A sudden vibration from her phone makes both of us jump, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. I slip a hand into my bag, brushing my fingers over the cold steel of the gun I brought—just in case. Just to ground myself.
I nod at Diana impatiently, urging her to check the message. Thankfully, Vlad doesn’t seem to hear anything. He’s not even looking in our direction.
Diana carefully hands me her phone. The screen lights up.
I’m here. Come now. The others will arrive in less than ten minutes.
01:11 a.m.
He really did keep his word.
What the hell is wrong with him?
He couldn’t possibly be into Di—
No. Don’t go there.Don’t feed that twisted pedophile’s fantasy.
“You stay here. I’ll handle it.” My voice comes out cold, even to my own ears.
She clutches her phone tighter.
“We’re here because of my plan,” she hisses through gritted teeth. “We’re leaving together, or not at all.”
She’s getting harder to boss around. On any other day, I’d be proud of her for it. Today? Not so much.
“Di—”
Her name comes out low, almost a growl. But she ignores the warning glare and starts typing again.
What the hell is she—
No.
She hitssend.
I snatch the phone out of her hand.
I came out here with my sister. I wasn’t sure you’d be alone.
1:12 a.m.
“Diana…” I swear under my breath.
“You left me no choice.” She stands, reaching down to help me up, like she’s the older sister now.
I let out a long sigh. No point in hiding anymore. I get up, stepping out from behind the trash cans, gripping Diana’s arm tightly.
Not because I’m scared.
Because I don’t trust her not to do something stupid again. Not without my permission.
As we approach, Vlad’s gaze locks on mine. He’s clearly not thrilled about the unexpected plus-one. In our world, a plus one is the thing that gets us caught—or worse, dead.
His dark hair is a mess, and now that we’re close, I notice sweat pouring down his face. Like heranhere. Not drove.
He looks frantic, eyes darting everywhere.
Didn’t he say we had ten minutes?
