21. The Scars and the Oath
TWENTY-ONE
THE SCARS AND THE OATH
NEVAEH
I sit on the edge of the motel bed, hugging my knees to my chest, trying to keep my insides from spilling out.
The threadbare sheets scratch against my skin, thin enough to see the mattress stains through them.
The room smells of stale smoke and cheap perfume, clings to my skin, a grim reminder of how far from anything safe I’d fallen.
The dim flicker of the single bulb casts long shadows across the dirty walls.
I hug my knees tight to my chest, my heart pounding like a war drum in my ears. Outside, the night hums. Distant sirens, cars driving past, a dog barking. Every sound twists my nerves tighter.
Once I left the safehouse on foot, I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. Which happened to be this sleazy motel, where hookers and Johns come in and out at all hours of the night.
I’m alone, angry, and confused. And worst of all, I feel broken. A small, ragged scar traces across my wrist. It aches like a raw wound every time I think about what happened. How did I get here? How did it all fall apart so fast?
I close my eyes, and the night rewinds like a cruel movie.
I wake up wrapped in Erik’s warmth. His arm is a solid weight across my waist, steady and real. His breath brushes my hair, slow and steady like a heartbeat I can trust. The rough tang of his scent is grounding me. For a moment, I can trust, everything feels safe, like I belong.
My phone rings. I reach for it, and the screen flashes Bria’s name. A voice I trust. Bria’s smooth voice is very convincing. “Nevaeh, you have to listen. It’s about Erik.”
Her tone is urgent, but it carries an edge I don’t understand. I climb out of bed, being careful not to disturb Erik, and tiptoe to the kitchenette.
“Nevaeh, are you there?” Bria asks with concern in her voice.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
She plays an audio footage of Erik shouting, his voice is sharp, cutting. “She’s a problem. She’s going to get people killed.”
My throat closes. “Where did you…”
Bria cuts me off before I can ask more questions. “He’s not who you think. You’re in more danger with him than without. You need to go. Now.”
I can’t breathe. My chest feels like someone’s clenched it with barbed wire. “Bria… Are you sure about this?”
“Nevaeh, I’m trying to keep you alive.” She says, her voice dripping concern. “He’s already decided what you are to him.”
I feel something inside me crack. Confusion, hurt, disbelief, all tangled in one.
I don’t think, I leave. I walk out with nothing but my coat, boots, phone, and my heart hammering against my ribs. I leave my laptop open, a part of me wants Erik to see. To know I wasn’t the enemy before I disappear. To hurt him where he gutted me, in the chest.
Hours later, I’m in this sleazy motel, the walls thin enough to hear every grunt, every slap, every deal being made in the rooms around me. It’s not until I’m settled in my room, with my phone in my hand, that I can breathe again and think.
I remembered the name of the last email sent to me from the Cypress Strategies Legal Team. I do a few searches and find what I’m looking for. The Cypress Strategies Legal Team, run by my editor, Bria, is a front for The Echelon Syndicate.
My mouth turns dry. I want to scream. To run, but they’re hunting me now. They wanted to see me broken and alone. I barely dare to breathe.
I’m not safe here. But nowhere is safe now.
It was all a lie. A sick, twisted manipulation. Old footage of Erik, sharp words hurled at a patch honey, twisted in the editing to make it sound like he was threatening me.
Bria did her job. She played on my emotions, my fears, and had me running from Erik before I could even think clearly. Her voice was dripping with false concern while her real allegiance stayed hidden. The Syndicate’s venom spread through her words.
My phone’s in my hand, the screen lighting up again, causing me to jump, but this time it’s not Bria.
It’s Lena.
I answer in a whisper. “Lena?”
Her voice is wrecked, breathless. “Nev… I don’t have long. I stole a phone. They’ll notice soon.”
“Who? What are you talking about?” My pulse slams in my ears.
“The men who had me. They called themselves the Syndicate. I heard them talking about you. About a deal.” Her breath hitches, the sound breaking my chest in two. “They found me again, but I got out. I can’t… I can’t stay in one place anymore.”
My blood goes cold. The Echelon Syndicate. The same people Erik’s been fighting. The same people Bria’s tied to.
Fear and rage slam into me all at once, so sharp I have to grip the phone tighter to keep from dropping it. “Where are you?”
“I can’t say. If I do, they’ll find you, too.” Her voice spikes with panic. “I just needed you to know… they’re not done. With either of us.”
“Lena… wait…”
“I have to go,” she says in a rush, and the line goes dead.
I sit frozen, staring at my phone with dread in my stomach. The Syndicate didn’t just put a target on my back, they put their hands on my sister again.
A knock rattles the door. I freeze. My pulse climbs into my throat.
“Nevaeh,” a low, rough voice calls.
It can’t be. Not after Bria’s voice in my ear, cutting me open. Not after the way I left.
“Who is it?” My voice comes out tight, small.
“It’s me. Erik.”
I press my forehead to the door, every nerve screaming at me to not believe it. But there’s something in the way he says my name, like it costs him to speak. My fingers shake as I undo the lock.
“I… I thought you were gone,” I manage to say on a croak.
Crusher steps in, eyes heavy with regret and pain. “It wasn’t me saying that about you,” he says quietly, each word a promise. “I never should have doubted you. I should have trusted you.”
My chest cracks open, but I don’t let him in right away. Not in the room. Not into my head. “You didn’t believe me before,” I whisper.
“I do now.” He steps closer, until there’s barely air between us. “And I should have from the start. I’m sorry.” His apology lands on my bruised heart like a salve. I see the raw honesty in his gaze. The weight of his own scars. Tears prick at my eyes, but I blink them back and sit on the floor.
Erik kneels beside me, his voice breaking with the weight of everything. “I was a damn fool to let the lies get between us. To let you get away the first time.”
I reach out, hesitating, then let my hand rest in his. “I thought you believed me.”
“I do,” he responds, squeezing my hand. “I believe in you. Always have.”
Memories of his lips on my body, his heavy breath across my skin, the desperation and want we both needed that night.
The way he made me feel like I was finally someone important.
I wasn’t a castaway or a throw-off. I was real.
I was a woman who was worshiped the way a woman should be.
Crusher turned my world upside down, and we didn’t even exchange names or phone numbers.
The silence stretches between us, heavy but healing. Finally, Erik stands and pulls me up. “We’re not running anymore. We take this fight to them. Together.”
I nod, feeling something fierce light inside me, the first spark of hope in so long.
“We swear it,” I say with a steady voice. “No more lies. No more hiding.”
Erik pulls me into him like he’s afraid I’ll vanish. I lean into him willingly, letting myself believe, for the first time, that maybe, just maybe, we can win.
Together, we will face the storm. Together, we will bring the Echelon Syndicate down.
An oath is made in the cramped, grimy motel room, not just between the two of us, but against the darkness that is hunting us both.