Nowhere Is Safe
880 Words
The zipper of her overnight bag rasped loud in the tense silence. Ava’s hands trembled as she shoved clothes inside without thinking. Pajamas. A sweater. Her phone charger. She didn’t know where they were going — only that Damian’s voice had been carved from steel when he told her to pack.
In the living room, he moved with deadly efficiency. Black duffel in one hand, pistol in the other, his gaze kept flicking toward the balcony as if the night itself might reach in and pull them back.
She hesitated in the doorway. “Damian… those men —”
“Not now, Ava.”
Three words. Cold. Final. And yet beneath them, she caught a flicker of something almost human — worry, maybe fear.
He crossed to her in two strides, taking her bag without asking and slinging it over his shoulder. “Stay close. No matter what happens, do not let go of my hand.”
She swallowed. “You’re scaring me.”
“You should be scared,” he said simply, then reached for her fingers and pulled her toward the private elevator.
Her heartbeat synced with the metallic thrum of the cables as they descended. Ava kept glancing up at him, searching for the man she thought she knew, but the hard lines of his jaw and the darkness in his eyes made him almost unrecognizable.
The elevator doors slid open into the dim parking level. Their footsteps echoed in the concrete cavern, the air heavy with oil and gasoline. Damian’s black sports car waited near the far exit, sleek and coiled like a predator.
They were halfway across the garage when a low rumble rolled through the silence.
Ava froze. “What was that?”
Damian’s grip tightened on her hand. “Keep walking.”
But the rumble grew — deeper, closer — until a black SUV slid into view from behind a row of parked vehicles, headlights flaring against the walls.
The doors opened before it stopped moving. Four men stepped out. Not masked this time. Their faces were sharp, cruel, and confident.
Damian eased Ava behind him. “Stay down.”
The man in front smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re harder to find than I thought, Damian.” His gaze flicked to Ava. “But I see you’ve been keeping… company.”
Ava’s stomach knotted. “Damian, who are they?”
“Get in the car,” he said without looking at her.
The leader laughed. “Still giving orders like you’re in control. You know how this ends.”
Damian moved first. The world exploded into motion — the slam of his fist against the first man’s jaw, the sharp c***k of bone. Ava ducked as another lunged for her, only for Damian to hook his arm and hurl him into the SUV’s hood.
“Go!” Damian shouted.
Ava bolted toward the sports car, fumbling with the handle. The sound of fists hitting flesh ricocheted around the garage. She got the door open just as Damian slid into the driver’s seat, blood on his knuckles and rage in his eyes.
The tires screamed against the concrete as they shot forward, weaving past pillars and empty spaces. In the rearview, the SUV was already following, its headlights a pair of angry suns.
Ava gripped the seatbelt. “They’re chasing us!”
“I see them,” Damian said, voice flat.
The ramp to the street blurred past, neon lights streaking across the windshield. They burst into the city, the SUV still right behind. Ava’s pulse hammered in her ears.
“Damian, what do they want?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he took a sharp turn down a narrow side street, the engine snarling. The SUV followed.
“They’re not giving up!” Ava’s voice cracked.
“They won’t,” Damian said. His gaze flicked to her — sharp, calculating. “So you have to trust me.”
The road ahead forked. Damian yanked the wheel left, plunging them into a dark industrial area where warehouses loomed like sleeping giants. For a moment, it seemed like they’d lost their pursuers.
And then —
From the shadows, another SUV slid into the lane ahead, blocking the road completely.
Damian hit the brakes. Tires squealed. The first SUV pulled up behind, sealing them in.
Ava’s breath came fast. “We’re trapped.”
The doors of both vehicles opened at once. Men stepped out — more than before. Ten at least.
One of them tossed something onto the asphalt. It clinked against the pavement. A phone.
It started to ring.
Damian didn’t move. His jaw was tight enough to c***k stone. Finally, he opened the car door and stepped out, the night swallowing him.
Ava sat frozen, her hand on the seatbelt release, heart slamming in her chest.
Damian picked up the phone. He didn’t put it to his ear — just held it near his face and listened.
A voice, faint but chilling, drifted from the speaker. “You can’t run forever. Bring her to me… or we’ll take her in pieces.”
The line went dead.
Damian looked back at Ava. And in that moment, she knew — whoever was after them wasn’t going to stop. Not until she was gone.
- Writer
