Page 79 of Fractured Loyalties
“No need.”
I walk away before he can insist.
My boots click over pavement. Crisp. Even. The rhythm anchors me.
When I reach the alley beside the florist’s shop, I don’t stop. Just slide into the shadows.
He’s there.
Leaning against the wall like he built it. Coat dark. Eyes darker.
“Elias.”
“You saw him.”
I nod. “He didn’t eat. He didn’t drink.”
“He didn’t need to.”
“Who was he?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“But he knew I’d be here.”
“Yes.”
I cross my arms. “So we were right.”
“I didn’t want you to come tonight.”
“You made that clear.”
His jaw works. “Then why did you?”
I step closer. The alley’s dim. The wind pulls at my coat.
“Because I needed to know if the danger was real,” I say. “Because I needed to feel the line under my feet instead of hearing you tell me it exists.”
He looks at me like he wants to shake me. Or kiss me. Or both.
“And now?”
“Now I know it’s real.”
Then he nods.
I follow him to the car.
And this time, when I climb in, I don’t look back.
Because I keep thinking about Caleb.
What does he want now? What is the endgame in all of this—these notes, these shadows, this constant circling like a wolf around a cage he built himself? Part of me wonders if this is about control. About reminding me that no matter how far I think I’ve come, he still knows how to find me. Still knows how to make me feel small.
I used to ask myself what broke in him. But maybe it wasn’t a break. Maybe he was always like that—cruelty in disguise, obsession masquerading as love. He didn’t need a reason to hurt me. He just needed access.
My hands tighten on my coat.
