PART 2:

Rain hammered the alley behind the diner like nails driven into a coffin lid.

Emily barely had time to grab her coat before Adrien guided her through the kitchen. His men moved with terrifying calm, chairs scraping softly behind them as though this were nothing more than the end of an ordinary meal.

But nothing about them felt ordinary anymore.

The cook looked up from the grill. One glance at Adrien’s face and he silently stepped aside.

No questions.

No hesitation.

That frightened Emily more than the men outside.

The back door slammed open into cold rain.

“Black SUV,” Adrien said.

The tallest of his men—Viktor—already had the rear door open. Another man scanned the alley with one hand inside his coat.

Emily stopped beneath the awning.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Adrien turned slowly.

For the first time, she saw irritation flicker beneath his composure.

“You already are.”

Across the alley came the crunch of footsteps.

Too fast.

Too close.

Viktor moved instantly, shoving Emily downward just as a suppressed gunshot cracked through the rain.

Glass exploded behind them.

The cook screamed inside the diner.

Adrien grabbed Emily by the waist and pulled her into the SUV while his men returned fire with frightening precision.

Three shots.

Then silence.

The doors slammed shut.

“Drive.”

The SUV launched forward.

Emily’s pulse hammered so hard she thought she might black out. Rain blurred the windows into streaks of silver and black as the alley disappeared behind them.

“What the hell is happening?” she demanded.

Nobody answered.

Adrien sat beside her, calm as midnight, adjusting his cufflinks as though bullets were a minor inconvenience.

Only the blood on Viktor’s sleeve proved any of it was real.

“You got hit.”

“Not mine,” Viktor muttered.

Emily looked at Adrien again.

“You could’ve left me there.”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.”

The simplicity of his answers unsettled her more than shouting would have.

The SUV cut through the city streets, leaving downtown behind. Neon signs faded into industrial warehouses and abandoned factories.

Emily realized they weren’t heading toward safety.

They were heading somewhere hidden.

“You still haven’t told me why they’re after you.”

May you like

Adrien studied her for a long moment before speaking.

“Because someone believes I stole something.”

“Did you?”

One corner of his mouth lifted faintly.

“That depends who’s asking.”

The driver suddenly swore.

Headlights appeared behind them.

Fast.

A black sedan surged through the rain.

Then another.

Emily’s stomach dropped.

Adrien sighed almost tiredly.

“So persistent.”

Gunfire erupted.

The rear windshield shattered inward.

Emily screamed and ducked as Viktor fired back through the broken glass.

The SUV swerved violently around a corner.

Metal screamed.

One pursuing car slammed into a parked truck and flipped.

But the second stayed on them.

Closer.

Adrien finally reached inside his coat.

Not for a gun.

For a phone.

He pressed one button.

“Now.”

Ahead, a traffic light turned green.

A delivery truck suddenly jackknifed across the intersection.

The pursuing sedan smashed directly into it.

The explosion lit the rain-soaked street orange.