He takes one step inside. Then another. Slow. Measured. Closing distance.
“No,” he says softly. “I don’t think I will.”
My adrenaline spikes, but my mind stays sharp.
“Conrad,” I say into the radio without looking away from him. “We have an intruder inside the bookstore. Repeat—intruder inside.”
The man’s smile widens slightly.
“Smart,” he murmurs. “But not fast enough.”
He moves. Not like a human. Too fast. Too direct. Straight for me. I react without thinking, shoving the counter between us as I grab the alarm switch beneath it and slam my hand down. A piercing siren erupts through the building. The sound cuts through everything. Through the radio chatter. Through the tension. Through him. For a split second, it throws him off. That’s all I need. I move. Not away. Around. Keeping distance. Forcing him to track me.
“You’re not taking me anywhere,” I snap.
His eyes flash. There it is. The truth beneath the disguise. Felix Navarro. I don’t know how I know. But I do.
“You’re important,” he says, circling slightly, adjusting to my movement. “More than you realize.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I shoot back.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
He lunges again. I grab the nearest thing I can—a heavy book—and throw it straight at his face. It doesn’t stop him. But it slows him. Enough. I dart toward the back exit. He cuts me off. Faster. Stronger. Too close. His hand catches my arm. Grip like iron. Pain shoots up my shoulder.
I twist hard, using momentum instead of strength, slamming my free hand into his throat.
It doesn’t do much. But it’s enough to break his grip. I yank free and stumble back, heart pounding.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” he says, irritation slipping into his voice now.
“Good,” I fire back.
The alarm continues blaring. Loud. Relentless. A signal. Not just to the town. To Archer.
To everyone. Felix hears it too. His expression shifts slightly. Calculating. Time is no longer on his side.
“You’re not worth losing the opportunity,” he says quietly.
I don’t like the way he says that. Like this was one move in a larger game. Like I’m a piece. Not the objective. Footsteps pound outside. Fast. Closing in. Felix hears them. So do I.
He exhales once, sharp.
“Another time,” he says.
Then he moves. Not toward me. Toward the door. Gone. When I reach the front, he’s already disappeared into the street. Just like that. Like he was never here. Except he was. And he almost?—
The door slams open. Archer. He’s inside in an instant, eyes scanning the room, locking onto me.
“Tessa.”
“I’m okay,” I say immediately, even though my arm still aches and my pulse hasn’t slowed.
“What happened?” he demands.
“Felix Navarro,” I say. “He came for me.”
Something dangerous flashes across Archer’s face.
