te

to roll up the window and drive away. But I knew she wouldn't h

ing me?" I aske

better things to do. Daddy sent me. He figured his pathetic lit

a chill down my spine. He was the on

She looked at me like I was a bug she was about to squash. "You

ed at her.

rger with the Chicago Raptors, of course. Or, more accurately, the ma

an whose reputation was built on brutal fights on the ice and an endles

Judy said with a flick of her hair. "I have Josh.

glittering with malice. "You," she said, drawi

e world was tilting on its axis. They wanted to

" I choked out.

bills? The lease on this sad little bakery of yours? Who do you think pays

he key in the ignition, and the old engine roared to l

and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving her standing there. I

y, telling me with condescending smiles that they had "arranged" a wonderful match fo

imagined they were serious. And I never, e

idea where I was going. Just away. I sent a quick text to Norah

ust above empty. Up ahead, I saw them. Two men in dark suits, le

's bod

shot through me. Th

s screeching, and turned onto a des

industrial park. The buildings were skeletal remains of facto

ulled my car behind it, cutting the engine. I

road without slowing down. They hadn't seen me. I

l. I checked the warehouse doors and

sweat. The cavernous space was filled with abandoned gym equipment-weights

uld be invisible. I curled up, my body screaming with exhaustion. Everyth

dull, heavy thud echoed from t

ke a body hit

ke, my heart poundi

else was

on the direction of the sound. In the deep shadows,