AGAPE

CHAPTER 7

Hope couldn't breathe.

The man stood in the doorway, gun still raised, his eyes cold and calculating. He looked at David like he was looking at a stranger. Like he was looking at someone who'd betrayed him.

"Who are you?" Hope whispered.

The man's smile widened. "I'm the person who's been keeping David alive for the past two years."

Hope turned to David. His face was pale. His jaw was tight. He looked like a man who'd just lost everything.

"His name is Marcus," David said. His voice was flat. Hollow. "He's the one who brought me in. He's the one who's been running the ring."

Marcus laughed. "I didn't bring you in, David. You came to me. You begged me. You were drowning and I threw you a lifeline."

"I was eighteen. I didn't know what I was doing."

"You knew exactly what you were doing. You just didn't care."

David stepped forward. "Leave her out of this. She doesn't know anything."

"She knows about the evidence. She's seen the photos. She's been asking questions." Marcus's eyes flicked to Hope. "That makes her a liability."

"She's not a liability. She's nobody."

"Then why are you protecting her?"

David didn't answer.

Marcus studied them both. Then he lowered the gun. Just slightly.

"Here's what's going to happen," he said. "You're going to give me the evidence. All of it. And then you're going to forget you ever saw it."

"I already gave it to you."

"No, you gave me the copy. The one you wanted me to find." Marcus smiled. "I know you better than you think, David. I know you have a backup. I know you've been planning to go to the police."

David didn't deny it.

"Give it to me," Marcus said. "Or I'll make sure the girl doesn't walk out of here."

Hope felt her blood run cold.

David didn't move.

"David," she whispered. "What are you doing?"

He looked at her. His eyes were full of something she couldn't read. Fear? Regret? Love?

"You need to leave," he said.

"What?"

"You need to leave. Now." He turned to Marcus. "She leaves. I'll give you everything. The evidence. The money. I'll disappear. I'll never come back. Just let her go."

Marcus considered this. Then he nodded.

"Fine. She leaves. But if she talks to anyone—"

"She won't."

"She won't what?"

David looked at Hope. "She won't say a word. Because if she does, I'm dead."

Hope felt her heart shatter.

"David—"

"You need to go." His voice was shaking. "Please. Just go."

She wanted to argue. She wanted to stay. She wanted to fight.

But she saw the look in his eyes. The look that said, "This is the only way."

She stood up. Her legs were shaking. She walked toward the door, past Marcus, past the gun, past everything she was leaving behind.

She stopped at the door. Turned around.

"I'll come back for you," she said.

David smiled. A broken, hopeless smile.

"I know you will."

Then she walked out into the night.

---

She ran.

She ran until her lungs burned. She ran until she couldn't feel her legs anymore. She ran until she reached the edge of town and collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

She couldn't go home. She couldn't go to Leah. She couldn't go to the police.

Because if she did, David would die.

She sat on the cold ground, hugging her knees, shaking uncontrollably.

She thought about the photos. The storage unit. The men with hard faces and expensive watches. The body on the ground. The evidence. The plan.

She thought about the man who'd held her in the darkness of his childhood home. The man who'd told her he was trying. The man who'd just saved her life.

She loved him.

And she was going to lose him.

She pulled out her phone. Her hands were shaking so hard she could barely type.

I'm okay. I got out. He's in danger. I don't know what to do.

She sent it to Elijah.

The reply came quickly.

Where are you? I'll come get you.

I don't know. Somewhere near the old bridge.

Stay there. Don't move.

She waited. Minutes felt like hours. She heard footsteps. Looked up.

Elijah was running toward her, his face pale, his eyes wild.

"What happened?" he asked. "What happened to you?"

She told him everything. The evidence. The plan. The man with the gun. The way David had saved her.

Elijah listened without interrupting.

Then he said, "We need to go to the police."

"No."

"Hope—"

"No. If I go to the police, they'll arrest him. He'll go to prison. He'll never get out."

"Better prison than dead."

She looked at her brother. He was right. She knew he was right.

But she couldn't do it. She couldn't be the reason David lost everything.

"There has to be another way," she said.

"What other way? Marcus has the gun. He has the power. He has everything."

"Not everything." She looked at her phone. "He doesn't have the evidence."

"What are you talking about?"

"David has a backup. He told me. He said he'd been planning this for six months." She stood up. "I need to find it."

"You need to get home."

"Elijah—"

"You're not thinking straight. You're scared. You're exhausted. You need rest."

"I need to save him."

She saw something shift in Elijah's eyes. Something that looked like understanding.

"Promise me something," he said.

"What?"

"Promise me you'll be careful."

She smiled. A sad, broken smile.

"I promise."

---

She didn't go home.

She went back to David's apartment.

The door was unlocked. The lights were off. He was gone.

She searched the apartment. The bookshelf. The kitchen. The bedroom.

Nothing.

Then she remembered the photo album. She pulled it off the shelf. Flipped through the pages.

And there it was.

Tucked between a photo of David as a child and a photo of his parents' wedding day, a USB drive.

She stared at it. Her hands were shaking.

This was it. This was the evidence that could bring the ring down. This was the evidence that could save him.

She pocketed the drive and ran.

---

She didn't go home.

She went to the police station.

She stood outside for a long time, staring at the door, her heart pounding.

If she walked in, David would be arrested. He would go to prison. He would lose everything.

But if she didn't walk in, Marcus would kill him.

She thought about the man in the apartment. The man who'd protected her. The man who'd given up everything to save her.

She thought about the evidence. The names. The dates. The crimes.

And she thought about the future. The one where David was free. The one where he was alive.

She made her choice.

She walked in.

---

The officer behind the desk looked up. "Can I help you?"

"I need to report a crime," she said. "I have evidence. I have everything."

The officer's eyes widened. "What kind of evidence?"

Hope pulled the USB drive out of her pocket. "Everything you need to bring down a drug ring."

She placed it on the desk.

"And I need to talk to someone about witness protection."