Chapter 13: Lines in the sand

The door clicked shut, but the echo lingered like a curse.

Nora stood in the center of the room, heart pounding, her mind a mess of betrayal, fear, and something far more dangerous, hope. She didn't want to believe Damien was one of them, part of the shadowy Helix organization responsible for the destruction of Team 3. But the tracker, the way he stepped between her and Cole, and the terror in his eyes… it was all real.

Damien raked a hand through his hair and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to her.

"Talk," she demanded.

He didn't turn.

"You owe me the truth, Damien. All of it."

"I didn't create Helix to be what it is now," he began, voice low and gravelly. "It started as a private initiative. A think tank. We wanted to develop tech that could predict political unrest, prevent terrorism, protect innocent lives." He paused, then laughed bitterly. "But you give powerful tools to the wrong hands, and suddenly you're watching your own creations kill people."

Nora stepped forward. "So you left."

"I tried to," he said. "Victoria, Cole, others, they were neck-deep in it. I started pulling funding, stalling projects, deleting files. That's when things went south."

"Team 3," Nora whispered.

"I didn't know Helix would retaliate like that. They didn't just wipe out your team to silence a leak. They wanted to send a message to me."

"And what was that message?"

Damien turned then, eyes burning. "That no one walks away from Helix."

Nora crossed her arms, but the tremble in her fingers betrayed her calm facade. "So I'm just… collateral damage in your war?"

"No," he said quickly, stepping toward her. "You're the reason I kept fighting back. I didn't want to care about anyone again. But you…"

"Stop."

The word hung between them.

"I'm not some fragile thing you can protect in the shadows. You should've told me from the start."

"I know," he said quietly. "But once I started falling for you, I didn't know how to stop… or how to explain all the blood on my hands."

There was a flicker in his eyes—guilt, love, regret. Nora hated that she still wanted to believe him.

"I should leave," she said, voice tight.

"You can't," Damien replied immediately. "They'll be watching the building. The roads. Your phone. You saw what Cole did, he planted a tracker inside my home like it was nothing. You step outside, and you're a target."

"So what then?" Nora challenged. "We wait here like sitting ducks?"

"No. We go on the offensive."

He walked to a bookshelf near his office and pulled it back to reveal a biometric scanner. With a press of his thumb, the wall slid open, revealing a sleek, high-tech panic room filled with monitors, encrypted laptops, weapons, and something that looked suspiciously like satellite equipment.

Nora's jaw dropped.

"You've had a secret lair this whole time?"

Damien managed a weak smile. "One of the perks of having enemies in high places."

He motioned for her to step inside. Nora hesitated, then followed him. The air inside was cold, sterile, yet somehow safer than the rest of the penthouse.

Damien sat at a console and brought up a live map. "That tracker Cole left? It's already pinged their servers."

"Can you block it?"

"I can reverse it." He typed fast, hands flying over the keyboard. "Let them think we're fleeing east. Meanwhile, we'll be headed somewhere they'd never expect."

"Where?"

"My father's estate. Off-grid. He left it to me when he died. Helix doesn't know it exists."

Nora watched him work, a strange ache blooming in her chest. He was dangerous. Flawed. Hunted.

But also—brilliant. Loyal. Terrified of losing her.

And she couldn't deny it anymore: she was falling for him too.

Damien paused, his hands stilling. "Nora?"

She looked at him, eyes wide.

"If we go there, it's not just about hiding. It's war. You'll be in this, completely. There's no going back."

Nora walked to him and placed a hand over his. "I was already in it the moment I stepped into your lab."

Their eyes met, this time, no secrets between them.

A siren blared above.

Someone had triggered the security system.

"Time's up," Damien said.

They were out of time.

But maybe… they were finally ready.