Nothing. Not a twitch. Not a blink. She doesn’t even acknowledge I exist.
“Go away, Spooky-Boo,” Ria snaps, eyes blazing. “She’s not your problem anymore. I thought three days of radio silence would clue you in. Is your head a coconut?”
I glare at her, jaw clenching. “Stay the fuck out of this, Thumbelina.”
Tank inhales sharply behind me like I just set off a grenade.
But Adora still doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t even breathe in my direction. She’s pale, still, and something’s wrong. Is she sick? Dizzy?
I reach out, gently, just a hand on her shoulder — and shescreams. Fucking screams. Loud, like I just burned her.
I jerk back, eyes wide, mouth open.
“Ria,” she gasps, turning to the blonde source of evil. “Hurry! I felt something! Something touched me! I think this hospital’s haunted!”
My brain stalls. What?
She scrambles to her feet, wobbly and breathless, still not sparing me a single look. Her eyes are on Ria like I don’t even exist.
“Run, Ria, run!” she yells, flailing her arms like she’s in a low-budget horror movie. Then she limps away. Full speed.
Ria’s right behind her, sprinting like she’s been waiting for this moment her whole life.
The nurse is frozen. “Please don’t run, Miss! You’re not cleared for—!”
Too late.
Tank bursts into laughter. “You’re so fucking screwed,” he mutters, jogging after them.
I’m still standing there, processing what the fuck just happened, when I realize they’re already out the doors.
I break into a run.
Aaaand I’m late. Griffin’s outside. Van idling, door open.
She slips inside and they’re gone. Just like that.
And I know, I just know — the fight of my life starts now.
I follow the van on my bike, tires eating the road, fury chewing through my veins. They head straight to Ria’s shop. I remember Tank mentioning she has a place above it, second floor.
This fucking woman. I didn’t think she’d take Adora in. Didn’t plan for it. And that little stunt at the hospital? What the fuck was that?
I feel like I’m stuck playing checkers while they’re out here playing 4D chess. Like they’ve already mapped the whole damn board ten moves ahead and I’m just scrambling after them.
I park the second they do, Tank pulling in beside me, stone-faced.
“Adora!” I bark the second she’s out of the van. “What is going on? What the hell was that performance at the hospital?”
She doesn’t give me anything, not one fucking twitch. She just walks, calm, like I’m nothing more than background noise. Not even that.
“Thanks, Griffin!” she calls over her shoulder, her voice like fucking honey. “See you tomorrow for coffee.”
She smiles at him. Sweet. Soft. Sweet!!!
That motherfucker grins back, completely unfazed by the fury radiating off me like fire. Just gives me a lazy shrug before walking away. He’s playing with Death. I glare daggers at his back, but I don’t have time to turn him into a cautionary tale. Not yet.
I stalk toward Adora, jaw tight, ready to grab her attention and demand some goddamn answers out of her, when Ria steps right in front of me. Arms crossed, hair bouncing like she’s in a shampoo commercial. She's five foot nothing and somehow blocks out the sun.
