An engine.
Not a normal engine.
A deep, rumbling,massiveengine that sounds like a thunderstorm rolling through the street.
I stand up slowly, my heart suddenly pounding.
I walk to the window and look down.
An armored transport vehicle is parked directly in front of my building.
Not a normal vehicle.
AnObsidian Aegisarmored transport vehicle.
Matte black. Reinforced plating. Tinted windows. The kind of vehicle that costs more than my entire apartment building.
The engine idles like a living thing.
And then it cuts off.
Silence.
For exactly three seconds.
And then—
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Unmistakable.
Each one sends a vibration through the old building, rattling the walls, shaking the floor beneath my feet.
He's coming up the stairs.
My breath catches.
No.
No, no, no.
He can't be here.
He ended this.
He threw me out.
The footsteps stop.
Right outside my door.
Silence.
I stand frozen in the middle of my kitchen, staring at the door, my heart hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat.
And then—
