Page 17 of Rescuing Mia

I can’t go out the front, can’t risk running into Lena if she’s still alive, but then I realize—the front door is the only other exit.

If Lena is still in the alley…

I change course, hurling myself toward the front of the café, shouldering past shocked patrons. I burst out onto the street, turning left, away from the alley where Lena fell.

But the street is packed, the crowd surging in the opposite direction, a river of drunken revelers and partygoers impeding my progress. It’s like trying to swim upstream.

Each second feels like an eternity, my heart pounding in my ears and my breath coming in short, panicked gasps as I shove and elbow my way through the press of bodies. Every face in the crowd seems to hide a threat.

Every shadow conceals an enemy.

I stumble, trying to catch my breath.

Terror courses through my veins, a living thing that threatens to consume me. I’m in a nightmare, running for my life, my feet moving but never fast enough. The faces of the people around me blur together, a sea of strangers who can’t possibly understand the danger I’m in.

I clutch my backpack to my chest, the weight of it grounding me even as my mind spins out of control. It’s all I have left of Agent Torres, the man who died trying to help me.

The man whose blood is still warm and sticky on my skin.

A sob builds in my throat, but I swallow it down. I can’t let fear and grief overtake me.

I have to keep moving.

After what feels like hours, but can only be minutes, I spot a shop ahead, its windows dark. I lunge for the door, nearly sobbing with relief when I find it unlocked.

I spot a sign for the restrooms and, on unsteady legs, make myway toward it, shouldering through the door and into the women’s room.

Thankfully, it’s empty. I slam the door shut behind me, sliding the lock into place with trembling fingers.

For a long moment, I just stand there, my heart slamming against my ribs and my breath coming in ragged gasps. The world spins around me, and I press my hands to my face, trying to hold myself together.

But it’s no use.

The sobs come then, tearing out of me in great, wracking spasms that leave me gasping for air. I slide down the wall, my knees drawing up to my chest as I cry, the weight of everything that’s happened crashing down on me like a physical blow.

My contact is dead.

Lena, if that really is her name, is after me.

And I’m alone, hunted, with no one to turn to and nowhere to go.

My secrets feel like a noose around my neck, tightening with every passing second.

And for the first time since this nightmare began, I feel the cold, creeping tendrils of true despair wrapping around my heart.

Because I don’t know if I can do this.

I don’t know if I can survive.

Chapter Ten

MIA

I leanagainst the locked door of the women’s restroom for what seems forever. The adrenaline that fueled my escape is starting to ebb, leaving me shaking and nauseous.

With trembling hands, I make my way to the sink, gripping the edges of the cold porcelain to steady myself. I risk a glance in the mirror and barely recognize the woman staring back at me.

My face is smeared with blood, a macabre mask that speaks to the horror I just witnessed. Dark strands of hair cling to my sweat-dampened skin, and my eyes are wide and haunted, the eyes of a hunted animal.

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