Chapter 38: THIRTY-EIGHT

J A D E

That night, I threw my few belongings into my bag, my hands trembling with a fear so primal I could taste it. The simple word on the note… Run, had shattered the fragile peace I had built. This wasn't Markov. This was something else. This was the something else.

I didn’t even want to try to think about who the woman was. I just had to get out of there.

I paid my bill at the motel, leaving the key on the counter without a word. I didn't have a car, so I started walking, my head down, my senses on high alert. I didn't know where I was going, only that I had to get away.

I walked for what felt like hours, the neon lights of the town fading behind me. I was on a desolate stretch of highway, the only sound the crunch of my own footsteps on the gravel shoulder. I was alone. And I was terrified.

I had saved up a little from my paycheck to board a train to another city. Two more cities away from here, because I wanted to be as far away from this town, and from Markov, as possible.

I got to the train station with an hour to spare, so I decided to find a spot to sit and wait for my train. I found a bench that was isolated, away from the few people who were milling around.

I was almost dozing off when I felt a shift in the air, a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the night breeze. I looked up, and my heart stopped.

In a distance, I saw the same woman from the diner. She wasn't walking toward me, just standing there, watching me. Then, she smiled, a slow, predatory smile that didn't reach her piercing green eyes.

I scrambled to my feet, my bag clutched in my hand like a weapon. I was trapped. I had nowhere to go. The train station was deserted, the silence a heavy, suffocating blanket.

I decided to take my chances. I started to run, my feet pounding against the concrete. I didn't look back, not once. I could feel her eyes on me, a physical weight on my back.

I ran until my lungs were burning and my legs were on fire. I ran until I stumbled into a dark alley, the stench of garbage and urine filling my nostrils. I leaned against the rough brick wall, gasping for breath, my body trembling with exhaustion and fear.

And then, I heard it. A slow, deliberate clap.

"Brava," a woman's voice purred, the sound echoing in the narrow alley. "Such spirit. It's a shame I have to snuff it out."

I spun around, my back pressed against the cold brick. She was there, standing at the entrance to the alley, her form a dark silhouette against the dim light of the street.

The train came just in time, and I ran as fast as I could, pushing past people to get on. I didn't have a ticket, but I didn't care. I just had to get away.

Once the train started moving, I finally let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. I was safe. For now. I slumped down into an empty seat, my body aching, my mind a chaotic mess. I was a fugitive in my own life, a pawn in a game I didn't understand.

I knew she would find me again. The woman, the one who was after me, would not stop. I had to find a way to fight back. I had to find a way to protect myself.

I had to find a way to survive.

M A R K O V

One week. One week of hell.

The morning I received a call from Tristin that Jade had left was the morning my world ended all over again. He read me her note, his voice a mixture of anger and concern. But all I could hear was the finality in her words. Don't try to find me.It was a command, not a request. And it was the one thing I couldn't obey.

I spent the first few days in a blind rage, my beast pacing restlessly beneath my skin. I tore through my house, smashing furniture, tearing down the pictures that now mocked me. I wanted to find her, to drag her back, to chain her to my side so she could never leave again. But I knew that would only push her further away. And more importantly, it would prove her right. That I was the monster she feared.

I had to control it. For her. Even if she wasn't with me, I had to be the man she deserved. The man who could protect her, not possess her.

I spent the next few days trying to track her. I used my resources, my connections, pulling in favors I had been saving for a rainy day. I was a rich man, with a network of people who owed me. I could find her, but I had to be smart. I had to be careful. I had to be patient.

But for some reasons, I was always one step behind her. She was smart, I’ll give her that. She covered her tracks well. She was a ghost, a whisper on the wind. She was gone.

It was on the sixth day that I found my first clue. A receipt from a diner in a small town a few hours away. The name on the receipt was "Jane," and the tip was a scribble that looked a lot like her handwriting. My heart hammered against my ribs. I was close. I was finally on her trail.

But she was gone. I had gone to the diner where she worked and realized that she had already left. The woman who gave me her address at the motel gave me the same sad news. She had already checked out. My heart sank. I had lost her again.

I was about to give up, to go back home and drown my sorrows in a bottle of whiskey, when I saw her. The woman with the piercing green eyes. She was standing across the street, watching me. She wasn't trying to hide. She wanted me to see her.

She smiled, a slow, predatory smile that sent a shiver of dread down my spine. She knew. She knew who I was. She knew who Jade was.

Saffra.

I didn't hesitate. I started across the street, my rage a burning fire in my veins. But she was faster. She disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind nothing but the lingering scent of decay and bitter herbs.

I stood there, my fists clenched at my sides, my mind racing. She was here. She had found Jade. And I had just let her get away.

I had to find Jade. I had to warn her. I had to protect her. I couldn't afford to lose her. Not to Saffra.