Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO FOLLOWED HER
Norah left through the kitchen exit.
The November air struck her face, cold enough to make her eyes water.
She pulled her coat tighter and hurried down the alley.
She didn’t look back.
She couldn’t.
If she looked back, she might see Roman standing there.
And if she saw him, she might remember the version of him she had once loved.
That man had been charming, attentive, and impossibly protective.
Then she had discovered what protection meant in Roman’s world.
Locked doors.
Threatening phone calls.
Men who followed her.
A bloodstained shirt hidden beneath his bed.
And the night he had told her, with terrifying calm, that she should never question where his money came from.
She had left two weeks later.
But running from Roman had not ended the danger.
It had only changed its face.
Norah reached the bus stop and checked her phone.
Three missed calls.
All from an unknown number.
A message appeared.
YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE LET HIM FIND YOU.
Her blood turned cold.
Another message followed.
THE OLD DEBTS ARE STILL OPEN.
She looked around.
The street appeared empty.
Then she saw him.
A man standing across the road beneath a broken streetlamp.
Dark coat.
Gray scarf.
One hand inside his pocket.
Norah’s breath caught.
She turned and walked faster.
The man crossed the road.
She heard his footsteps behind her.
“Norah.”
She stopped.
The voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
She turned slowly.
The man smiled.
“Three years, and you still run the same way.”
Norah stepped backward.
“What do you want?”
“Roman.”
“He has nothing to do with me.”
The man laughed.
“You really expect me to believe that?”
Norah’s fingers curled around her phone.
“Stay away from me.”
He stepped closer.
“You took something that belongs to him.”
“I took nothing.”
“Then why is he searching for you?”
Norah’s face drained.
The man reached toward her.
A black SUV screeched to a stop beside the curb.
Two doors opened.
Tommy stepped out first.
“Take one more step,” he said, “and you won’t have a hand left.”
The man froze.
Norah stared at Tommy.
Roman emerged from the vehicle behind him.
His eyes moved from the stranger to Norah.
Then his voice became dangerously quiet.
“Get in the car.”
Norah shook her head.
“No.”
Roman looked at the man.
Then back at her.
“Please.”
The word startled her.
Before she could respond, the stranger smiled.
“Ask her what happened to the ledger, Roman.”
Roman’s expression changed.
Norah’s heart stopped.
The man turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Roman looked at her.
“What ledger?”
Norah stepped away.
“I don’t know.”
May you like
But Roman knew she was lying.
And this time, he knew she was terrified.
