Chasing The Forbidden

Chapter 13

Shadows of the Heart

My voice was shaking, "Nolan, you can't just drop something like that and expect me to trust you again," I muttered. His revelation weighed in the air like a thundercloud poised to burst.

He moved nearer, his black gaze fixed on me. "Sophie, I wanted you to understand, therefore I have told you everything. I never wanted any of this to transpire. But if we wait now, your safety is more at risk than merely being working online.

"My Safety?" My heart thumping, he leaned in. His proximity made clear thinking difficult. "Why should they aim at me?"

With his voice just audible, "because you're the only leverage they think they have left over me," he continued. And I would burn the planet down before I let them harm you.

I pushed back fiercely. His voice had much too great intensity. Though the past tore at my thoughts, reminding me of the betrayal that had split us, his words really connected with me deep inside.

"You expect me to believe that following everything you’ve done?" My voice grew louder, rage mixed with a faint hurt undercurrent. "You split me, Nolan. And today you want me to assist you? To think that you, suddenly, are the hero in this narrative?

Between us, the air was packed with feelings. I could not sort out my outrage. Injured. A glimmer of optimism for which I felt guilty. His steady eye seemed to be challenging me to turn away first.

To escape the draw, he still held onto me. I wanted to sprint. But something about his urgency, the genuine vulnerability he sought so hard to suppress, kept me anchored in place.

"I came here not to reopen old wounds," Nolan continued, his voice firm but tinged with desperation. "I came since I only trust you. Before, about so many things, I was mistaken; this is different."

"How?" asked. My voice broke, exposing the swirl inside me.

"Because now it's not about me," he added, advancing even another step. "We are about this."

" Us?" I shook my head, laughed angrily. "There is no 'we,' Nolan said. You made sure of that when you decided on your goals instead of mine.

"Do you think I do not regret that every single day?" His voice surged, a rare break in his well-trained front. "Do you think I'm not hateful of myself for losing you?"

"Words mean nothing, Nolan," I shot back, the hatred flooding out. Show me to help me to believe you. Show me that this is not only one more of your manipulations.

"How?" he questioned, his voice lower now, like begging. "Tell me how, and I'll do it. All the necessary, Sophie.

"Start by being honest," I murmured, my voice shaking with both the smallest flutter of hope and rage. "Who poses a threat to you? And why now?

He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. "It's Marcus," he at last said. "He knows all about the trade, about us. He is hovering over my head and threatening to bring down the business unless I do what he wants."

"And what is he looking for?" I asked, my gut turning around.

"To bury me," Nolan muttered bitterly. "And if I don't fight back he'll use you to accomplish it."

His remarks set off an intolerable stillness. Under the weight of his revelation, I could feel my barricades fall brick by bit.

Why me, Nolan? I spoke gently. "Why do you suppose I matter so much to you?"

His eyes locked with mine, and for a second I saw past the layers of shame and will to the unguarded reality underneath.

"Because you do," he said, just stating.

More potent than any great pronouncement, the words hung in the air. My breath stopped, and I detested the way my heart deceived me, pounding only a bit quicker at his admission.

But the moment was broken before I could reply by a harsh tap at the door.

"Expecting somebody?" My voice low as my instincts sharpened into great awareness, I asked.

Nolan's mouth closed tightly. "Nothing."

We looked at one other and for the first time I could see actual terror in his eyes. He went to the side of the entrance silently, gesturing for me to keep back.

I murmured "Nolan," my pulse pounding.

He held up a hand to silence me and opened the door only slightly.

On the other side stood a dark man whose face was hidden by the low corridor lights. The stranger replied, "We need to talk," their voice icy and uncompromising.

Nolan said, his tone stern, "Not here." Not today, also.

Stepping nearer, the stranger added, "You don't have a choice." "If you ignore this, it will not just be your firm that falls apart. Her is it.

The stranger turned to me before I could completely understand their remarks. Their eyes flickered with recognition, a dark smile crept over their lips.

"Ah," they murmured, their voices full of contempt. "This is the notorious Sophie then. I now see why Nolan is so desperate.

Nolan yelled, "Leave her out of this," striding between us.

The stranger laughed softly in the darkness. "Oh, but she already fits in. She will also be the first to drop if you play your cards wrong.

My heart thung as the man turned and vanished into the darkness, leaving behind a terrible promise that made me tremble.

"Nolan," I murmured, my voice faltering. " What have you got me into?"

He turned to me, his face austere. "Something I can’t get out of alone."

And I knew with a horrible sensation there was no turning back now as the door closed.

Nolan, you have to tell me everything. Right now, I said, my voice trembling as I sought to understand the frightening words of the stranger.

His jaw tense, hands twisted into fists at his sides, he stood across from me. "I have already discussed what counts. You run the risk, Sophie. That is all I give thought to.

"But why?" though why am I? Why does Marcus believe I am the key to ruining you? My voice broke and my rage erupted. "I need solutions, Nolan." Stop shielding me with half-truths and falsehoods if you want my help.

He moved closer, his eyes sharp and relentless. "You believe I'm lying to attempt to shield you? More than I have told anybody, I have told you. Do you know what that implies?

"Do you know what this feels like?” I turned back, gesturing to the locked door and the empty hall outside it. "I am being pulled into a dream I did not create. You owe me more than vague threats and hollow assurances.