Chasing The Forbidden

Chapter 12

Breaking Point

“Sophie, don’t do this. Please.” Nolan’s voice broke, his frantic cry piercing through the cold, choking air.

I wrenched my arm free of Julian’s clutches, disregarding the anguish where his fingers had scarred my flesh. My heart pounded so fiercely I felt it could burst, but I maintained my ground. “You think begging is going to change anything, Nolan? You let this happen! You shoved me straight into Julian’s hands!”

His eyes blazed with remorse and rage. “I didn’t have a choice!” he yelled, the rawness of his voice making me shudder. “Everything I did was to protect you.”

Julian stood between us, his smug look only intensifying my rage. “Touching, really. But we’re on a timetable, Sophie.” He motioned toward the black SUV parked just outside the premises. “Get in.”

“Not until he’s free,” I responded, my voice shaking but firm.

Julian lifted an eyebrow, as if pleased by my resistance. “You’re not in a position to negotiate.”

“Neither are you,” Nolan cut in, taking a step forward despite the two guys holding him back. His jaw was stiff, his hands clenched. “If you hurt her, Julian, I’ll tear your empire down brick by brick. I swear it.”

“Brave words for a man who’s already lost everything,” Julian taunted, his tone oozing with scorn.

I couldn’t handle it anymore. “Stop it!” I snapped, my words ripping through their strained debate. “Both of you, stop!” My gaze latched upon Nolan’s, seeking for the guy I once trusted, the man I wasn’t sure I could forgive. “You have secrets, Nolan. And those secrets are killing us.”

He gasped, clearly in agony. "I'll tell you everything," he continued in a quiet, desperate voice. Just keep away from him. Just kindly.

" Enough!!" Julian snared, grabbed my wrist once more and pulled me toward the SUV. "Time is running out."

"Let her go!" Nolan screamed, battling his masters. He battled like a possessed man, his will and desperation surprising everyone. Julian grabbed a rifle and pointed it squarely at him before he could get to him. He managed to get loose.

"One more step, and you're dead," Julian said, his voice sharp and definitive.

"No," I said, My heart lurching at the sight of the gun, I yelled. "Nolan, no!"

His chest heaving, his hands lifted slightly as if submission might protect me. He froze. His eyes blazed into mine, a solemn pledge he would not stop battling for me.

Julian drew near, his breath stinging on my ear. Warm and terrible. Look, Sophie? Loyalty brings you this kind of thing. Not even pleasure, but only suffering.

I turned abruptly to point at him. You have no knowledge of loyalty.

He shrugged and answered, "maybe not," but he knew how to win. He threw me into the SUV and locked the door. I watched Nolan surge forward through the tinted glass and then be held once more. His yells were muted, but the agony in his eyes was absolutely evident.

Nolan left behind as the SUV rushed off, and with every mile separating us, my chest constricted. Julian sat across from me, his stance calm as like he hadn't just snatched me from the one person who counted most.

"Why are you acting like this?” I insisted, my voice shaking with rage. "What do you want from me?”

"It's not about you, darling," he replied, his voice laid back but his gaze keen. It's about him. Nolan has to understand that behavior has results.

"You are punishing him by using me??" Disgust twisting in my gut, I asked.

Julian said, his lips curving into a sadistic smirk, "in a way." "But relax; not to worry." You will be looked after nicely. Right now.

My hands twisting into fists, I spat, "You're a monster."

He laughed, obviously unconcerned by my remark. Still here you are, nevertheless.

Looking out the window, the black city streets blasted by. My brain ran, looking for a way out—a route back to Nolan. But every idea I developed seemed futile. Julian always kept one step ahead.

I was trapped in a luxurious room in what I could only imagine being one of Julian's safe homes hours later. The grandeur seemed like an insult, a golden prison designed to make me feel less powerful. I walked down the floor, Nolan occupying my whole attention. His face, his voice, the way he had battled so ferociously for me... All of it came back to me as a torturing cycle of what-ifs.

Startled by a tap at the door Tensing to expect Julian, a young woman carrying a tray of food walked in instead. She laid the tray down on the table, avoided looking at me, then quickly turned away.

I said, "Wait," after her, but she left before I could probe more.

I took a seat and fixed the unspoiled dinner. My stomach twisted with anxiety and doubt; my appetite was nil. As I started to give up hope, I heard a soft tapping. My heart jumping at the sight of a dark figure ascending the balcony, I turned toward the window.

I said, hurrying to the glass: "Nolan?"

To indicate quiet, he pushed a finger to his lips. Unlocking the window and guiding him inside, relief and incredulity flooded over me.

"How did you find me?" I said, a voice with a combination of wonder and terror.

With a fierce look, he added, "I'll always find you." "Are you OK?"

My voice faltering, I said, "I am now." Still, we have to leave here.

Not yet, he replied, drawing me in close. "First I have something I want to tell you. Something you should know before moving further.

" What is it?" With a beating pulse, I asked.

He stopped, his gaze darting across me. "Julian isn't only after me because of some botched business negotiations. I have what he wants, so he is pursuing me. He picked him up from him.

"What did you grab??" I asked, dread building in my gut.

" Proof," he declared. Evidence of every crime he has carried out. That is the only thing preventing him from murdering me straight. And just now, the only thing able to release us is

The door exploded open before I could reply, and Julian's men rushed in with drawn rifles. Nolan shoved me behind him, his body poised for battle.

Well, isn't that wonderful? Julian walked into the room grinning coldly. You actually believed you could outwit Nolan?

"I'm not leaving without her," Nolan declared, his voice consistent in front of the peril all around us.

Julian said, lifting his rifle and squarely aiming it at me, "Oh, you're not leaving at all."

The room appeared to stop, the air weighty with approaching catastrophe.

"Choose, Nolan," Julian murmured, his smile icy. “Your life or hers.”