Weakness

Chapter Six

Weakness

Emma’s Pov

The silence during the car ride was heavy, with an air of nothing-but-silence, a silence a bit thicker and heavier, like it smothered all breathing. My hand tingled still, but that was due to Alex dragging me out of Rihanna's house; however, the hand simply lay limply on my lap now. I was not sure if my trembling stemmed from what happened or some sort of tension exuding from Alex.

His jaw was set in a tight line, his hands clenching the wheel so hard I was afraid he would snap it. The look he gave to the road ahead-as if it had wronged him in person-made me curl back into my chair.

I wanted to say something, to ask him what had just happened, but the words caught in my throat every time I opened my mouth. There was something about Alex in this moment that was… different. He wasn't just angry; he was shaken, vulnerable in a way I hadn't seen before, and it terrified me.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Alex," I said softly, my voice no more than a whisper.

His eyes didn't leave the road. "What?" he snapped, and the word cut through the silence like a blade.

I flinched but pushed on, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Who were those men? Why were they there? And why did you look so-" I hesitated, looking for the right word. "Afraid?

For a moment, I didn't think he was going to answer me at all. His grip on the steering wheel tightened even further, his knuckles whitening. Finally, he blew hard out of his nose. "It doesn't concern you.

That stung more than it should have. "Doesn't concern me?" I echoed, my voice rising despite myself. "Alex, I was there. I saw the way you froze when they arrived. I felt the way you dragged me out of that house like the walls were going to cave in. How can you say that doesn't concern me?

He finally looked at me, just for a split second, before his eyes darted back to the road. "Because it doesn't," he said, his tone clipped.

I stared at him, incredulous. "You can't just say that and expect me to accept it. I was there, Alex. I'm… I'm part of this, whether you like it or not."

His jaw tightened even further, and he didn't respond.

It bubbled up in me, mixed with the fear and confusion I'd been trying to keep down. "Do you even care about what just happened? About what I just went through in that house?" My voice broke, and I hated how small it sounded, how desperate.

That seemed to get his attention. His head snapped toward me, his eyes dark and intense. "Of course I care," he said, low but fierce. "That's why I got you out of there. That's why I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?" I shot back, my voice rising now. "From Rihanna? From those men? From you?

The car screeched to a halt as Alex slammed on the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road. The sudden motion jerked me forward, and my heart was pounding in my chest by the time the car stopped completely.

He turned to me then, his eyes burning with something I couldn't quite name. Anger? Desperation? Fear? Maybe all three.

"You don't understand, Emma," he said, the slight trembling in his voice not lost on her. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, what I'm dealing with. Those men back there-they're dangerous. More dangerous than you can imagine. And if you get caught up in this, if they see you as a weakness… They won't hesitate."

I swallowed hard as his words sent a shiver down my spine. "A weakness?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.

He looked away, running a hand through his hair. "You shouldn't even be here," he muttered to himself more than to me.

The words cut, although I wasn't really sure why. "You think I don't know that?" I said, my voice trembling. "You think I wanted any of this? To be dragged into your world, to be treated like some pawn in whatever game you and Rihanna and those men are playing? I didn't ask for this, Alex."

He said nothing, and the silence yawned out between us like a chasm.

For a moment, I thought he might finally open up, tell me something, anything that would make sense of what had just happened. But instead, he shook his head, his face hardening once more.

"You don't need to know the details," he said coldly, his voice detached. "Just stay close to me, and don't ask questions."

I stared at him, my stomach churning with disbelief and hurt. "Don't ask questions?" I repeated, my voice rising. "That's all you have to say? After everything that just happened?"

He didn't look at me, didn't say a word.

I leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared out the window. My eyes burned, but I refused to let the tears fall.

The rest of the drive was silent, as the tension between us grew so thick it was almost choking.

When we finally reached wherever Alex had decided to take us, he got out of the car without a word, leaving me to follow him.

I had no idea where we were going, what was happening, or what was to come. I knew one thing: the man leading in front of me-the man I'd just about let myself be at the mercy of-kept secrets, secrets that were probably fatal.