“I thought—” she whispers.
“You’re out,” I say again. “Focus on that.”
She nods, but her grip doesn’t loosen.
A heavy clang splits the air from the lot.
Metal skids across asphalt.
Then—an engine.
Ghost hears it at the same time. His head snaps toward the front.
I’m already moving.
“Blade, take her,” I order, guiding the girl toward him. “Stay with her. Nobody gets near.”
Blade steps in without hesitation, steady hands taking the girl’s shoulders.
“I’ve got her.”
I move fast down the hallway, boots striking concrete harder than before.
The front door swings open.
Cold air slams into me. The lot is different.
The space where Carly was standing is empty.
My stomach drops.
I scan left.
Right.
The concrete barrier.
The bikes.
One of them is tipped on its side.
Her helmet lies a few feet away, visor cracked.
No Carly.
Then I see it.
Headlights cutting across the far end of the lot.
A dark van peeling out onto the side street.
Rear doors shut.
Windows tinted.
“No,” I breathe.
Viper is beside me in a second.
