Chapter 35: They want her

The message sat between them, a quiet threat wrapped in familiarity. Lila’s fingers tightened around her phone, her breathing steady but shallow. Elias could hear it. The subtle shift in her heartbeat, the way her body tensed ever so slightly. She was scared. And Lila Monroe didn’t scare easily. Harper snatched the phone from the table, scanning the message with sharp eyes. “Unknown number. No previous messages. No contact history.” She looked at Elias. “This isn’t random.” Elias already knew that. His jaw clenched. “They know her.” Lila exhaled slowly, setting her hands on the table to steady herself. “Almost didn’t recognize me. That means they knew me before.” She turned toward Harper. “Can you trace it?” Harper was already working on it, her fingers flying over her laptop. “I can try, but if they’re smart, they’ll be bouncing their signal.” A pause. A frustrated exhale. “And they are.” Elias leaned back, his mind working fast, piecing together the fragments of information they had. This wasn’t about him. It was about Lila. But why now? They had buried their past, built a life away from the wreckage of the people they used to be. If someone was reaching out to her, they wanted something. Lila’s voice was quiet. “There’s only one way to find out what they want.” Elias turned sharply. “No.” Lila met his gaze, unflinching. “We can’t sit in the dark waiting for them to make another move. They already know where we are.” Elias’s fingers curled into a fist. “And that’s exactly why we don’t walk into whatever they’re planning.” Harper looked between them. “Elias is right. We’re playing defense right now. We don’t know who this is or what their endgame is.” She locked eyes with Lila. “But you do. Somewhere in your memory, you know exactly who sent this.” Lila exhaled through her nose, crossing her arms tightly. “Then we find them before they find me.”

That night, Elias didn’t sleep. He lay awake, listening to the sounds of the apartment, memorizing every creak, every shift in the air. He could hear Lila breathing beside him, but he knew she wasn’t asleep either. Her body was too still, her breathing too measured. She was waiting, just like he was. Finally, after what felt like hours, she spoke. “You don’t have to protect me, Elias.” His jaw clenched. “That’s not how this works.” Lila turned on her side, reaching for his hand in the dark. “I spent years fighting beside you. I can handle this.” Elias rolled onto his side, his fingers tightening around hers. “This isn’t a fight, Lila. This is a hunt. And we don’t know who’s hunting you.” Lila was silent for a long time before whispering, “What if it’s someone I don’t remember?” Elias inhaled deeply. That was what he feared the most.

The next morning, Harper had news. “I couldn’t trace the phone, but I ran the message through some old databases. It was sent through an encrypted relay one that’s been dormant for five years.” Elias stiffened. “Five years?” Harper nodded grimly. “That’s the last time it was used. And guess what? It was tied to a known alias of a dead man.” Lila’s voice was barely a whisper. “Who?” Harper’s expression darkened. “Dante Vasquez.” Silence. A thick, suffocating silence. Elias could feel the tension rolling off Lila in waves. Dante Vasquez. A name neither of them had spoken in years. Elias knew him. Knew him because Lila had once known him too well. A sharp intake of breath. Lila stepped back, gripping the edge of the counter. “That’s not possible. Dante’s dead.” Harper’s gaze didn’t waver. “You sure about that?” Lila’s hands trembled. Elias reached for her, but she shook her head, grounding herself. “I watched him die.” Harper crossed her arms. “Then we have two options. Someone is using his name, or you didn’t watch closely enough.” Elias’s voice was low. “Tell me everything.” Lila swallowed hard, closing her eyes for a moment before speaking. “Before you, before everything, I was with Dante. It wasn’t love. It was survival.” She took a shaky breath. “Dante was dangerous. Smart. A manipulator. He knew how to break people, how to use them.” Elias’s grip on the counter tightened. He already hated this man, and he hadn’t even finished listening. Lila continued. “When I left him, he didn’t take it well. He sent people after me. I had to disappear.” She exhaled sharply. “And then one day, he was gone. Dead. I saw the body.” Elias’s jaw clenched. “How did he die?” Lila hesitated. “Gunshot to the head. Close range.” Harper tapped her fingers against the table. “And yet here we are. Someone using his name, reaching out to you, leaving messages at your doorstep.” Elias’s mind worked fast, dissecting every possibility. If Dante was alive, why now? Why resurface after all these years? And if he was dead who the hell was pretending to be him?

That night, Elias couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Every breath of air, every shift in sound it was like the presence was growing closer. He stayed by the window, listening. Waiting. And then. A noise. A single tap on the glass. Elias’s blood ran cold. The sound had come from the balcony. He moved fast, his senses sharp, his pulse steady. He unlatched the door, stepping onto the cold concrete. The night air bit at his skin. The city stretched below him, quiet. Empty. But someone had been here. His fingers brushed the railing. A piece of paper. Taped to the edge. He pulled it free, unfolding it carefully. One line. “Hello again, Lila.” A breath of sound. A presence shifting just beyond his reach. Elias’s voice was barely a whisper. “I know you’re there.” Silence. Then a laugh. Soft. Mocking. Familiar. And then, just as fast as it had come gone. Elias stood there, gripping the note, his heartbeat slow but heavy. This wasn’t paranoia. This wasn’t a mistake. Dante Vasquez was either back from the dead or someone just as dangerous was playing his game. And whoever it was, they wanted Lila. Elias stepped back inside, locking the door behind him. Lila was waiting for him, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable. “What did you find?” He held up the note. Her breath hitched. “It’s him.” Elias’s jaw tightened. “Then we hunt him before he hunts you.”