Page 43 of Ugly Beautiful Scars

Amateur. Fucking amateur move.

"Mike, where'd that guy in the baseball cap go?"

"He's long gone," Mike responds. "I followed him a block until he went down the subway steps. What happened?"

That's a lucky break. If Navy Cap was our stalker, he probably didn't witness my intervention. But the relief is overshadowedby the sight of Londyn exiting the apartment building. She collapses on the steps, shoulders shaking with silent sobs, fingers pressed against her mouth like she's trying to hold herself together.

"I'll call a cab," I say, already pulling out my phone. "Just come back and pretend you're taking a phone call. Tell her a cab will be here soon and you'll meet her back at the apartment."

"What about you?"

"I'll check the area for anyone suspicious, make sure Navy Cap doesn't return, then be back later."

"Alright," he says through my earpiece, no questions asked again. That's why I trust him with my life.

I linger across the street until I see the cab arrive, watching as Londyn quickly darts into the backseat. She doesn't look back as the yellow car pulls away from the curb. Mike follows in a second cab a minute later.

The city exhales around me, oblivious to the thunderstorm in my head. Manhattan at night is a lot of soft blurs: bright signs reflecting in puddles, steam rising from grates like urban ghosts, the distant wail of sirens dancing with taxi horns. A couple stumbles past, laughing too loudly, wrapped around each other. A food vendor closes his cart, the smell of roasted nuts and hot dogs fading with him down the street.

I start moving, no real destination in mind, just scanning side streets and alleyways for any sign of Navy Cap or anyone else that stands out. My mind replays Londyn's reaction on an excruciating loop.

The pure terror in her eyes. The way she recoiled from me like I was a beast.

I thought we were on good terms. She's the one who sought me out, insisted it had to beme. She said she trusted me. So what the hell was that reaction about?

It connects with the way she can barely look me in the eye sometimes and the extreme measures she takes to feel safe.

Something terrible happened. Something that goes beyond ordinary caution.

A cold droplet hits my face, then another. The sky has opened without warning, a sudden downpour that sends pedestrians scurrying for cover. The city blurs around me in dark strokes with spots of red lights. Eyes always watching. Like one of Sienna's watercolor paintings left in the rain.

I keep walking, letting the rain drown me. Maybe it'll wash away the image of Londyn's colorless, terrified face. That's something I never want to see again.

Chapter 14

LONDYN

THE CAB REEKS FROM A 'fresh linen' air freshener and someone's lingering BO. The combination turns my stomach, but it's still better than being back there with…

I press my hands on my thighs, fingers splayed wide, trying to ground myself as the taxi makes the short drive to my apartment building. Shops and people scroll past outside the window, their lights smearing together like someone dragged their fingers across wet paint.

The male cab driver keeps glancing at me in the rearview mirror. I touch my cheek and find plenty of black mascara streaking down my face.

God, what an evening. I'm shaking like a leaf in a violent wind. My lungs feel too small, struggling to pull in oxygen. Sweatbeads along my hairline; there's a chill deep in my bones. My heartbeat is a terrified rabbit, caught in a snare of my own memories. I'm seeing ghosts. I'm breaking apart.

The cab stops at a red light. Three more blocks. Two hundred and forty-seven seconds if there are no unexpected traffic delays. I count each tick of the clock in my head.

One… two… three…

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Four… five… six…

Even though I know Mike is following in the cab behind this one, my fingers hover over the panic button app on my phone. Sean showed me how to use it. Sean. Not The Director.Sean.

His name sticks in my mind, but his face—god, his face when he appeared in that hallway—it morphed and shifted until all I could see was The Director standing there.

But it was actually Sean. Saving me. Doing what I hired him to do. Doing the right thing.

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