Chapter 10: The Man Behind the Helmet
Cole stared through the window.
The motorcycle outside sat motionless beneath the dim streetlight.
The rider didn’t move.
Didn’t hide.
Didn’t leave.
Almost like he wanted Cole to know.
Almost like he wanted him to understand.
Bear stepped beside him.
“Who is it?””
Cole didn’t answer.
His hand tightened around the phone.
The voice on the other end remained calm.
“Still trying to figure it out?””
Cole slowly lowered the receiver from his ear.
Then raised it again.
“You’ve been watching us.””
A quiet laugh.
“Not watching.””
A pause.
“Protecting.””
Cole’s jaw tightened.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
The voice became colder.
“I expect you to remember.””
Bear looked at Cole.
“Put it on speaker.””
Cole hesitated.
Then pressed the button.
The voice filled the room.
“Hello, Bear.””
Bear’s expression changed.
Because whoever this was…
They knew him.
They knew all of them.
The man continued.
“You were always the smart one.””
Bear stepped closer.
“Show yourself.””
Another laugh.
“Still giving orders.””
Cole stared at the motorcycle outside.
“Why?””
Silence.
Then:
“Because Nia made a mistake.””
The room went completely still.
Cole’s breathing changed.
“Don’t say her name.””
“Why?””
The voice became softer.
“Because you still think she was the victim.””
Cole’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?””
The caller didn’t answer.
Instead:
“Ask the boy.””
Everyone looked at Eli.
The boy immediately shook his head.
“No.””
Cole turned.
“Eli?””
The boy backed away.
“My mom said never talk about that night.””
Cole’s voice softened.
“What night?””
Eli looked terrified.
The woman beside him closed her eyes.
She already knew.
Cole looked at her.
“You know.””
She didn’t deny it.
Bear’s voice became sharp.
“Everyone knows except us.””
The woman looked at Eli.
Then at Cole.
“Nia didn’t disappear because someone wanted to hurt her.””
A pause.
“She disappeared because she found something.””
Cole stepped forward.
“What?””
The woman swallowed.
“A truth.””
The caller interrupted.
“And she couldn’t handle what she found.””
Cole looked at the phone.
“Who are you?””
The voice remained silent.
Then:
“You really don’t know?””
Cole stared.
The man outside slowly removed his helmet.
Cole saw his face through the window.
And everything inside him stopped.
Because it wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t Marcus.
It wasn’t someone from Nia’s past.
It was someone from his.
Someone who had stood beside him for years.
Someone who had called him brother.
Bear saw the face too.
His expression changed.
“No…”
Cole whispered the name.
“Darius.””
The man outside smiled.
Then walked toward the building.
The door opened.
Darius stepped inside.
Older than Cole remembered.
Gray around the edges.
But the same calm eyes.
The same confident walk.
The same person who had sat beside them at every important moment.
Cole couldn’t move.
“You.””
Darius nodded.
“Me.””
Bear looked furious.
“You knew.””
Darius looked at him.
“I knew enough.””
Cole’s voice shook.
“Where is Nia?””
Darius didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at Eli.
“Still protecting the wrong people.””
Eli immediately moved behind Cole.
Darius noticed.
“That’s interesting.””
Cole stepped between them.
“Stay away from him.””
Darius sighed.
“You really don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
Darius looked around the room.
At the photos.
At the phone.
At the people who had been pulled into Nia’s secret.
“She wasn’t running from someone.””
Cole stared.
“Then who?””
Darius looked directly at him.
“She was running from herself.””
The words landed like an insult.
Cole stepped forward.
“You have five seconds.””
Darius didn’t move.
“You want the truth?””
“Yes.””
“Then you need to hear everything.””
A pause.
“Nia didn’t trust you.””
Cole froze.
Bear looked at him.
Darius continued.
“She trusted Eli.””
The boy looked confused.
“She trusted a child more than her own father.””
Cole felt the anger rising.
“Why?””
Darius looked at the old phone on the table.
“Because she knew someone close to her would betray her.””
Nobody spoke.
Cole stared.
“Who?””
Darius looked around the room.
May you like
Then slowly answered:
“You.””
