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I’ll be home soon.

When the bus neared my stop, I stood and crossed to the side door. After I let a woman with several bags board, I stepped off. The unkempt man exited through the other door a few feet away.

Clutching my purse and phone, I started down the street.

I could do this. I could get home without falling apart.

I walked fast, my heart pounding, but his steps matched mine no matter how much I sped up. When I heard whistling again, I opened my contact list for the guys, tapping a random name. My eyes were too blurry with unshed tears to focus on the screen.

“What?”

I winced as Cyn’s angry voice sliced through the phone line.

When I didn’t answer right away, he sighed. “Raelynn?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called—”

“What is it?”

When his tone shifted to concern, a broken sound escaped my lips.

“Raelynn, if you don’t tell me what the fuck is wrong right now, I will find you.”

I whimpered, whispering, “I’m… he’s following me.”

“Following you?” He paused. “No, I’m not putting it on speaker. Fuck. Fine!”

Ezra’s steady voice came over the line. “Where are you?”

I’d never been more grateful for his calm voice.

I glanced at the road signs and told him the street corner I passed.

“Why did you get off so far away?”

I sniffed. “I’m sorry. I—”

“Cut her some slack,” Ash said. “Little Blackbird?”

I choked out a weak sound of acknowledgment, tears stinging my eyes and threatening to spill. I loathed appearing fragile to them after what happened in the parking garage. Why was I falling apart now when I hadn’t before?

“I’ll come get you now.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll be home soon.”

I flinched when the eerie whistling started again. The sound echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once. I looked back, gasping at the sight.

The man’s face twisted, as if something beneath his skin tried to break free. For a fleeting moment, his features warped, and I saw the familiar hollow pits I’d seen on another last week. Then he was human again—his expression blank, almost dazed, as if he hadn’t changed at all.

I hated the way their faces contorted.

I forced myself to look away and keep walking, but his footsteps synced with mine.

The air squeezed my lungs, stealing my breath, making it impossible to answer the guys calling for me through the tinny speaker.

I turned a corner.

He followed.