WebNovels

Chapter 10 - Chapter 10

Nina met her new security detail over breakfast at a café three blocks from her apartment. Marcus Chen no relation to her advisor, he assured her with a slight smile was ex-military, soft-spoken, and unsettlingly observant. His partner, a woman named Reese who looked like she could break Nina in half without breaking a sweat, sat with her back to the wall, eyes constantly scanning the room.

"Mr. Voss has briefed us on the situation," Marcus said, keeping his voice low. "Our job is to keep you safe without interfering with your daily routine. You won't see us most of the time, but we'll be there."

"How close?" Nina picked at her croissant, appetite gone.

"Close enough." Reese spoke for the first time. "Anyone who wants to get to you has to go through us first."

It should have been reassuring. Instead, it made everything feel terrifyingly real.

"What am I supposed to tell people? My roommate, my classmates?"

"Tell them the truth," Marcus said. "That you've received some concerning attention and are taking precautions. Most people won't push for details."

Most people. But Rachel would. Professor Chen might. And if anyone from Adrian's world noticed the security detail, questions would multiply exponentially.

Nina's phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number, just two words: We should talk.

She showed it to Marcus, who frowned and forwarded it to his own phone. "We'll trace it. Don't respond."

"What if it's important?"

"If it's legitimate, they'll find another way to reach you." His tone left no room for argument.

After the meeting, Nina headed to campus with her invisible shadows. She couldn't see Marcus or Reese, but knowing they were there made her hyperaware of everyone around her. The student who walked too close in the library. The man who held the door at the psychology building. Were they threats, or was she just paranoid?

Professor Chen's office hours were at two. Nina knocked, clutching her revised draft like a shield.

"Ms. Watts. Come in." Professor Chen gestured to the chair across from her desk, then did a double-take at Nina's face. "Are you alright? You look exhausted."

"I'm fine. Just been working hard on the revisions."

"So I see." Professor Chen opened the draft, scanning the first few pages. Her expression shifted from neutral to pleased. "Now this is what I was looking for. The depth, the rigor this is the Nina Watts I accepted into the program."

Relief flooded through her. "So it's better?"

"It's excellent. Whatever you did to refocus, keep doing it." Professor Chen closed the draft, her expression turning more serious. "Though I have to ask are you sure everything's okay? You seem… tense. On edge."

Nina forced a smile. "Just stress. You know how it is."

"I do. But I also know the signs of someone dealing with more than academic pressure." Professor Chen leaned back in her chair. "If there's something going on a personal situation, a safety concern the university has resources. Counseling, legal aid, housing assistance if needed."

For a moment, Nina was tempted to tell her everything. To lay out the whole complicated mess and ask for help from someone who existed outside Adrian's world. But what could Professor Chen really do against Marcus Whitmore? Against a man who'd tried to kill Adrian twice?

"I appreciate that," Nina said carefully. "If I need help, I'll ask."

Professor Chen didn't look convinced, but she nodded. "Your defense is scheduled for December fifteenth. That gives you eight weeks to finalize your research and prepare your presentation. Don't let anything derail you this close to the finish line."

Eight weeks. Two months until she'd have her doctorate and be free of at least one source of stress. Nina clung to that timeline like a lifeline.

She was walking back to the library when her phone rang. Adrian.

"How did it go with Marcus and Reese?" he asked without preamble.

"Fine. Weird, but fine." Nina glanced around, wondering where her security detail was lurking. "My advisor loved the revision."

"Of course she did. You're brilliant." There was pride in his voice, genuine and warm. "Listen, I need to ask you something. There's a charity gala tomorrow night. Mayor's office, political connections I can't afford to skip. I know it's short notice"

"I'll be there."

"You don't have to. Given everything with Marcus"

"Adrian." Nina cut him off. "I'm not hiding. If I start canceling appearances, if I act scared, doesn't that give him exactly what he wants?"

Silence on the other end. Then, "When did you get so fearless?"

"I'm not fearless. I'm terrified. But I'm also stubborn." She found a bench and sat, lowering her voice. "Besides, won't I be safer at a public event surrounded by people than I would be hiding in my apartment?"

"Probably. Marcus tends to work in shadows." Adrian paused. "He'll be there tomorrow night. At the gala. I just found out he bought a table."

Nina's stomach clenched. "You think he's going to approach me?"

"I think he's going to try. Which is why I need you to promise me something if he talks to you, stay calm. Be polite but give him nothing. No information about us, about your life, about anything. And don't let him separate you from me or from your security."

"You're scaring me."

"Good. You should be scared. But not so scared that you make mistakes." His voice softened. "I'll keep you safe, Nina. I promise."

After they hung up, Nina sat on the bench for a long time, watching students hurry between classes, lost in their normal problems exams, relationships, part-time jobs. She'd been one of them just months ago. Now she was preparing to face down a man who'd tried to murder her boyfriend at a charity gala while invisible bodyguards watched from the shadows.

Her phone buzzed again. Another text from the unknown number: Tomorrow night. East terrace, 9 PM. Come alone.

Nina stared at it, then forwarded it to Marcus's number. His response came within seconds: Do NOT engage. We'll handle it.

But as Nina walked back to her apartment aware of her shadows, aware of being watched by both protectors and threats a dangerous thought took root.

What if she did engage? What if, instead of waiting for Marcus to make his move, she figured out what he wanted? Sophia had reached out to warn her, even if it had been manipulative. Maybe Marcus would talk to her too. Maybe she could learn something that would help Adrian, that would end this standoff before someone got seriously hurt.

It was a terrible idea. Reckless and stupid and exactly the kind of thing that got people killed in movies.

But Nina was tired of being a pawn. Tired of being protected and managed and kept in the dark about the full scope of what she was involved in.

Tomorrow night, at nine PM, she'd be on that east terrace.

She just had to figure out how to get there without her security detail stopping her.

The penthouse was dark when Adrian finally got home at midnight. Another sixteen-hour day managing the fallout from Marcus's latest moves. Two more clients had called to "renegotiate" their contracts. One had been honest enough to admit that Whitmore had made them a better offer. The other had simply been apologetic and vague.

Adrian poured himself a scotch and stood by the windows, looking out at the city he'd built his empire in. Somewhere out there, Marcus was plotting his next move. And Nina brilliant, stubborn Nina was caught in the crossfire.

His phone showed three missed calls from Sophia. He'd been ignoring her since learning she'd approached Nina. But maybe it was time to stop ignoring and start using.

He called her back.

"Adrian." Sophia's voice was carefully neutral. "I wasn't sure you'd return my call."

"What do you want?"

"To help you. Believe it or not."

"Why should I believe anything you say? You're working for Marcus."

"I work for a subsidiary that happens to be owned by Marcus's holding company. That's not the same thing." Sophia's voice dropped. "He doesn't trust me. Keeps me at arm's length because he knows about our history. But I hear things. And what I'm hearing is that he's planning something big. Something that involves Nina."

Adrian's hand tightened on his glass. "What kind of something?"

"I don't know specifics. But he's been asking questions about her. Her background, her family, her finances. He's looking for leverage, Adrian. A way to turn her against you or force her hand."

"Her family?"

"Parents divorced when she was twelve. Father remarried, lives in Arizona. Mother passed away three years ago cancer. Nina paid for most of the treatment out of pocket, went into debt for it." Sophia paused. "She still owes almost sixty thousand dollars to the hospital."

Adrian closed his eyes. Nina had never mentioned debt. Never mentioned her mother's death beyond a passing reference to being an only child. She kept her vulnerabilities close, just like he did.

"What's Marcus planning to do with that information?"

"I don't know. But tomorrow night at the gala Adrian, be careful. He's going to make a move, and I don't think it's going to be subtle."

"Why are you telling me this? If you really work for him"

"Because I meant what I said to Nina. I don't want to see her get hurt." Sophia's voice was tired. "You and I… we were always a transaction. I knew that, even if I pretended otherwise. But Nina's different. She's real. And Marcus will use that realness to destroy both of you if you're not careful."

After Sophia hung up, Adrian sat in the dark, thinking. Marcus was planning something. Nina's past debt was leverage. Tomorrow night would be the play.

He should tell Nina. Warn her, prepare her. But she was already scared, already on edge. Adding more pressure might push her into doing something reckless.

Or maybe, he thought with uncomfortable insight, he was just being protective in a way that stripped her of agency. Nina was smart, capable, stronger than she looked. Maybe what she needed wasn't more protection but more information.

His phone rang. Marcus Chen, head of Nina's security detail.

"We have a problem, sir. Ms. Watts received two messages today from an unknown number. The second one asked her to meet on the east terrace tomorrow night at nine PM. Alone."

"And?"

"And she forwarded them to us like she should. But, sir…" Marcus hesitated. "I've been doing this a long time. I know when someone's thinking about doing something stupid. She has that look."

Adrian cursed under his breath. Of course she did. Nina wasn't the type to sit back and be protected. She was the type to take action, to try to solve problems herself.

Just like him.

"Don't let her out of your sight tomorrow," Adrian ordered. "If she tries to slip away, stop her. I don't care if you have to physically restrain her do not let her meet with Marcus alone."

"Understood, sir."

But after he hung up, Adrian wondered if giving that order was another mistake. Another way of controlling Nina instead of trusting her.

Tomorrow night was going to be a disaster. He could feel it.

The only question was how big a disaster, and whether any of them would walk away unscathed.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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