I stay in the living room, keeping my eyes on the man’s back. From here, I can still see the door, the hall, the stairs—every possible entry or exit. I don’t invite him to sit. I don’t offer him water. I let him stand there awkwardly, his hands hanging loose at his sides like he’s suddenly forgotten what to do with them.
“Sabine?” I call out. When I left earlier, I heard her alarm go off. She’s the kind of person who sets a dozen alarms just to make it to her eight a.m. shift.
I got to the bakery around six. It’s barely past seven now. She should be fully awake by now.
“Sabine,” I call again, louder. “Need you down here.”
No answer. Just the soft tick of the hallway clock and the low hum of the fridge. Mom might wake up too, but that’s fine. She’d understand if she knew what I was doing. Besides, if this guy really is Sabine’s friend, maybe she’s seen him before. She could help identify him.
The man shifts his weight, glancing at me. Like he’s just starting to realize how bad this looks. I ignore him and glance toward the stairs.
I raise my voice. “Sabine!”
Finally, a shuffle.
The man takes a half-step toward the stairs before I lift my hand.
“Stay where you are.”
A moment later, Sabine appears at the top of the stairs. Hair a mess, hoodie half-zipped, eyes still heavy with sleep. She squints down at us, confused.
“What the hell?” she croaks, rubbing one eye. “Why are you—”
Then she sees him.
And freezes.
My body’s already coiled, ready to slam that motherfucker against the nearest wall and search every pocket on—
“Oh god, Eli,” she breathes after a moment. “What the hell are you doing here?”
The man—Eli—glances at me, then back at Sabine. He forces a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. I take a single, deliberate breath to calm myself down.
If she’d taken even one second longer to react, I would’ve already jumped him.
And for a brief moment, I feel stupid. There’s a good chance I just misjudged the guy. Maybe he really was just trying to give my sister a ride to work.
But that’s all it is.
Just a moment.
Because I still don’t know anything about him, do I? All this confirms is that she knows him. That doesn’t mean his intentions are good. Predators often circle their prey, pretending to earn their trust. He could be doing just that.
Be patient, Cassian. The hunt’s not over yet.
I focus on every word he says, and how he says them.
“You asked me to drive you to work today, remember?” he says to Sabine. “I’ve been waiting down the street when your brother showed up to… ask about my plates.”
“Your plates?” she blinks, then stares at him, blank. “Oh. Shit. Work.”
Then it hits her like a brick to the chest.
Her eyes fly open. She spins toward the kitchen like her feet are already moving before her brain catches up. The slap of her soles against the tile is sharp, frantic, echoing into the hallway as she rifles through the clutter on the fridge door. She yanks down a faded calendar, scans it, and gasps.
“Oh my god. No, no, no. Fuck!” she groans.
She spins back around, clutching the calendar to her chest, her eyes even wider now, panic setting in. “I totally forgot! I was supposed to switch shifts with Dani today. I told her I’d cover the early shift. Shit, shit, shit.”
