She’s gone.
The suitcase I had Knight fill with some of Sofia’s things from her apartment is missing.
The burner phone I gave her is sitting on a freshly made bed.
And beside it, a note.
Thanks for letting me stay here. But it’s not working. I’ll figure things out on my own. Take care.
The paper crumples in my hand.
She left.
Shit, sheleft.
Anger surges, but fear knocks it out of the way.
She left. When there are still people out there trying to kill her.
Fuck.
I spin around and race out of the room, my heart pounding madly.
She left. Shit, she left. Because of me.
I grab my keys and my Sig, then sprint for the front door.
As I burst into the hallway, all I can think is,Please, don’t let her get hurt again.
Chapter Nine
SOFIA
I don’t know what to do.
It feels as if my brain is split in two.
Half—the angry, hurting, disappointed half—urges me to go. Not just out of Nico’s condo, but this fancy building where I don’t fit in. Out of the Upper West Side, out of Manhattan, out of this city that’s brought me nothing but fear and heartbreak.
But the other half…
That half has me frozen in indecision.
I want to go. But I’m scared to leave, too.
I wasn’t scared sneaking out of Nico’s condo. Or stomping down the five flights of stairs rather than wait for the elevator. As I stormed across the lobby, my mind one-hundred percent set on leaving, my anger was all I could think about.
Why did you ever think, even for a second, that he would believe you,my inner voice of logic reprimanded.How did you ever think living with Nico could work?
Did I think he would believe me? Not really.
Not when it’s my word against his father’s. And I get it. I don’t like it, hate it, really, but I get it. If the positions werereversed and my mom came to me with a story of Nico doing something terrible, I might have believed her, too.
Still. It hurts. A lot.
Just being around Nico was hard enough. But to hear him call me a liar to my face, to double down on those horrible accusations—I couldn’t take it.
I’ll take my chances out on my own,I told myself while I shoved my things into my sad little suitcase. A suitcase dinged and worn and undoubtedly nothing like the expensive luggage I’m sure Nico takes on his trips.I’ve been handling things by myself for years,I fumed.I don’t need Nico’s help.
