28. Chapter Twenty-Eight Abby

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Abby

T he engine hummed a low, menacing growl as I felt the leather of the passenger seat cling to my skin through the thin fabric of my dress. Nathan's silence was thick, smothering the air between us as we left the deceptive tranquility of the Zhou house behind.

His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, his grip so tight I half-expected to hear the crunch of plastic under the strain. His jaw was set, a muscle ticking in his cheek.

Dinner had shaken him–understandably enough, given how quickly his father had flown into a rage–but I didn't take Nathan as someone easily rattled.

I cleared my throat to slice through the silence. "I can handle the initiation," I said, my voice steady despite the fluttering in my chest. The night outside mirrored the darkness creeping along the edges of our situation, but I refused to let it swallow me whole.

Nathan didn't even blink. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, his body a coiled spring, ready to snap. I pressed on, unwilling to let his silence deter me. "I've been trained for this. I know how to stay safe."

"Thinking you've ever been safe—that's your first mistake." His growl cut through the hum of the engine, sending a chill down my arms. His grip on the steering wheel tightened further, if that was even possible.

His words stung, a slap of reality against my wishes. I turned to face him fully, trying to decipher the shadows that played across his features in the intermittent glow of passing streetlights. "What's your deal, Nathan? We talked about this. I know what I signed up for. You're acting like—"

"Like I'm walking it back?" He interrupted, his tone laced with an edge of frustration. The car accelerated again, and I had to brace myself against the door. His profile was all sharp angles and taut skin.

"Exactly," I snapped back, unwilling to be cowed by his sudden mood shift. "We had a plan. I thought we were on the same page here."

Nathan's breath hitched, almost imperceptible, but I caught it—an inflection of vulnerability he'd never show under the harsh fluorescence of his father's scrutiny. His silence was heavy, an unspoken confession that things were slipping beyond his control, beyond our control. "We are on the same page, Abby. But this isn't about that. This is about my father."

I raised my eyebrows. No…he wasn't telling me everything, and I didn't fucking like it. "What happened back at your parents' house?"

"What do you mean? You were there–"

"I was there, but I don't have the full story," I interrupted. "There's something about him that's getting to you–so tell me what it is."

He shrugged. "The usual," he replied. "Look, my father isn't just dangerous. He's the scariest person you've ever crossed paths with."

I felt a chill run through me, despite the warmth inside the car. My heart raced, not only from fear but also from the frustration of being kept in the dark. I hated Kenny Zhou for the glimpses I had seen, for the iciness in his eyes when he looked at Nathan, and for the way my gut twisted whenever his name came up.

"Then help me understand, Nathan," I pleaded, turning to face him fully, my eyes searching his."You keep saying that, warning me, but how can I truly know if you don't give me anything real? Just speculation."

"Speculation is all you have because it's all I can give right now," he muttered, almost to himself. His words hung between us, a barrier as tangible as the walls of his father's empire. "And how can I trust you? How can I let you in? I keep turning it over in my head. You're still a fed. You still lied to me about…"

"Stop. I lied to you because I wanted to live."

The car slowed as we reached an area where the city's glow didn't reach, where the darkness seemed absolute. I took a breath, choosing my next move with the precision I'd been taught at Quantico. My hand, emboldened by the gravity of our stalemate, found its way to his thigh. The coarse fabric of his jeans was a poor barrier for the heat I sought from him.

"Maybe it's time you start thinking of me as your family," I said, my voice steady, despite the uncertainty that knotted my insides. "We have our secrets too, Nathan. Secrets that bind us just as tightly as your blood ties."

For a long moment, Nathan was still, his gaze locked on the nothingness beyond the windshield. But he made no move to push me away. His jaw clenched, and in the dim light of the car, I could see the battle raging behind his dark eyes.

"Abby," Nathan finally said, his voice a rough whisper that betrayed his inner turmoil. "You've got good family—your father. He's law; he's order. You should go back to him, get out of this mess."

His words stung, like he was trying to cut ties with a clean slice, but the tremor in his voice told me it was a struggle. I tightened my grip on his thigh, refusing to let him push me away.

"Listen to me," I said, my tone firm, "I'm not leaving. We're in this together now. My father taught me to stand my ground, remember? And I'll be damned if I run back to him just when things are getting real."

Nathan's eyes met mine, and there was something raw and vulnerable in them that I hadn't seen before. It was as though he had laid down his weapons, and all that was left was the man— a man caught between loyalty to his dark world and the sliver of light we found in each other.

"Okay," he whispered.

Then he veered off the freeway.

The night swallowed the cityscape as we took an abrupt exit that led us toward a darker, uninhabited area. Redwoods rose all around us, casting strange shadows in the fog.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked.

My heart raced, adrenaline coursing through me, but I kept my tone even, betraying none of the uncertainty that knotted my insides. Nathan didn't answer. His gaze remained locked on the road ahead, his jaw set in determination.

Panic didn't suit me; it never had. So instead, I reached for the calm that had been drilled into me since my early days at Quantico. I observed him, the way his hands gripped the steering wheel, the slightest tightening of his knuckles. Whatever was unfolding, Nathan was leading us straight into it, and I had to be ready for anything.

"Talk to me, Nathan." I kept my voice steady, even as I mentally prepared for a confrontation. "What's happening?"

But he remained silent, the muscles in his jaw working as if waging a war with words he refused to speak. In another life, I might've found the mystery exhilarating, the darkness an adventure. But this was no game; this was the reality of falling for someone who lived in the shadows—a man whose every move could be a matter of life and death.

I didn't know what he was going to do to me…but whatever it was, I was going to be ready.