Chapter Thirteen – The Trap We Walk Into
714 Words
The apartment felt different now.
Not just because Isla had seen danger with her own eyes, but because now she was in it. No longer just the girl he kept safe behind sweet kisses and late-night talks—she was his partner. In this fight. In this storm.
And the fire that had caught between their hearts? It was only growing.
Aiden sat at the table, fingers flying across his laptop’s keyboard. Isla watched from across the room, curled up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped tightly around her. Her nerves still buzzed from the confrontation, but she was trying to stay calm.
“We can’t go to the police, can we?” she asked quietly.
Aiden didn’t look up. “No. These men… they’re deeper than the law. Bought it, bent it, buried it.”
“But this,”—she held up the black envelope—“this can bring them down?”
He paused, finally turning to her. “Maybe. It’s everything I stole before I walked away—ledgers, coded files, names. If we can decode the rest, we might find something big enough to force them into the light.”
“And if they find us first?” Her voice cracked.
“They won’t.”
He said it like a vow, but she saw the fear flicker in his eyes.
She stood and crossed to him, her fingers brushing his jaw. “I’m not scared because of what’s coming. I’m scared you’re going to face it alone.”
Aiden caught her hand and kissed her palm, eyes locked on hers.
“You’re not alone anymore,” she whispered.
A knock at the door snapped their heads around.
Aiden stood instantly. “Get in the bedroom. Take the gun in the drawer. Stay quiet.”
Isla didn’t argue this time. Her pulse pounded as she ducked into the bedroom and listened from behind the cracked door.
But the voice that came through the entry wasn’t a stranger’s.
“Jesus, man. You look like hell.”
Leo.
Aiden opened the door wider, revealing his best friend, slightly disheveled and holding two coffees.
Leo stepped inside, gaze sweeping the room. “You weren’t answering your phone. Thought I’d stop by before I assumed the worst.”
“Appreciate it,” Aiden said, his tone guarded.
Leo caught on instantly. “Something’s wrong.”
Aiden nodded subtly toward the hallway.
Isla stepped out slowly, meeting Leo’s curious stare.
“You must be Isla.”
She nodded, arms folded across her chest. “You’re Leo?”
“Guilty. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
She glanced at Aiden. “Same here.”
Leo gave a small smile, then his eyes sharpened. “Tell me everything.”
Aiden filled him in—leaving nothing out this time. The men outside the house. The threat. The files. The plan to leak it all.
Leo was silent for a long moment after.
Then he said, “I might know someone who can help decode that ledger. But it’s risky. We’d have to meet her in the city.”
“City’s crawling with eyes,” Aiden muttered.
“But she’s your best shot. She worked in cyber-intelligence. And she owes me.”
Aiden looked to Isla. “You okay with that?”
“I came this far,” she said. “I’m not backing out now.”
Leo nodded. “Tomorrow night. Quiet meeting, no digital trail.”
Isla exhaled shakily. “What if it’s a trap?”
Leo smiled faintly. “Then we make sure we’re the ones setting it.”
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Later that night, Isla lay awake beside Aiden, listening to his steady breathing. His arm was draped protectively over her waist, but she could feel the tension beneath his skin—like a wire pulled too tight.
“I can’t lose you,” he murmured suddenly.
She turned toward him. “You won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
She cupped his cheek in the darkness. “We’ve walked into fire, Aiden. But it’s better than running away.”
His eyes glinted in the faint light. “You’re braver than me.”
She kissed him softly, lingering. “No. You just needed a reason to fight.”
And now, they had one.
- Writer
