t, itchy tracks on her cheeks. The violent shaking in he

shattered phone. She

eadlights cut throug

guardrail and pulled herself up, her legs s

stop, the sleek, heavy grill of

sn't

tor Kowalski sat behind the wheel. His face was a

," Victor said.

r across her face. She stared at Victor, her voice

ructed me ,he is handling an emergency s

rge

h. The sound was brittle enough to s

for Stella. But the sky was turning a bruised purple, and the tem

her shattered phone, and

blasted warm air against her frozen skin, a

turned her head, pressing her forehead against the cool gl

trial bleach and rubbing alcoh

l, right outside the VIP suite. Through the rectangular

bly fragile, her skin translucent agai

malnutrition. Post-traumatic st

chest. Guilt. It was a suffocating, toxic guilt. Five years ago, he had pushed her to run away with him. If he h

car. He remembered the look of absolute terror on Eleanor

spike of irritatio

on a dirt road was unacceptable. But his brain had shor

ocket and pulled out his ph

He couldn't face the sou

d Victor

istair asked the seco

hrough the speaker. "We are curre

idn't know he was holding. "Ma

hone. His heart was beating too fast. Why was he s

cared made the irritatio

or open and walked into Cordelia's room, forcing his mind to foc

Eleanor's broken phon

een lit up with

ped to answ

ost at the pin,

e was completely devoid of emotion. "Alistair sent hi

you want me to c

tion in the dark window. Her eyes looked dea

before Stell

e headrest and closed her eyes. The

ce. He had drawn the battl

e opened her eyes, the dead look was gone

ontgomery estate. But she w

as about