Chapter 623: Dubiety

The back alley was empty, and the sky darkened as Katherine confronted her stalker. It was about to rain. She could hear an ambulance siren from a distance, and her ears pulsed while her heart drummed in her chest.

"I'm not here to fight!" The stalker blurted upon sensing that Katherine was about to slice her. Her breathing hitched, and she pushed herself against the cold brick wall, not wanting to get cut.

Katherine's eyes were laced with fury. She'd been feeling so uneasy for days, weeks even. And then this happened. Her paranoia was slowly drowning her, and she was so close to snapping.

"Then why are you following me!"

"I…"

A loud noise from a moving truck at the end of the alley distracted Katherine a little. The woman took advantage of it and tried to shove her off, but Katherine pushed her back, refusing to let her go. "Don't move, or I swear I'll slit your throat faster than you can blink." Katherine gritted her teeth, the crease between her brows deepening as she glared at the stalker.

"Okay, okay. I won't move," responded the woman breathlessly.

"Tell me who you are."

"Remove the blade from my neck and—"

"Oh, you're not in the position to negotiate here, missy." Katherine smirked wickedly. "I make the rules. Tell me who you are, and then I'll decide if I'll remove this blade from your neck."

The woman swallowed. "I'm Chloe. I am—was an agent of Shadow."

"I figured that out already, but why are you following me? Whose orders are you taking?" Katherine questioned.

"No one. I'm on my own. I'm not taking anyone's orders. I came on my own."

"I don't believe you."

"I swear. I'm telling the truth." She muttered under her breath. "I-I escaped the day the base got raided. I've been on the run ever since."

Katherine huffed and pressed her arm against the other's chest, pushing her harshly against the wall. "You still haven't answered my question. Stop stalling. If you dodge my questions and go around in circles one more time—"

"I saw your profile on the main screen in Castle a couple of days before the raid. It was before I left for a mission. I overheard Parker ordering a soldier to capture a rogue agent. It was the first time I've heard or seen a picture of you. I've never heard Parker mention any rogue agents in the past, so it stuck to me. And then I saw your engagement announcement in a magazine a few weeks ago… Then I came to Esmea."

Not knowing what to feel about what she just told her, Katherine stared into the woman's eyes to see if she was telling the truth. The stalker stared right back at her confidently like she wasn't hiding anything. Katherine reminded herself that the woman was a Shadow agent. She had training. If she was lying right now, she was definitely really good at it. So instead of letting her go, she kept her on the wall. "What do you want from me?"

"I have nowhere else to go," cried the stalker. "The agents at the base were all taken. Those who managed to get away were on the run. I believe some of them were caught. I don't know where the rest are."

"Then run! I don't want anything to do with any of you." Katherine didn't believe her. She couldn't trust anyone outside of her circle.

Chloe gripped Katherine's arm and squeezed as she pleaded, "Please. You have to help me. I've been sleeping on the streets—"

"That's not my problem. You're an agent. I don't believe you don't have money."

"I have only been an agent for a month when Shadow fell. You can check my pockets. I only have fifty bucks left. That wouldn't last for long. And before you tell me to get a job, believe me, with the crime rate going up, no one wants to hire anyone who can't produce a clearance. I can steal, but I don't want to keep doing that. I already have enough eyes on me to add pickpocketing on the list of my crimes."

For a second, Katherine understood. She, of all people, knew how hard it was not to have enough money to eat and survive. However, this woman before her was a stranger. The one thing she needed was someone who could stab her in the back or smother her with a pillow while she was asleep if she took her in. There was just no way.

She shook her head. "Like I said, not my problem. You either stay the hell away from me, or I'll keep you locked up in a hole somewhere if I don't hand you over to the government."

A glint flashed across Chloe's eyes at the same time that a man's voice yelled out Katherine's name from behind the door. The voice was far and a little faint. "I'm here, Felix," Katherine yelled back. "Any moment now, and a few men will arrive. What's it gonna be?"

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway. Chloe pushed Katherine as hard as she could and fled. Katherine groaned when her back slammed against the side of a dumpster. The door swung open, then Felix and the men from Maverick Security came rushing out. 

"Are you okay?" Felix immediately came to her side, scanning her up and down for any injuries.

"I'm fine." Katherine winced. Her back probably hit the edge of the dumpster because it felt like it would bruise later. "She's gone," she said and informed Felix about what happened.

"Boss called me when he said you weren't picking up." He looked down at her hand where she was still gripping the knife. His eyebrows drew together. "There's blood."

She followed the direction of his stare, and sure enough, there was indeed blood on the sharp blade. The knife must have cut the stalker when she got away. "It's not mine," Katherine told him while she carefully handed the knife to him. "Have this checked and see if there's anything."

Felix took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around the knife. With his other hand, he led Katherine back into the building after instructing the security to secure the area. "You should call Damien."

"What did he say?" she wondered as they nearly reached the coffee shop where she left Alianna earlier.

"He said he's on his way. But you should still call him. He sounded worried over the phone."

Katherine exhaled a sigh, her chest feeling heavy with worry too. Damien must have been so worked up after her last text and then her not answering his call.

Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, and her hands began to tremble. She couldn't tell whether it was because of what happened just now or if it was the tremors.