Page 120 of Exposé

The heavy frame swung on well-oiled hinges, my breath hitched, my muscles locked in tight. Behind it, the safe gleamed like something alive and waiting.

My fingers hovered over the dial, slick with sweat, trembling.

Get it together, Ava.

Open the safe, look inside, and get out.

Three spins to the left. The numbers ticked past, each one a tiny hammer blow. Two to the right. The sound of my own breathing filled the room, fast and shallow, louder than it should’ve been. One more left.

Click.

My chest seized as I pulled the door open, slow and careful, my gaze trailing over my shoulder toward the door, then back to the manila folders inside stacked as ordinary as the morning mail.

I grabbed the first pile of loose papers and flipped it open, then grabbed my phone and snapped photos of each page, front and back. Paper rustled, sharp and brittle, like the sound of dry leaves underfoot.

One folder. Two. Three. I didn’t look too closely. I couldn’t. The air in the room thinned like the walls closed in.

Halfway through the stack, my phone buzzed in my hand. The vibration jolted me.

Unknown

The clock strikes one, the shadows grow,

Whispers in the alley, a chilling flow.

Footsteps echo, a warning shout,

"The Mayor is coming—get out, get out!"

Oh, shit.

The message blazed across my phone like a flare in the dark, igniting panic that surged hot and sharp through my veins. I snapped a picture of the last page and shoved the papers into a messy pile before cramming them back into the safe. The edges snagged each other, refusing to cooperate as if the documents themselves were screaming,You’re out of time.

My breath hitched as I twisted the dial—the faint tick of the tumblers amplifying in the choking silence. I forced out a rough, hollow cough as the lock clicked into place—too loud, toofinal. The sound echoed like a judge’s gavel slamming down.

Heavy footsteps drew closer, each one a hammer driving the nails into my coffin. I swung the portrait into place and dropped to the floor, my knees hitting the expensive flooring with a dull thud. Driving my hand into my bag, I pulled my notepad from my bag and placed it a few feet from my hands.

The doorknob turned.

A sharp intake of breath caught in my throat.

The door swung open.

"Ava?" His peppery voice drove a spear through my chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah-ha." I reached for the notepad, and I sat up on my knees, gripping it like it was a golden ticket, the back of my head slamming into the bottom of the chair. "I found it." I forced a sheepish smile, masking the fear snaking up my spine as my hand covered the back of my aching head. “Oh hey, Mayor Haynes."

Goddammit, that hurt.

"Again, what are you doing in my office?" Mayor Haynes’s face darkened, the lines around his mouth deepening as he studied me with the precision of a predator scenting something off.

I rubbed the back of my head and stood. "Oh,um, Margaret said I could come find my notepad I'd left behind. Didn't she tell you?"

“No, she did not." He arched his brow. "I don’t remember you leaving your notepad here.”

"Well, if you would've known it was here, then it wouldn't have been lost." My chest clamping down in panic. “Thank God your cleaner doesn’t vacuum under the chairs very well, or this little guy would’ve been a goner.” I waved the notepad in the air, forcing a laugh that didn’t quite reach my eyes.

Mayor Haynes's gaze suffocated me, his glare pinning me in place, causing my heart to pound harder against my ribs. “I’ll walk you out.”

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