Chapter 102

Chapter 102
The buzzing silence inside the auto shop felt heavier after Carla’s message. It settled on Lila’s shoulders like a cold hand, steady and patient, waiting for her next mistake. She stared at the glowing screen, fighting the instinct to drop the phone and pretend none of it was real.

Nate stepped close, close enough that his warmth cut through the cold air. He placed one hand on her arm, slow and deliberate, grounding her the way he always did without making a show of it.

“Do not panic,” he said softly. “Not now.”

She swallowed. “She is outside, Nate. Outside. This is not a bluff.”

“Good,” he said. “Bluffs are annoying. At least we know exactly what we are dealing with.”

His calm was annoyingly steady. It always had been. When everyone else reacted like a spark hitting dry grass, Nate reacted like a man checking a watch he already knew the time on.

Lila looked up at him. His eyes did not look calm. They looked like they carried a thousand unsaid things, most of them dangerous, all of them focused on her.

“I do not like this plan anymore,” she whispered.

“I know,” he said. “Neither do I.”

He lifted a hand and touched her jaw, just with the back of his fingers, gentle enough that her breath caught. It was a touch she did not expect, not tonight, not with Carla waiting right outside the door.

“You are shaking,” Nate said.

“I am not,” she said, even though she was.

He smiled a little. “You are allowed to be scared.”

She let out a shaky breath. “You never are.”

He shook his head. “You think that because you only ever see me when I have to hold it together.”

Lila stared at him, surprised by the honesty in his voice. There was something raw there, something he usually kept hidden beneath sharp remarks and careful strategies.

“Nate,” she whispered, “if you are scared, I want you to tell me.”

He laughed under his breath. It was not a cocky laugh or a careless one. It sounded like someone admitting a secret out loud for the first time.

“I am terrified,” he said quietly. “Terrified of losing you.”

Her chest tightened. She did not know what to do with that. He had never said anything close to that. They had danced around feelings for weeks, circling each other like two people pretending they were only tied together by necessity. But now the truth was out, simple and bare.

She reached for his hand without thinking. “You will not lose me.”

“Carla is not the only threat,” he said. “Ethan is unpredictable. Vanessa is greedy. Watkins is too quiet. The whole situation is stacked against us.”

“Nate,” she said softly, “look at me.”

He lifted his eyes to hers.

“I am right here,” she said. “Not gone. Not lost. And you are the only reason I made it this far.”

He stared at her like those words cracked something open inside him. Then he stepped closer, so close she felt every breath he took.

“You do not get to say things like that when I am trying to stay focused,” he murmured.

“You are not doing a very good job,” she said.

His mouth curved slightly. “You are not helping.”

She smiled, a small, trembling thing. “Maybe I am not trying to.”

Nate took her face in both hands, slow and careful as if she were something breakable. His forehead rested against hers, and for a moment the whole world narrowed to the soft, warm space between them.

“Lila,” he said quietly, “if anything happens out there, I need you to know something.”

She felt her heart climb into her throat. “What.”

He kissed her.

It was not rushed. It was not desperate. It was steady, full of the kind of fear that made people cling harder, and the kind of love that made them brave. His thumb brushed her cheek as his lips pressed against hers, and the whole world softened.

The danger outside did not disappear, but for a moment it stepped aside.

When he pulled back, his breath was uneven. “That,” he said softly, “is something I should have done a long time ago.”

She stared at him, stunned and warm and shaken. “I am not sure I can walk after that.”

He gave her a small grin. “You do not have to. I will walk. You stay close.”

She blinked. “You are serious.”

“Very. Carla wants to meet? Fine. We meet her. But you stay behind me until I say otherwise.”

Lila swallowed. “I am sending the wrong message if I hide behind you.”

“You are not hiding,” he said firmly. “You are making Carla believe something. There is a difference.”

She let that settle. He was right. None of this was about pride. It was strategy. And as much as she hated admitting it, Nate’s instincts were almost always right.

He took her hand again. “Ready.”

“No,” she said honestly, “but I will go anyway.”

He squeezed her hand once, a silent promise. Then he moved toward the door and slowly pushed it open.

Cold night air rushed in. The parking lot was almost empty, washed in the harsh glow of a single streetlight.

And standing just outside the circle of that light was Carla.

Her arms were folded, her expression unreadable. Her eyes were fixed on Lila with the calm attention of someone waiting to make the first cut.

Nate stepped forward, keeping Lila slightly behind him. “Carla,” he said, voice steady and sharp. “You wanted to talk.”

Carla tilted her head as she studied them. “I wanted to talk to her. Not you.”

“Too bad,” Nate said. “You get both of us.”

Carla’s eyes slid to Lila again, slow and deliberate. “You should have stayed in the forest,” she said. “It would have been easier.”

Lila felt Nate’s hand tighten around hers.

Carla smiled, small and cold.

“Let us discuss what happens next,” she said.

The night air grew even colder.

And Lila realized the kiss that steadied her might be the only warm moment she was going to get for a while.