“We should go inside.”

“The lobby of this building is secure, and I have the keys to the second-floor apartment.”

Dominic closed the laptop with a sharp snap but kept his hand resting heavily on the lid.

“Let’s move,” he said.

We opened the car doors, the cold Manhattan rain immediately stinging my face.

I pulled my hood up and stepped onto the wet pavement, my boots splashing in the puddles.

The air smelled of asphalt, ozone, and wet stone.

We walked quickly across the courtyard toward the glass doors of the building.

Marco unlocked the heavy door, his eyes scanning the quiet street behind us one last time.

The lobby was warm and smelled of lemon wax and old paper.

An elevator took us up to the second floor in complete silence.

The hallway was carpeted in a thick, green wool that muffled our footsteps.

Marco unlocked the door to apartment 2B.

It was a small, clean space with minimalist furniture and bare white walls.

A single floor lamp cast a pale yellow glow across the polished hardwood floor.