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“I’m heading out.” I jerked a chin toward Yolanda, whose face was red, probably still fuming at me. “Calm down.” I tapped her shoulder gently before slinging my backpack over my shoulder. “You’re getting your wisdom teeth pulled today.”

She snarled at me.

“I’ll make you some soup for dinner,” Grandma said. “Have a good day at school. Be good.”

“Always,” I said, trying my best to sound normal.

“Yeah, right,” Yolanda mumbled with annoyance. She wouldn’t be defiant if I weren’t telling the truth. I didn’t know if she was dating her science partner, but she started this battle, and she had to learn how to deal with the consequences.

“See ya.” I waved at them and left the house.

I headed to a different destination than my high school, which was only a few blocks away. School wasn’t on my agenda for today. I needed to be somewhere quiet and made my way to a park with a public garden. It wouldn’t be busy during the school day. Though I had excellent grades, I’d played hooky enough times that my grandma would ground me for life if she ever found out. No one knew I went to this garden. Even I didn’t know why. It just gave me a sense of peace. It reminded me of my parents, who were expert gardeners.

Wearing my T-shirt and jeans, I plopped down on the grass next to the garden bed. A bumble bee buzzed by and hovered on a dandelion near my thigh. A sunny June day usually made me happy, but anxiety had clouded any joy.

How could I get rid of this? When would this fear and tension go away? Would those men come after me and my friends? Could I trust the man with the slash on his face? Why did he let us go? For all I knew, he could be lying and secretly following me and my friends.

Stop freaking yourself out.

If he wanted me and my friends dead, he would’ve killed us yesterday. It would have been easier than this.

Needing something to distract me, I stared at the vegetables growing in the garden. Grandma had once brought me here with her friends. They helped make this communal garden flourish. Anyone could come and get herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and other vegetables.

I’d learned a lot about herbs from my grandmother. I didn’t share this with anyone at my school. They’d make fun of me for enjoying something so “girly.” My video game buddies knew. They didn’t care about shit like this. We were all focused on video games—our escape from reality.

I took out the herb encyclopedia Grandma had given me for Christmas two years ago. It listed all the plants and their medicinal properties. Something about the plants calmed me. The way they just existed—minding their own business while the world went on—fascinated me.

Flipping through the pages, I hoped to find a plant that could cure anxiety. But I had a feeling my illness would take more than some plant. The lack of sleep was taking a toll, and my eyes drooped even though the sun was blazing down on the ground.

A car pulled up to the curb beside the fence and startled me. Vines and bushes made it difficult for people to see into this section. They often came to plant more vegetables using the quiet dead-end road because it had a walkway that linked it to the large parking lot.

I didn’t want anyone seeing me here. Not that it mattered. I wasn’t trespassing on private property.

A man’s voice cut through the silence. “I’ve wired the money to your account. Don’t mention this meeting to anyone—unless you want to die.”

The statement sent my skin tingling.Shit.I didn’t need to witness another crime. The whole reason I was hiding in a garden was to be alone—away from anymore crimes.

I froze as footsteps approached the fence.Please don’t come any closer.My breathing slowed, fearing they could somehow hear me.

The dense vines created a thick fence between me and the men. Somehow, I plucked up the courage to shift my body to an area that allowed me a view of them between the sparse openings of the vines and bushes. Even if they peeked in, I’d be hidden from them. Though I couldn’t see their faces, I noted the crisp black pants and shiny shoes.Theredshoes glared at me. I’d never seen anything like them. They looked expensive, bold, powerful . . .

Dangerous.

Red Shoes handed over something to Black Shoes. “These will make your bank accounts fat and happy, Councilor. It will ensure your reelection.”

“A reelection would secure our business in the long run.”

The men laughed and chatted about political things that bored the hell out of me. When they left, the way the red shoes hit the ground, like metal to cement, created an eerie feeling in me.

The horrendous red shoes were now etched into my mind like a dormant virus trying to infect me.

CHAPTERONE

KIERA

Bad luck was like a pesky pimple throbbing on my face. I was aware of its uncomfortable presence and just wanted to be rid of it, but it refused to go away. So when the airline representative named Katie—an anxious girl with blonde hair and hesitant eyes—apologized for misplacing myluggage, I wasn’t surprised.

What else can go wrong in my life right now?It was as though there was a gang of little devils flying around my space, teasing and testing me.