'Are you serious?' Nina chuckled, propping her phone against a flower pot so Zeke could have a clear view. 'What's wrong with the beach?' Zeke's voice crackled through the phone. 'I don't like the sand. It always ends up in places it shouldn't be.' Nina smirked. 'Well, that just means you're doing something you shouldn't be doing.' A small smile played across Zeke's face on the screen as he shook his head, grabbing a bell pepper and rinsing it.
They had been on the phone for about an hour, Zeke giving her a lesson on how to make pepper chicken soup. Growing up, Nina had never learned to cook. Her father had always hired kitchen staff to prepare their meals. Although Nina had already been to Zeke's place, she appreciated that he didn't offer to come to hers or invite her to his.
Instead, he opted for a FaceTime lesson, which she found to be even more engaging. Giving her instructions on what to do with the bell pepper, he observed as she washed it before demonstrating the correct way to cut it. She mimicked his actions, slicing the bell pepper into precise pieces.
'Overall, I just find the beach to be boring. I don't find any excitement in sitting on the beach with the crowds, staring out at the water for most of the day, and let's not forget the birds.'
'I see your point, but I happen to love it.' Nina smiled, reminiscing about why she held such a fondness for the beach. 'I remember all the times my dad took me and my siblings to the beach. The way the sand clung to my tiny feet, the water washing between my toes, the contests I had with my brother to build the best sand castle. I remember my brothers burying me in the sand, and me crying to my parents, who would scold them to be gentle with their only sister. I think part of the reason I love it so much is the memories associated with it.'
The sound of the elevators opening to her penthouse caused her focus to be shifted from Zeke's voice, a jarring interruption to their phone call. No one could reach her floor without being on the meticulously curated access list, a list that only included her family. Even knowing this, a primal fear still clawed its way to the forefront of her mind.
Wasn't there supposed to be a guard stationed at the elevator, a silent sentinel against any accidental intrusion? She hadn't heard any commotion from the front of the house, so perhaps it was someone she knew. The thought offered a sliver of comfort, but it was quickly overshadowed by the pounding of her heart. Unable to bear the suspense any longer, she snatched her phone, her fingers trembling slightly.
'Nina, you okay?' Zeke's voice, laced with concern, cut through the silence, having called her name several times without a response. Her voice caught in her throat, 'I'll have to call you back.'
Before he could respond, she ended the call, a wave of panic washing over her. Acting on pure instinct, she reached under the island of her kitchen, her fingers closing around the cool metal of the gun her brother had strategically hidden in various locations throughout her home. She checked the chamber, the click of the cocking mechanism echoing in the otherwise hushed apartment.
With a flick of her wrist, she disengaged the safety. Taking a deep breath, she pressed herself against the wall that divided the kitchen from the entrance to the living room. The footsteps grew louder, each creak of the floorboards amplified in the silence, turning her blood to ice.
A figure emerged into the kitchen, casting a long shadow. Nina raised the gun, her hand shaking, aiming it directly at the intruder. But as her eyes met his, she quickly put the down, replaced by a gasp of sheer terror. It was Dom, his face pale with surprise, and Nina collapsed against the wall, her body trembling with the aftermath of the adrenaline rush, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Nina's breath hitched, her chest constricting as she tried to slow the frantic pace of her breaths. The past few weeks had been a relentless barrage of trauma, leaving her reeling. Her father's death, the chaos and gunfire at his funeral, the terrifying incident at the mall where she was shot at, and Domani's near-death experience – all of it felt overwhelming and impossible to process.
