Page 124 of Crushed Vow

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If I wasn’t already too late.

The street ahead curved into a dark stretch of nothing. No houses. No lights. No way this was the path to his house.

I was alone. Again.

And something told me... I wasn’t getting home tonight.

Manuel brought the car to a halt.

Then—without a word of warning, he stepped out.

“I’ll drive you home, I promise,” he tossed over his shoulder. No explanation. No glance back.

His figure retreated toward the darkened house.

It wasn’t late. But it felt like midnight had swallowed the sun.

I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust this.

I didn’t care if I looked paranoid anymore, I opened the door and stepped out. My heels hit the pavement in sharp, panicked bursts.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Faster.

Tap-tap-tap.

Then into a full sprint.

I glanced over my shoulder. His door was still open. But I wasn’t waiting to see him return.

That’s when my phone rang.

Cassian.

My breath hitched as I answered, mid-stride. “Why are you calling me?”

His voice came through ragged, strained, like he’d been holding it back too long. “You disappeared off the map. Where are you?”

I slowed, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I was tracking you, Charlotte,” he snapped. “And suddenly—nothing. You vanished. That doesn’t happen unless your phone’s off, or—”

A beat. A darker silence.

“Or you’re in danger.”

I stiffened.

“You were yelling at me,” I snapped, walking faster again, clutching the phone tighter. “So why are you tracking me?”

“I wasn’t.” His voice cracked. “I was angry you went out with another man. I didn’t mean—”

“You always mean it when it hurts.”

“I set out the second you left. But now I can’t find you. I’m worried—deeply. Where the hell are you?”

A bitter laugh escaped me. “Now you care?”

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