“You’d be safe with a man like him.”
My head snaps up before I can stop it.
Doris nods toward the street.
“Same goes for the rest of the Damned Saints boys. They look dangerous, but they keep their mess contained. They don’t mess with locals.”
I glance down the street without meaning to. “You know them?”
“I know the town,” she says. “And I know who I’d rather have on my side if trouble ever came calling.”
It’s meant to comfort me.
It does, a little.
I’m still smiling when Doris heads back to her waffle truck, waving like she owns the street.
The day stays bright. The truck stays busy.
For a few hours, I let myself live likenothing is chasing me.
Then my phone buzzes.
The sound is small, but my body goes still like a prey animal hearing a branch snap.
My gut goes on high alert. My fingers feel numb as I pull it from my pocket.
Unknown number.
My stomach drops anyway.
I open the message.
I can’t breathe.
"I know where you are, Ava."
My vision narrows until the words are the only thing in the world.
Another message comes in before my brain can catch up.
"You think you can run forever?"
My hands start to shake. I taste metal.
A third message hits, and the world tilts.
"You come home, or Nadia pays for it. She’ll be back from college soon."
No.
Nadia.
My sister’s name punches through me like pain.
My chest tightens so hard it hurts. My ears ring. The bright little town goes blurry around the edges.
I don’t think.
