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This was the only window that opened in the building. The other ones were out front, giant plate glass. The doors were blocked. The window was sealed, and I had no way to call for help.

Think, Lena.

If I was going to go down, then I was going down fighting. This wasn’t going to be the end of me.

I could try to block the flow of exhaust. Slow it down long enough for me to figure something out. We had towels and aprons here; those might work. I’d have to hold my breath and go in stages.

Already, the exhaust was curling in under the door, and I was starting to smell it. Fighting the urge to cough, I took a big breath of the cleaner air and opened the office door, shutting it behind me. I might be able to keep that air purer longer. Not much, but it would have to work.

I grabbed whatever cloth I could find from the closet and tossed it onto the table, trying to get up onto the counter without breathing. Already, my lungs were screaming, but I could do this. I would do this.

The grate clattered to the floor, and I shoved a rolled-up towel inside it. Another one, and another one, slowing the flood of exhaust. There were other vents, and it wasn’t perfect, but it was better.

I dropped to the floor, barely making it out of the kitchen before gasping. The air in the front wasn’t much better, and I was starting to lose my sight. This was a city’s worth of smog in a single room.

For one second, I let myself think about Jude. He had no idea what was happening, and if he came back and found me like this, it would be Isaac all over again. He wouldn’t believe the note, nor the way I died—he knew me too well for that—but it wouldn’t matter. I would already be gone, and everything I’d been dreaming about would be gone with me.

I was trying to live in the moment with Jude, but it would be a lie to say I hadn’t thought about our life together in the future. After the moments we said I love you. I’d imagined us making it official and moving in together. Deciding whether to have a family. Growing old with that family and our friends by our side.

None of that would happen if I didn’t get out of here.

Hauling in another breath, I ran back into the kitchen, grabbing more towels and trying to block another vent. But the other ones were hidden behind things I couldn’t move while holding my breath. I shoved a towel into the crack behind the oven before escaping into the office. It was so cloudy in the kitchen, I couldn’t stay there. I needed to get out.

My eyes watered from the exhaust and the fear creeping in. I didn’t want to die. Not like this. Knowing Jude would take the brunt of it only made it worse. The person who’d locked me in here was shoving a knife in Jude’s heart, and I couldn’t stand it.

There was no way for me to break the window out front. I didn’t have anything heavy enough to do that kind of damage that I could also lift. Even if I could, I didn’t know if I was strong enough to make the glass break.

The front door was chained. No way through that either. The back was blocked, but it didn’t seem chained. If I had any chance of getting out of here, it was through the back door.

Okay. I could do this.

I grabbed a pen off the desk and pulled my shirt over my nose. Holding my breath was only going to work for so long. The paper was still on the counter. I grabbed it and scrawled a giant X over the words written there, and in the clean space, I simply wrote I love you.

If the worst happened, he would have that. I may not have been able to say it in person, but at least I would have said it.

Placing my hands on the back door, I pushed as hard as I could. The door moved, but not enough. Whatever had been put behind it was fucking heavy. The only thing I could think to do was to slam into it. I could do that. Then at least he’d know I tried to get back to him.

Backing up, I used the last of my held breath to run, turning my shoulder to shove into the door. It moved an extra inch before rebounding. But it did move. I had a chance.

I was out of air, and in my rush, I left the office door open. I felt in front of me for the door of the kitchen that led into the front. It was just a little clearer near the doors where all the exhaust hadn’t managed to build up. I took another choking breath. This was probably my last chance.

By the time I was running at the door again, I was already out of breath, but I threw myself against it anyway, praying I was somehow strong enough.

I wasn’t.

My body inhaled, forcing me to let go, and I choked on sickening, awful smoke. Dizziness drove me to my knees, limbs unable to hold their strength. I’d tried and failed. The tile of the floor was cold on my cheek. When did I lie down on the floor?

Nausea washed over me, my body seizing tight and trying to force out the exhaust. Dizziness pulled me down into nothing. This was what happened to people who shut themselves into garages, wasn’t it?

Something sparked. A garage…

I couldn’t open my eyes, and I was so tired. It wouldn’t hurt to sleep for a little bit, would it? I would try to open the door after I rested. That was all I needed.

A rest.

Chapter 29

Jude