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“Come on, I’ll take you home.”
We put on our coats and shoes and I step outside first, scanning the street in both directions for anything unusual, or any unfamiliar cars. I figure if someone had been watching us, they would have seen the police and left by now, but I’m not taking any chances.
We drive in silence back to Lila’s flat, where I park and walk her to her door.
“You sure you’re going to be alright?” I ask.
She nods, looking down at her keys. “Yea. I’m just really tired.”
Please invite me in,I pray.Ask me to stay.
When she doesn’t say anything, a small sigh escapes my mouth.
“Call me anytime, alright? If you can’t sleep or anything, I mean it, just call me, and I’ll come back. Alright?”
She smiles and leans in, pressing her lips to mine.
“Thank you, Marcus. For everything.”
“Good night, Lila.”
She unlocks the door to her building and walks in, glancing back momentarily before she disappears from view.
Chapter 26
Lila
Exhaustion wraps around me like a chain, each step a battle against the weight pulling me down.
Dropping my coat and bag down on the floor and pulling off my boots, I walk straight to my bedroom and collapse on the bed. The images from earlier have won the battle, burning themselves permanently into my brain.
A man is dead. Killed.
And those eyes.
I curl into a ball, pulling Marcus’s hoodie up to my nose and inhaling his scent. The subtle aroma swirls around me, calming my nerves just enough to allow some of the tension from my shoulders to ease.
I glance at my phone as I consider texting him good night, but my eyelids droop and my fingers loosen, dropping my phone face down on the bed beside me.
A moment later, a loud knock on the door startles me awake. An excited flutter rises in my chest and I jump up, my nerves managing to temporarily push back the exhaustion.Thank God he came back!
I run to the door and throw it open, ready to pull him in with an ecstatic hug.
In the span of a millisecond, excitement and gratefulness turn to horror as my heart stops cold.
A man stands in front of my door, wearing a black coat with a hood that covers most of his face. I go to slam the door, but he thrusts his hand out forcefully, stopping it.
“Lila, wait.”
Fear paralyses every muscle in my body.
How the fuck does he know my name?
The man lowers his hood and my heart rate skyrockets, my stomach tightening painfully as I see his eyes. The eyes that had locked on mine in front of the car.
My jaw falls open, unable to do anything other than stare at the person in front of me.
He has shaggy blonde hair, pale skin, and those haunting eyes, which up close look more dead themselves than terrifying.