Page 119 of Crushed Vow

I jumped out, cursing under my breath as I circled the car. The parking garage was dim now, only half the overhead lights flickering to life as dusk swallowed the city.

And then I saw it.

Two tires.

Completely flat. Ripped to shreds. The rubber slumped against the concrete, shredded like someone had taken a knife to them.

“What the fuck?” I whispered.

I crouched down, my knees trembling. Not a nail. Not a pothole. This wasn’t random.

This was deliberate.

I straightened slowly, pulse pounding in my ears.

The parking garage had emptied out.

Only a few distant cars remained. No footsteps. No noise. Just the cold creeping of dread up my spine.

My mind raced to Grayson. His cruel smirk.

Had he done this?

Had he slashed my tires to sabotage me—trap me—leave me stranded and exposed?

I scanned the dimly lit garage, heart thudding in my chest. The concrete walls suddenly felt too close. Like a stage set for something awful. My breath hitched as I imagined masked figures stepping out from behind the pillars, moving with gloved hands and zip ties.

I was alone.

With Manuel who had been charming. Soft-spoken. Polite. But still a stranger. And I didn’t know if I could trust him.

Every nerve in my body buzzed.

No one was coming.

No one except—

The monster who would tear the city down just to find me.

Cassian..

But I had just hung up on him. Told him to stop acting like my husband.

Panic clawed at my throat.

I looked over at Manuel, who stood by his car, his back turned to me, phone pressed to his ear.

Something about the way he stood—shoulders slightly tense, his head angled like he was listening carefully—made unease slide deeper beneath my skin.

I took a breath and forced my voice to steady.

“Hey, Manuel.”

He turned almost too quickly. The phone vanished into his pocket in one smooth motion. His face softened into polite concern.

“Charlotte,” he said, brows furrowing. “Why haven’t you left?”

I gestured to my car with a shaky hand. “My tires. They’re flat. Both of them.”