Chapter 14 – Victor’s Message
488 Words
Elena was in the kitchen, pouring coffee, when her phone buzzed.
The number was unknown.
TEXT: Nice lipstick. Goes well with the alleyway wall.
Her hands froze. She stared at the message, her heart pounding, before slowly scrolling down. Attached was a blurry photo — her and Daniel kissing outside the storage building earlier that day.
“Daniel!” she called, her voice sharper than she intended.
He appeared instantly, reading her expression before glancing at the phone. His jaw tightened, and he took it from her gently, but with a grip that said he wanted to crush it.
“This means he had someone watching us?” she whispered.
Daniel’s eyes were cold now, a look she’d only seen once before — when he’d told her about his past.
“This means,” he said, “Victor wants you to know you’re not safe anywhere.”
---
They both jumped when the doorbell rang.
Daniel motioned for her to stay back, pulling a small pistol from under the counter before approaching the door. He opened it to find a plain cardboard box on the porch. No delivery truck in sight.
Inside was a single rose. Real. Red. Perfectly fresh.
And a note: She’s even prettier up close.
---
Daniel crushed the note in his fist. “We’re leaving. Now.”
They packed in silence, but the silence wasn’t calm — it was charged. Elena could feel it in the way he kept glancing at her, as though checking to make sure she was still there, still breathing.
When they got into the car, she finally spoke. “We can’t keep running forever.”
“I know,” he said, starting the engine. “But tonight, we’re ghosts. Tomorrow, we fight.”
---
That night, they holed up in a motel far outside the city. The air smelled faintly of rain, and the single lamp cast a warm, low glow across the room. Daniel checked the window locks, the door chain, and then sat beside her on the bed.
“I don’t want you caught in this,” he murmured.
She reached for his hand. “Too late.”
His eyes softened, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t fade.
“I can’t lose you, Elena.”
“Then don’t,” she said simply.
The quiet stretched between them until Daniel leaned in, his forehead touching hers. His voice was low, raw.
“If he ever touches you…”
“He won’t,” she interrupted, and then kissed him — not for disguise this time, but because she needed to. Because danger had a way of stripping life down to what mattered, and right now, all that mattered was him.
---
They didn’t sleep much. The night was a tangle of whispered plans, stolen touches, and restless listening for every sound outside.
By dawn, they had a plan.
They were done reacting.
The next move would be theirs.
- Writer
