Page 6

There was only one chance for me to get out of here alive, and it wasn't even a good one.

Still, I had to take it.

Before I could second-guess myself, I bolted past him.

I didn't get far.

A dark laugh sounded behind me right before his gun fired.

The wall in front of me exploded in a cloud of dust and plaster fragments.

I screeched and jumped a mile.

Was he playing with me, or did he actually miss?

There wasn't any time to stop, to think.

Every instinct I had demanded I run.

My lungs burned, my legs ached, but it was this or death.

I turned the corner and ran harder, knowing he was right behind me.

I swore I could feel his heat on the back of my neck.

My stomach dropped as I hurtled around another corner so fast my shoes slipped on the tile floor, and I barely kept my balance.

A door loomed twenty feet ahead of me. I ducked inside and this time I was able to lock it behind me.

I wasn't stupid enough to think that I had won, or that I had gotten away.

But I had bought myself at least a few minutes.

The room was almost pitch-black, swallowed indarkness. The only light came from a small window where the faintest amount of moonlight pierced through the cracked-open blinds, casting thin, faded lines down the walls and onto the floor.

It wasn't enough to see clearly, but I had vacuumed this room hundreds of times and emptied every garbage can in here. I knew my way around well enough that the dim light was all I needed.

I was in an office space, a bullpen of sorts.

There were dozens of cubicles in tight little rows, each with their own desk, chair, and basic computer setup.

Silently dropping to my knees, I crawled through the aisles until I was somewhere in the middle of the room. Then I huddled under a desk and pulled my knees to my chest, curling into the smallest ball possible. It was the one thing I was truly good at…making myself invisible.

Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to calm my frayed nerves, but it was pointless.

Instead, I listened. Straining my ears for something that could tell me how close he was, how many men he had brought in to help hunt me down.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Just deafening silence.

No people shouting or footsteps echoing down the hallway right outside the door.

Not even a door handle jiggling.

Hope blossomed in my chest.

Maybe I lost him at the last corner?