Chapter 5 Secrets come to light

The morning after Chase showed up at her door, Maya woke to an empty apartment.

No note. No goodbye.

Just the lingering ghost of his kiss, burning on her lips.

For a second, she thought she had dreamed it - the rain, the confession, the way he touched her like she was something fragile and precious.

But the faint smell of his cologne on her pillow told her it had been real.

Dangerously real.

And now, she had to face the consequences.

Maya spent the day double-checking her locks, scanning the street every time she stepped outside, feeling a prickling sensation between her shoulder blades - like someone was watching her.

At first, she told herself it was paranoia.

Then her phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

UNKNOWN: You should've stayed away.

Maya froze. Her heart hammered against her chest. She read the message again, willing it to make sense, to be some stupid prank.

It wasn't.

She knew it deep in her bones.

Someone had seen her digging too deep. Someone knew she had met with Nathan Blackwood. Someone wanted to scare her off - or worse.

Maya fought the urge to panic. She was a journalist. She was trained to handle threats. She had dealt with angry politicians and shady businessmen before.

But this felt different.

Personal.

She immediately texted her editor, asked for a few days off, and spent the next hours combing through every bit of evidence she had collected.

If they were coming for her, they couldn't silence the truth.

She wouldn't let them.

She just had to be careful.

Careful, she thought bitterly.

Like meeting up with Chase Reynolds at midnight was careful.

That night, she sat in her darkened apartment, the curtains drawn, the lights off. Only the soft glow of her laptop illuminated the room.

She was organizing her files - just in case something happened - when she heard it.

The unmistakable click of the lock on her front door.

Her blood turned to ice.

Someone was inside.

Maya didn't think. She grabbed her phone, darted silently to the bedroom, and locked herself in.

Her mind raced - who would it be? Nathan? Someone else from Chase's world? Maybe even Chase himself?

No.

Not Chase.

She wanted to believe that. She needed to believe that.

She pressed herself against the door, listening.

A floorboard creaked.

Closer.

Closer.

Maya's fingers shook as she dialed 911.

Then -

"Maya," a voice called softly.

Her heart stopped.

Chase.

She ripped the door open without thinking. There he was - standing in her living room, drenched again from the rain, his eyes wild and frantic.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she cried, half in relief, half in anger.

"I had to check on you," Chase said, running a hand through his hair. "I got a call. They're not just threatening you anymore. They're planning to make an example out of you."

Maya stared at him. "You mean-?"

"Yeah." His voice was grim. "They're coming for you."

Maya slumped against the doorframe, suddenly exhausted.

This was bigger than she thought.

Bigger than an exposé or a family scandal.

This was survival.

Chase closed the distance between them, gripping her shoulders firmly but gently.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said fiercely.

"You can't protect me from everyone," Maya whispered.

"I can damn well try," he shot back.

Their eyes locked - full of anger, fear, something dangerously close to longing and the unspoken truth hung between them.

They were in this together now.

Whether they wanted to be or not.

And the city, with all its shadows and secrets, was closing in fast.