Chapter 7 Strained between Deception and Truth

Nadia's POV

The quiet following Venessa's death was overwhelming. Though Sam and I had revealed her, the triumph seemed hollow. As I stood next to Jake, the man who had turned into my lighthouse on this turbulent sea, my heart hammered. His gaze asked me things I wasn't sure I could respond to.

"Tell me, Nadia, show me," Jake spoke softly, nearly in a whisper. "What is happening right now? Was everything between us part of your mission?"

His comments go farther than any knife could reach. Though the reality was a crushing weight I could no longer ignore, I prayed I could wipe the hurt in his eyes. As I searched for the proper words, my throat got tighter.

"I didn't budget for any of this, Jake," I murmured, my voice quivering. "I never thought I would meet someone like you when I set out on this path. For at least me, what we have is real. But you still have a lot to learn; I have concealed much from you."

He turned away, his jaw tightly closed, showing obvious damage. "You ought to have told Nadia. I could have understood. I might have even been of assistance. Now, though..."

His remarks stopped, leaving an emptiness that seemed unattainable. I touched his arm, but he withdrew; the distance separating us widened with every second.

Sam's voice diffused the tension before I could say anything. "We have to go. Venessa's collapse leaves a power vacuum that will not be long before someone seeks to occupy it. Here we do not feel safe."

Jake turned to look at Sam, his face tightening. "And what about Nadia? Now, what happens to her? Is she simply going to vanish without any trace, as nothing ever happens?"

Sam's eyes flicked with something I couldn't quite read-maybe regret or guilt. "Nadia's goal is no longer clear. Her decision on what to do next is entirely personal."

The weight of the choice drove me under. Knowing I would never see Jake again, could I be away from him? Alternatively, should I remain, running all the odds for a true possibility?

Sam gently said, "Nadia, there's more you need to know," as if he sensed my agony. "Regarding Venessa and me."

My heart stopped for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Sam hesitated, his usually cool front cracking. "Venessa was not only my ex-wife. She participated in something far more harmful than just something. She was not working by herself. Though I mistakenly thought I could handle it. And now that she's gone, the folks she interacted with will follow after me. After we."

The shock caused Jake's eyes to enlarge. "Are you implying that there is more to this? Do we still find ourselves in danger?"

Sam nodded darkly. "Yes. And Nadia, that covers you as well. They will regard you as a threat, someone overly informed. Staying here will never make you safe."

The weight of Sam's comments settled over me, and the room seemed to close in on me. The walls pressed in. I hadn't given any thought to the potential of a more serious threat since I had been so determined to bring down Vanessa. But it appeared like danger was not far from here now.

"What should we do?" My voice was hardly audible above a whisper, I asked.

Sam stared at me with a ferocity that made my spine shiver. "We resist back-off. But first, we must vanish-at least temporarily do it. We must reorganize, investigate the source of all this, and strategize our future actions."

As Jake considered Sam's statements, his attitude grew stiff. "Are you asking us to run? To disguise?"

"For now, yes," Sam said. "But it won't last indefinitely. Whoever they are, we will come back stronger and demolish them."

Jake's eyes revealed a struggle between his inclination to fight and his need to guard me. He turned to face me, and I understood he was expecting my choice.

"Nadia," he continued gently, "whatever you pick, I'll be right by you. But I have to ask: can I count on you? Can we create anything actual after all?"

His query hovered in the air, and I knew my response would turn things around.

My voice shaking with passion, I whispered, "I want to be with you, Jake. But a lot is at risk here. Should I stay, I will simply increase your risk. And I cannot live with that."

Jake moved nearer, his eyes focused. "I have no concern about the risk. You matter to me. We will confront it together, whatever comes up."

Though they made me afraid, his words were like a healing agent for my broken heart. How could I endanger his life in service to my own needs?

The sound of footsteps rang throughout the corridor, getting louder with every second before I could reply. Sam's body tightened and his eyes squinted.

He growled, taking my hand and dragging me toward the door: "We need to go, now!"

Close behind, Jake trailed us from the study, the tension in the air obvious. I turned back when we arrived at the stairway, my heart thumping with a mixture of anxiety and expectation.

A man I didn't know stood at the base of the steps, his face veiled in the darkness. He was towering, broad-shouldered, and radiating power that made my spine shudder.

"Leaving so soon"? The man spoke with a polished, even sarcastic quality. "I was hoping we could chat just a little."

Sam's fingers became more tightly gripped, his body coiled like a spring just about to snap. "Who are you? What are your goals?"

The man entered the light and showed a sharp, sculpted face and piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare right through me.

With a laid-back attitude, he said, "My name is Victor. And I'm here to pick up my own."

Jake stiffened next to me, and Sam's face darkened as well. Sam snarled, "We have nothing that belongs to you."

Victor grinned with cold, deliberate accuracy. "Well, you do, though. You see, Venessa owed me a lot; now that she's gone, her debts have dropped to you."

As the gravity of the matter struck, my heart accelerated. This involved more than simply Venessa's secrets; something a lot more was under action.

"What do you wish for?" With a trembling voice, I asked.

Victor fixed his eyes on mine, and for a second I felt as though I could see a flutter of something terrible and dark in them. "I want what Nadia owes me. And should you be unable to pay, I will accept something else-something considerably more valuable."

As I understood what he was suggesting, terror flooded me. He sought us, not just money.

Strongly moving in front of me defensively, Jake added, "We won't let you take us."

Victor's smile grew wider, as though his disobedience delighted him. "Oh, I believe I could take anything I want. Nevertheless, relax; I am a sensible man. Let's say twenty-24 hours; you have some time to decide. I will be back following that. And should you not be here, well, let me say I have methods of locating you."

Victor turned and left, his feet resonating in stillness. The three of us stood motionless as the weight of the circumstances sank in.

First to shake the quiet was Sam. "We have to depart right now. We do not have much time."

Jake nodded, a determined jaw set. "Let's leave. We will work out our next action on the road."

I couldn't get rid of the sense that our lives had just been irreversibly altered as we rushed out of the estate into the evening. Our risk was more than anything I could have anticipated, and the decisions we took during the next twenty-24 hours would decide our fate.

But when I looked at Jake, his countenance one of great determination, I knew one thing for sure: whatever occurred next, we would face it together. And I would defend the people I loved no matter the expense.

Foreboding descended upon me as we rushed out into the night. Victor's warning loomed large in the air, and I couldn't help but wonder whether we would ever really be free from the shadows that had started to encircle us.

One thing was very evident, though it was far from done. And our next action came here.