Chapter 13: Crossfire
341 Words
Chapter 13: Crossfire
(Between Fire and Shadow)
Aria’s chest tightened as her phone vibrated relentlessly on the marble countertop. She stared at the screen, hesitant, heart pounding.
Damon.
Two words flashed on the screen: “We need to talk.”
Every nerve in her body screamed to ignore it, to bury the past and run further into the fragile safety Cade’s proposal promised. But the past wasn’t done with her.
Her fingers trembled as she answered.
“Aria.” Damon’s voice was low, urgent, tinged with something she couldn’t place—anger? Regret? Both?
“I didn’t want to drag you back into this,” she whispered.
“You don’t get to decide that anymore,” he snapped. “I know what Cade’s planning. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
She swallowed hard. Cade’s name was like a flame—both warmth and danger.
Before she could reply, the door burst open behind her.
Cade’s presence filled the room like a thunderstorm. His eyes darkened as they locked onto her phone.
“Damon?” His voice was cold, clipped. “I should’ve known.”
Aria felt torn between two storms—one burning bright with reckless passion, the other dark and steady with possessive power.
Cade stepped forward, voice low but deadly. “This ends now. Either you choose me... or you lose me forever.”
Her throat tightened. How could she choose when both men had pieces of her heart—and her secrets?
Her trembling hand dropped the phone.
“I’m not a prize,” she said, voice fierce despite the fear clutching her chest. “I’m not choosing a side.”
The tension snapped like a wire.
Damon stepped forward, eyes flashing. “Then you’re choosing chaos.”
Cade’s fist clenched. “You’ve already chosen. You’re mine.”
Aria’s breath hitched, torn between the man she feared and the man she once loved.
The room seemed to shrink around them, every heartbeat loud and heavy.
And somewhere deep inside, she knew—tonight would change everything.
- Writer
