Chapter 044: Echoes of Betrayal

Ava's POV 

Eli's comments lingered weighty in the air, like a storm just about to strike. I looked at him, trying to find any trace of the man I thought I knew, but all I found was a stranger hiding secrets.

"You believe you're shielding me?" I laughed, attempting to cover the anguish that had jammed itself into my chest. "Keeping me in the dark will help? In lying?

Eli's expression softened but he did not dispute it. "Sometimes, Ava, the truth can do more damage than silence." His voice was little above a whisper, as though he were confining his faults to himself more than to me.

My pulse sharpening, I moved forward a step. Then prove it. Share all with me, Eli. Alternatively, us—" My throat stiff, I paused and said, "ends here."

I momentarily imagined he might turn away. He startled me, though, bringing out a little, battered notepad from within his jacket. He held it between us, his eyes full of unsaid warnings. "What's in here? Ava, this is scary. I had to keep you out of things for this reason as well.

As I reached for the notepad, feeling its weight and heaviness sink into my palm, my hand quitched. Opening it, my eyes skimming the sloppy scribble on every page—names, dates, locations. They were fragments, bits of a jigsaw puzzle that could not fit together.

"What is this?," said I asked, not sure I could speak.

Eli said, his black eyes reflecting a record. "Of every agreement, every betrayal, every name I vowed to guard and destroy if necessary. People I have had to collaborate with. Things I omitted to mention, not without endangering you.

I gazed at the pages, my head whirling as links began to develop. People I considered to be allies—names absent from the list. And then my own name appeared at the bottom of one sheet in the same handwriting but in stronger strokes.

Looking up at Eli, treachery coursed through me. "You monitored me?"

"Not." His face white, he shook his head. " Not like that. I aimed to keep you out of all this. But I knew they would be here after...after what occurred that evening in Boston. To remember myself—that is, for your own safety—I had to enter you here.

"To remember yourself?" I paused, my voice quivering with wrath. "Remember me as just another pawn in whatever game you're playing."

His eyes frantic, he reached for me. Ava, it is not like that. You are aware that it is not. But this planet—his voice tight—doesn't give a damn about love or loyalty—he looked at the notepad. Its focus is on leverage.

"Leverage," I said repeatedly with bitterness. It Tasted like poison, the word seemed. Though I knew better, I wanted to toss the half-torn notepad away. This journal served as evidence of our combined distance from each other.

"Why right now?" I insisted, and closed the notepad with force. Why tell me all this now?

Eli's jaw tightened and his eye grew sharp. "Because their relocation has been noted. And they are visiting for you, Ava.

The space became quiet. My chest felt weighty, my brain wriggling to grasp. "Who is coming?"

His voice tense, he said, "Elias Caldwell's people." "He is knowledge-based. I attempted to maintain one step ahead and steer him off our path, but I undervalued him.

"Caldwell," I murmured, as anxiety turned in my gut. The name was one I had heard just in whispers, a man with too many contacts and too much influence.

"He discovered you are with me," Eli said. And he will not stop till he has you.

I made myself breathe, think clearly. So, what then do we do?

Eli stepped forward, his hand hanging close to mine as though he were reluctant to touch me. "We run." Tonight This time, though, it is different. We leave this time not returning.

A knot closed in my throat. Then simply vanish? Give everything behind you?

His eyes darkened as he nodded. "That's the only approach to keep you safe."

I wanted to yell, tell him that I had created a life here one I wasn't ready to give up. It wasn't fair. Deep down, however, I knew he was correct. Given Caldwell's influence, staying meant jeopardizing everything.

"Fine," I responded, trying hard to swallow. But I'm not running without understanding what's actually going on. I gave him the notepad and fixed him squarely. " Tell me what you know about Caldwell and why he's after me."

Eli hesitated, then let out a slow breath, obscuring his sight. "We go back, Caldwell and I." Years: Though brutal, he was a mentor. enthusiastic. And he made it plain he wouldn't let me go without a price when I sought to distance myself from him.

I watched him and absorbed every syllable.

"He believes I betrayed him," Eli said, his voice tight. That I took something from him.

"What did you steal?" I Inquired.

Eli's teeth closed tightly. Neither what. Who? His voice changed to become kind. "Ava, you. Not mine, yet his universe was created to include you. I couldn't allow him to have you though.

The words knock me like a fist. "What...what do you mean,'meant to be?' You sound as if I were some sort of prize.

"Not a prize," he replied, his hand stretching out with fingers lightly brushing mine. A witness. someone who knows too much Though you might not remember, that evening you were with Caldwell in Boston. You witnessed his behavior. His range of capability. And that qualifies you as a threat.

Memories from that night flashed in my head, sights I had tried to forget, shadows I had pushed away, a cold slink across me. Eli knew exactly what she meant. Things I hadn't wanted to accept, even to myself, I had witnessed.

So all of this, I said softly, "was to keep me hidden from him?"

Eli nodded, his eyes fixed mercilessly. "I attempted to wipe you off his world, to protect you. I was not expecting you would be lured back in, though.

My will was becoming harder to feel. Although Caldwell was merciless, so was I. I had not intended to run indefinitely. Should it be necessary, I would confront him. Then let's stop running, I urged, staring Eli squarely with a furious determination. "Let's call this to an end."

Eli stared wider. Ava, not sure. You are ignorant of his potential.

Strong voice: "I don't care," I said. "I've finished hiding. Should he be after me, I will first target him. I am not doing it, though, alone. Are you with me?

Eli remained quiet for a time, then nodded with a little flash of appreciation in his eyes. constantly.

Though it was the only path, we developed a bold, risky strategy. We went over the darkness as night fell, my heart thumping with a mix of terror and will. Though we were aware of the hazards, this was our opportunity to put things right—to reject the falsehoods, the threats, the ongoing anxiety.

Eli grabbed my hand, his grasp strong as we got near Caldwell's mansion. "Stay close, Ava; whatever comes of course."

I nodded while my heart hammered. This was it—that which would determine everything. Ready to meet whatever was on the other side, we negotiated the darkness together.