CLOSE CALLS AND CONFESSIONS
Leon's car roared through the streets, tires gripping the wet asphalt like they were screaming for him to survive.
Austen's trap had almost worked—cameras, staged "witnesses," and the carefully planted evidence made it look convincing enough for anyone who didn't know the truth. But Leon had seen it coming, narrowly avoiding the snare.
His phone buzzed. Elliana.
Elliana: Are you okay?
He exhaled, barely keeping his hands steady. She shouldn't be texting me now.
Leon: I'm fine. You shouldn't be outside tonight.
Elliana: I was going to stay home… but I need to know you're okay.
Leon's chest tightened. She worried about him without understanding the full danger she herself was in. Damn it.
He stopped briefly at the overlook, rain slicking the streets around him. The city lights reflected off the wet asphalt, a chaotic blur of reds and blues.
His phone buzzed again. Another message, this one from an unknown number:
Unknown: She's too close. Step lightly.
Leon clenched his jaw. Whoever it was, they weren't bluffing.
He leaned back against the hood of his car and let the rain wash over him. The adrenaline was fading, leaving raw exhaustion in its place.
A soft sound made him turn—Elliana.
"Leon," she whispered, rain dripping from her hair, eyes wide and terrified.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, voice low. "I told you to stay home."
"I couldn't," she admitted. "I can't… not when something's happening to you. I don't care about my dad or anyone else. I just… I need to know you're safe."
Leon's chest tightened. "You shouldn't be here. You have no idea—"
"I know enough," she interrupted, stepping closer. "I know you're in danger. And I'm not leaving you."
For a moment, the world around them—the rain, the city lights, the danger—faded. All that existed was the closeness, the weight of their hearts beating too fast.
Leon exhaled slowly, guilt and relief tangled together. "You shouldn't feel this way about me."
"I do," she said softly. "And it's not going to stop."
He looked at her, eyes dark, stormy. "Ellie… there are things you don't know. Things about me, about your mom… things I wish I could undo."
Her stomach dropped. "What things?"
"I can't tell you yet," he admitted, voice strained. "But I swear, nothing about this is your fault."
Elliana reached out, brushing rain-damp hair from his forehead. "Then let me stand with you. Whatever comes, I'm not running."
Leon's hand hovered over hers before covering it, squeezing tightly. "You're braver than you know."
And for the first time in a long time, they didn't need words beyond that.
The rain continued to fall, but in that moment, nothing else mattered.
Except the truth Leon was still hiding—
The truth that would destroy everything if Elliana ever learned it.