he said. Leave it behind me.

The globe appeared to stop still. His body heated against mine, his heart thumping in tune with my own. But everything inside me cried for release, for a path out.

Nolan pledged, his voice low and intense: "I won't let him hurt you."

Julian grinned suddenly and narrowed his eyes. Nolan, you believe you have control over this? You continue to be a pawn. constantly have been.

My pulse ran. The reality was something I wanted not to hear; the parts were beginning to fit.

A piercing, high-pitched sound tore through the suspense just then. The sound of a ringing phone.

I stopped. I turned to face Nolan. Though his look was inscrutable, his response suggested that this call may turn everything around.

His phone was buzzing in his pocket, the constant buzz like a warning cutting across the air. Nolan grabbed the phone from his pocket without saying, his thumb gliding across the screen. Silently reading the letter, his face stiffened as he looked at Julian.

His voice hard, he added, "We're not done here." At one point, though, you are correct. Still to come is this.

The cliffhanger ending is:

And with that, everything changed once more; another call, another turn in the game, neither of which we could avoid.

As Nolan's fingers tightened around my wrist, drawing me further into the darkness, my heart hammered in my chest. Though there were too many questions and too many things I didn't know, my mind was racing: one thing was abundantly evident: we were deeper than I had ever dreamed. It seemed weighty in the air, the risk thick enough to strangle me.

There was a loud smash from the far side of the warehouse right away, then yells. My flesh stopped. That sound of someone who just walked inside the building was not confusing. Nolan whirled me around, his face fierce and his eyes fixed on mine with an eagerness that twisted my gut.

"Stay quiet," he said, his voice strained. "We barely have time."

Before I could reply, a booming voice tore over the silence.

"I know you are here, Nolan!," Julian says. His voice taunted and was venomous. You cannot hide indefinitely.

As the adrenaline surged through my body, the hairs on the back of my neck sprang to an end. I raised my head toward Nolan, but his expression was blank, incomprehensible.

Nolan hissed, dragging me farther into the darkness and, with his hand sliding to the small of my back, guiding me, we had to go.

Every stride seemed like thunder; each one got louder as the seconds passed. Fear slithering up my spine, I looked across my shoulder. We were in hunters' pursuit. Still, why was Julian acting this way? Why was he working with Marcus and the others?

I started to talk, ask questions, but Nolan turned me away with a harsh glance, his jaw locked in resolve.

His voice low and strained, he replied, "I don't have answers for you right now." But, Sophie, I promise to get you out of here. I will not allow them to cause you pain.

My heart still missed a beat. He had spoken previously, but strangely, this time it felt different. One could hardly dispute the anguish in his voice. But that same yearning set off something in me, something not quite trustworthy.

Though we could feel the conflict between us, we lacked time to consider it. I knew they were closing in as another breaking sound reverberated over the structure. Searching for some kind of escape, I peered frantically about but all I could see were more darkness and long passageways.

Nolan demanded once more: "We need to move," his hold on me tightening as he started to drag me toward a little door at the end of the hall.

But before we could get there, a familiar, chilly voice halted us squarely.

Marcus's voice came out, suave and threatening: "I wouldn't run if I were you." You are stuck.

Stopped short in my tracks, my pulse surged. How fast had he arrived here?

Panic pumping in my chest, I glanced at Nolan. "Are we stuck?"

Nolan's eyes never strayed from Marcus as he gently turned us around to the wall. You ought to have listened to me, Sophie. You know nothing about the stakes involved.

That instant let me understand the depth of this rabbit hole. And precisely how high the stakes were.

Footfall became louder, and suddenly the world went dark.

Not until it was too late did I even hear the gunfire. The quiet of the warehouse echoed the terrible c***k, and everything darkened.