527 He's Here.

Katherine remembered that her phone buzzed earlier, indicating a text message had been received, but she hadn't checked yet. Opening her phone, she read the text.

[Damien: I'm out in the hallway by the stairs.]

She had been gone for a while and was supposed to get Amelia only to find those women trying to gang up on her. Katherine knew the other could handle it just fine, but she didn't like that the two women tried to bully her. Turning to face Amelia, she said, "We have to go, Damien's waiting."

The washrooms were designed in a way that the ladies' and the men's doors were opposite each other. As the two headed out and Katherine opened the door, the men's door had just opened as well, and a man came out from the men's room. She did not know the man, but her gaze was pulled towards the man inside the men's washroom who was washing his hands at the sink. Her hair stood on end, and then she swiftly stepped back, bumping into Amelia while simultaneously closing the door.

"What's wrong?" Amelia questioned, her brows knitted in confusion when she saw Katherine had gone pale.

"Parker," Katherine whispered to the other, her eyes growing wide as she quickly thought of what they should do. She swore the man had turned his head, but she wasn't sure if he had seen her before she could close the door.

"What?"

Without much time to think, Katherine pulled Amelia with her into a cubicle. She slammed the door shut and locked them inside. "Parker is here," she whispered again. "He's here."

Amelia, who heard Parker's name twice, felt like a bucket of ice had been poured down her back. Her hands clenched into fists, and she gasped when she realized something. "Damien!"

Katherine was also alarmed because Damien was just in the hallway waiting for them. Although the restaurant was huge, he could bump into Parker anytime. She could not imagine what would happen if the two met.

Thinking that they needed to get to where Damien was, her hand wrapped around the doorknob to open it. But before she could even twist it, the door to the ladies' room opened. She exchanged looks with Amelia, her hand letting go of the doorknob when she believed that Parker had entered the room.

They controlled their breathing, and their sense of hearing was heightened as they focused on the sounds outside the cubicle. 

Katherine fingered the hem of her skirt, lifting it up and slowly pulling out her two knives. She gave one to Amelia and held the other securely in her hand.

Their eyes shifted to the side when heavy footsteps echoed inside the restroom. They could sense a man's presence outside the cubicle, and the feeling of needing to survive washed over them. If worse comes to worst, this will be a bloody battle.

Just then, the phone in her hand buzzed. Her heartbeat raced as though it was nearly exploding when she checked and saw that Damien was calling her. She held her breath, knowing that her phone's buzzing sound could be heard from outside the cubicle. 

Footsteps grew closer until they were sure that the man was right outside their door.

"Katherine?" he said.

She gasped in surprise upon hearing the man's voice calling her name. And almost instantly, Katherine opened the door, jumping out of the cubicle with her hands still slightly shaking.

"What… What's going on?" Confusion painted Damien's face when he saw Katherine leaving the cubicle, followed by his mother—both of them with a knife in hand. "Did something happen? Why are your knives out?"

Katherine and Amelia let out a heavy sigh, relieved that it was Damien who came inside and not Parker.

"Why did you come here? Did you see anyone outside?" Katherine questioned.

"Who? I came because I got worried. You've been in here for too long. I thought something happened when I received a file from Markus."

Katherine told him what she saw in the men's room, but he reassured that he didn't see the older man outside. It could be possible that Parker went inside one of the private rooms. This was definitely unexpected. Who could the man be meeting here?

"First thing's first. We need to leave now," said Amelia.

The three of them headed straight to the basement parking while being discreet, making sure that Parker was nowhere in sight as they kept their heads down.

Amelia got in the backseat of the car, and then Damien opened the front passenger's seat for Katherine. He could sense that she was still agitated from what happened.

"Hey," he grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her towards him.

She exhaled the breath that she didn't know she was holding and embraced him, burying her face into his chest as she muttered, "I… I thought you would bump into him. I got scared for a second—I don't know what I would do if he got to you."

Damien understood what she was afraid of. Wrapping his arms around her frame, he gently caressed her hair and kissed her forehead. "I'm okay. Nothing happened. I didn't even see him. I wouldn't know what I would do if something happened to you. Both of you." He pressed another kiss on her head.

Damien's phone rang and he picked it up when he saw that it was Styles.

"Do not come back! I repeat, do not come back here!" Styles's frantic voice sounded from the receiver.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes turning dark as he listened.

"The agents are around our block! I don't know what else Parker had ordered, but I'm getting out of here. I'm already packing some stuff to take with me."

Katherine and Damien exchanged looks for a brief second. This wasn't good. They had no idea why Parker was here and why Shadow agents were surrounding Golden Phoenix Residences block.

"We'll meet you at the safe house. We're on our way," Damien ordered before ending the call. As soon as they settled in the car, they sped off into the traffic and headed out of Harbor City.