Chapter 101

Chapter 101
The roar of Tessa’s engine hadn’t even faded when the cold, heavy truth landed on Lila’s shoulders. Carla knew. Not suspected, not guessed. Knew. And that meant every second they lingered on that empty stretch of road was another second they handed her the advantage.

Nate took Lila’s hand without ceremony, the way someone grabs a lifeline when the tide shifts. “We need walls around us,” he said. “Not trees, not roads. Real walls.”

She didn’t argue. Her pulse was too loud in her ears for that. They moved toward town, not running this time, but walking with purpose. Each step felt like stepping deeper into the part of the story where there was no turning back.

The lights of a closed auto shop flickered weakly ahead. A few vending machines hummed outside the front door, a halfhearted attempt at being inviting. Not a soul in sight. Perfect.

Nate tested the side door. Locked. He gave Lila a quick look, then pulled a slim metal tool from his back pocket—something he absolutely should not have owned but she was too tired to ask about. A minute later, the door clicked open.

Inside, the place smelled like oil and old conversations. They slipped behind a stack of tires. It wasn’t glamorous, but it gave them shadows, and right now shadows were currency.

Lila leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the concrete floor. Nate crouched in front of her, studying her face.

“You’re too quiet,” he said. “That’s never a good sign.”

She rubbed her hands together, trying to get some warmth back into her fingers. “Tessa didn’t come here on her own. Carla sent her. That means Carla is close.”

“Close doesn’t mean she wins,” Nate replied. But the tightness in his jaw betrayed the bravado.

Lila tilted her head toward him. “You’re worried.”

“Of course I am,” he said. “The woman sent her daughter to deliver a threat like it was some kind of party invitation. That tells me she’s confident. And Carla is never confident unless she has something lined up.”

Lila’s breath caught. “You think she has Ethan.”

Nate didn’t answer right away. He tapped his knuckles on the floor, his gaze fixed on the entrance as if he expected someone to walk in any second. “She might. Or she might have someone else. Watkins maybe. Vanessa. Or she’s bluffing. Hard to tell yet.”

Lila rested her head back against the wall. “Ethan’s too unpredictable to sit still for Carla.”

“That’s what makes him dangerous,” Nate muttered.

A long moment passed between them before Lila finally spoke again. “If she gets Ethan, she’ll force him to talk. He knows enough to make things bad for us.”

“He doesn’t know everything,” Nate said. “He knows pieces. Enough to be annoying. Not enough to sink the ship.”

“Still,” Lila whispered, “he’s a liability.”

“Everyone is a liability to someone,” Nate said. “That’s why we move before she does.”

Lila lifted her head again, studying him. “Do you have a plan forming, or are you improvising as usual.”

“A little column A, a little column B,” he said, and the corner of his mouth twitched just enough to break the tension.

The brief humor gave Lila the strength to breathe normally again. She pushed herself to her feet. “Alright. Tell me.”

Nate stood as well, brushing off the dust on his hands. “You wanted Ethan in play, right.”

“Yes.”

“Then we force Carla to reveal how much she knows. And the cleanest way to do that is to let her think we’re cornered.”

Lila frowned. “We just walked into an empty garage. I think we’re halfway there.”

Nate huffed a soft laugh. “Not that kind of cornered. I mean we give her a reason to make a move. Something she can’t resist.”

“And what would that be,” Lila asked.

Nate stepped closer, his eyes sharp again. “You.”

The floor seemed to tilt under her feet. “Me.”

“You’re the one she can’t predict,” Nate said. “You’re the one she underestimates. You’re the one holding the documents she wants. If she thinks you’re reachable, she’ll show her hand.”

Lila stared at him, chest tight. “Reachable how.”

“A message,” Nate said. “Something that makes her believe you’re scared enough to negotiate. Scared, but still stubborn enough to play. That will pull her out. And once she steps forward, we’ll see who she’s working with.”

Lila didn’t answer right away. Her heartbeat wasn’t panicked anymore. It was decisive.

Then she said, “And Ethan.”

Nate rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If we do this right, he’ll expose himself without us having to chase him.”

She exhaled slowly. “You really want me to poke the bear.”

“You’re not poking,” Nate said. “You’re baiting.”

“That feels worse.”

“Probably is.”

Lila gave him a long look. “This is risky.”

“Everything we’ve done since sunrise has been risky,” he replied. “But this… this is controlled.”

She considered that. The fear was still there, but now it mixed with something steadier: resolve. She pulled her phone from her pocket. The battery was low, but alive.

“Fine,” she said. “What do I send.”

Nate placed a hand on her wrist, steady but firm. “Before you do this, understand something.”

Lila waited.

“Once you reach out, she’s coming,” he said. “No more shadows, no more warnings, no more Tessa on a motorcycle. She will come for you herself.”

“And that’s what we need,” Lila said.

Nate nodded. “Then let’s finish this.”

She opened the messaging app. Her thumb hovered over the screen.

“What exactly am I telling her,” she asked.

Nate thought for a moment, then said, “Tell her you’re ready to talk. Tell her you’re tired of running. And tell her you’re alone.”

Lila blinked. “Alone.”

Nate’s expression turned serious. “It’s the only way she’ll believe it.”

Lila didn’t love it, but she understood. She typed the message slowly, carefully.

When she finished, she showed it to Nate.

He read it, then gave a single nod. “Send it.”

Lila hit the button. A chill ran through her as the message flew into the dark.

Seconds passed. Then her phone vibrated. Lila’s breath hitched.

Nate leaned in. “Who is it.”

She turned the screen so he could see.

Carla had already replied with three words. “I’m nearby. Come outside.”