Chapter 13 Thirteen
Chapter 13 Thirteen
Rebelle Pov
I stood there staring at Blaine as the air around us got suffocating. My mind replayed every moment I had ever had with Detective Noah Sterling. Every look, every word he spoke to me, every time he sat at the diner like he was just another customer, when he had been watching me the entire time, and I hadn’t even realized it until now, until everything finally connected in the worst way possible.
“You’re lying,” I said, my voice breaking. Deep down, I knew the truth was sitting right in front of me, but I wasn’t willing to accept it just yet.
Quickly, Blaine shook his head in pain as he spoke fast, “I swear, Rebelle, that’s the name I got…I don’t question clients like that, you know how this works.” He finishes looking at me, his eyes pleading.
Ezekiel tightened his grip on Blaine's collar, his jaw clenching with a dark expression, “You expect us to believe a cop is behind this ?” He questioned coldly.
“ I don’t know what he is !!” Blaine snapped, his voice shaking in fear and desperation, “All I know is the name…that’s all I had, I’ve never met him or ever seen his face ever !!”
From the corner, Asa stood and watched calmly, like he was trying to piece everything together in his head, and then slowly he turned his gaze at me, as if he could see every thought that was running through my mind.
“You knew him,” Asa said quietly.
It wasn’t just a question, and I swallowed before answering, “He came to the diner.”
“How often?” Ezekiel asked sharply without looking away from Blaine.
“Almost every day,” I admitted
He stepped closer to me, his eyes not leaving mine. “And you never found that strange ?” He asked with a raised brow.
“I did,” I said quickly, “but he’s a detective, I thought he was just watching the streets, keeping an eye on things…”
“You thought he was just doing his job?” Ezekiel cut in harshly, finally looking at me.
I sharply turned my gaze at him, feeling frustrated, “ I didn’t know he was watching me, “ I grumbled lowly
“But he was,” Asa suddenly says, and the truth finally hit as everything started to make sense. The tips, the unnecessary conversations, the way he lingered longer than necessary, and the way he always knew when to show up.
He Wasn't just there for coffee; he was basically studying me, learning me, and even using me.
“That bastard…” I muttered under my breath, anger burning inside me.
Asa's lips curved slightly, but there wasn’t a single warmth in them, “yes…that bastard.” He said calmly.
Suddenly, Ezekiel released his hold on Blaine and shoved him back against the desk hard, like he was no longer worth the effort.
“If you’re lying…” Ezekiel started.
“I’m not!” Blaine cut quickly, desperation clear in his voice, “Check it, check my logs, my messages, anything, you’ll see the name, I didn’t make this up!” he gestures to his system on his desk.
Immediately, Oliver moved towards the desk, pulled out a device, and grabbed Blaine’s system without waiting for permission, his focus locked in, completely on the task.
Asa silently moved closer to me again, stopping just enough to invade my space without touching me, then he said quietly, “You’ve been standing in the middle of this from the start.”
“I didn’t choose that,” I replied, holding his gaze, refusing to look away.
“No,” he agreed, “but you’re still here.”
Briefly, his blue eyes dropped down at me, assessing me like he always did, then he added softly, “You attract chaos.”
Shaking my head, I let out a dry laugh and said, “Or maybe chaos just doesn’t leave me alone.”
“Same thing,” he said calmly.
Before I could respond, Ezekiel stepped closer, his presence cutting between us as he said in a low tone, “You should’ve told us everything about him from the beginning.”
“I didn’t know he mattered,” I snapped back.
“He matters now,” Ezekiel replied coldly.
I held his gaze without backing down, then I shot back, “Then maybe you should have asked better questions !”
And for a second, I noticed something flicker in his eyes, it wasn’t anger, but something that made the air between us thicker, it was amusement. Asa suddenly lets out a slight chuckle beside us, “This is getting interesting.”
“Not the time,” Ezekiel said without looking at him.
“It’s always the time,” Asa replied calmly.
The tension between them was different, not just about me but about control, about who was making the decisions, and somehow I was right in the middle of it.
Oliver’s voice cut through the moment, “It’s real.”
We all turned toward him simultaneously as he continued, “The name appears multiple times in the logs, encrypted messages routed through different channels, but the identifier remains the same.”
“Sterling,” Asa said quietly.
Oliver nodded.
The confirmation settled in instantly. There was no denying it now. Detective Noah Sterling wasn’t just involved; he was behind everything.
Ezekiel let out a slow breath, his expression darkening further, “A cop playing both sides.”
“Not just playing,” Asa corrected calmly, “orchestrating.”
My stomach twisted as I asked quietly, “Why?”
No one answered because none of us knew, not yet, and that was the worst part.
Asa turned his attention back to me, his gaze steady, “But we’re going to find out.”
“How?” I asked.
His lips curved slowly, “By pulling his strings the same way he pulled yours.”
A chill ran down my spine as I realized what he meant: “You want to use me.”
“I want to bait him,” Asa corrected with a slight grin, putting both hands in his pants pockets.
Ezekiel didn’t look convinced, his jaw tightening slightly, “It’s risky.”
“Everything is,” Asa replied.
“He’s law enforcement,” Ezekiel added, “that complicates things.”
“It makes it more interesting,” Asa said, lightly discussing what his brother was saying.
I crossed my arms, my pulse picking up, “And what happens to me in all this?”
Asa stepped closer again, his voice dropping slightly as he said, “You stay exactly where you are.”
“And where is that?”
His eyes held mine as he answered, “With us.”
The words landed heavier than they should have, and Ezekiel’s gaze shifted between us, his jaw tightening slightly as he said, “She’s not a tool.”
Asa raised a brow, “No?”
“She’s a liability,” Ezekiel corrected.
I scoffed, “Good to know where I stand.”
Ezekiel looked at me again, his expression unreadable, “You’re still here.” He stated.
This wasn’t reassurance, but it wasn’t rejection either, and somehow that made it worse, leaving me in the middle, unsure and stuck.
The tension in the room shifted again, and quiet then. Asa finally spoke, “We move carefully, no sudden moves, no mistakes.”
“And if he makes the first move?” Ezekiel asked.
Asa’s smile returned slowly, dangerous and calm, “Then we make sure it’s his last.”
Silence stretched, but something just didn’t sit right with me because if Starling had planned all this carefully, then he wasn’t done just yet, and I could already feel just how deep this was. Thus could just be the beginning, and we were already behind in a game we didn’t know the rules to.
I exhaled slowly and looked between them, “So what now?”
Asa turned towards the door, “Now… we wait,” he replied.
Ezekiel didn’t like that. I could see it in the tension in his shoulders, but he didn’t argue because he knew Asa was right for now. Waiting was the only move, but waiting didn’t mean safe; it meant watching, preparing, and expecting something to come at any moment.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from outside the office, followed by shouting and gunshots that tore through the silence, and everything froze for half a second before moving at once.
Ezekiel reached for his weapon instantly, and Oliver turned sharply toward the door. Asa’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes lit up with something dangerous as he said softly, “Looks like he didn’t want to wait.”
My heart immediately dropped because I knew exactly who it was. The sound of boots suddenly thundered, followed by another gunshot just outside the door.
In the blink of an eye, Ezekiel moved in front of me without hesitation, his large body shielding mine as his voice dropped low and sharp.
“Stay behind me if you want to live.”