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The oppressive walls receded behind me as I walked out of the prison, replaced by the vastness of the outside world, but a loneliness clung to me, suffocating in its grip. Fresh air and the enchanting smell of a coming storm were too light after the suffocating gloom inside. It seemed wrong that a world of liberty existed a mere stone’s throw away from where my father wasted away.
As I threaded my way through the labyrinth of parked cars, footsteps, measured and unhurried, echoed behind me. A shiver prickled the back of my neck, creeping its way down as each step became heavier than the last. The rhythmic tap seemed to mock my racing heartbeat, lurking ever closer in the silent space.
Over my shoulder, I threw a hurried glance. Vehicles stood like mute witnesses under the weak lighting of the coming storm, but there was no discernible figure. Yet the steps that had mirrored my own had stopped as suddenly as mine had.
Turning abruptly, I cut a path to the right, weaving between two hulking SUVs. The footsteps swung, matching my change in direction. Heart pounding in my ears, I darted behind three more cars and spun sharply to the left, attempting to throw off whoever might be following me.
The harsh echo of the footsteps skewed left as well, confirming my worst fears.
This time, when I risked a glance over my shoulder, a figure emerged. A hood obscured his face, hands plunged deep into the recesses of his hoodie. He stood with a predatory lean, shoulders slightly hunched, his posture casting an unmistakable shadow of menace merely thirty feet away.
Surely, no one would dare attack someone in a prison parking lot. They had cameras. Guards right inside those doors, maybe even perched at other locations. My eyes darted around, searching for the help I assumed was here, only to be met with emptiness. No guards in sight, and if there were security cameras, were they actively monitored? By people who would come running if they spotted an attack?
My hands shook as I fumbled in my pocket, fingers desperate to grasp the cold metal of my keys. A rising taste of bile burned my throat, the sharp sting of encroaching panic as I threaded the keys between my fingers, transforming the mundane into a makeshift weapon.
My feet shifted into a jog, and the man matched my pace, his footfalls a grim metronome.
I glanced back at the building, but running back to it would take too long—he’d catch me. The van was closer. The smarter option was to get inside it, lock the doors, and speed away.
I was only four rows away now, but he was gaining on me.
My harsh breaths synced with my rapid steps as I sprinted past the first row, then the second, and finally the third.
I was only a few feet away from the van when something dark flashed behind me.
And slammed into my back.
CHAPTER14
Luna
My shoulder collided with the unforgiving pavement with a sharp jolt, absorbing the brunt of the impact and shielding my face from the blow. Intense pain radiated through my arm a split second before my chest crashed onto the hot, rough surface.
I rolled onto my back with a figure looming above me. His face shrouded in shadows, he stood over me with an unsettling stillness, his piercing gaze fixed on me.
Each heartbeat thudded in my ears, deafening and frantic.
That’s the guy who was looking at me in the visitor room.
He had a ghastly scar that marred his face, a sickeningly white line that twisted and contorted into a grotesque lump of flesh, as if the wound had never fully healed, forever frozen in a state of agony and decay. But it was his eyes that truly chilled me to the bone. They were as dark as the void of space, devoid of any flicker of humanity, haunting me with their cold, empty glare.
And in his hand, he clutched a box cutter.
How the heck did he have that? You couldn’t get into a prison with a weapon, so he must have hidden it in the parking lot or his vehicle nearby.
Behind him, dark clouds battled the sky in gradients of dark blue and black, swirling together as if priming itself for the coming storm.
While down below, a tornado of danger whipped around me.
“Help!” I jolted to my feet.
As he lunged, I dodged his outstretched hand, pivoting to the right and reaching Sean’s van in mere seconds. The chilling presence of my assailant loomed just steps behind, that cold blade threateningly close.
My trembling fingers fumbled on the unlock button, missing it once before managing to push it on the second frantic attempt. Jumping inside the hot, stale air, I locked the doors, slammed my foot on the brake, and raised my finger to push the Engine Start button.
But before I had the chance, a rock crashed into the center of the window, causing me to shriek. Glass shattered into fragments with a symphony of sharp cracks and piercing pops, leaving a mosaic of shards in their wake.
I shoved my finger on the Start button, thrilled to hear the engine rumble to life, but just as I clutched the van’s gearshift, my assailant reached through the broken window, unlocked the door, and jerked it open.
