We bolted down a narrow, unlit gravel lane that ran behind a row of commercial warehouses.

Nora switched off our headlights, plunging us into near-total darkness guided only by the faint glow of the distant highway.

Behind us, the headlights of the black SUV swept past the entrance of the lane, continuing down the main road.

They had lost us, at least for the moment.

Nora pulled the car into the shadow of an abandoned loading dock and killed the engine.

The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the sound of our ragged breathing and the rain drumming on the dented roof.

I reached down into the footwell, my fingers brushing against the cold plastic of my phone.

The screen was cracked, but the display still glowed.

Julian had hung up.

“Are you hurt?” Nora asked, her hands still shaking on the steering wheel.

“I don’t think so,” I said, brushing crumbs of safety glass off my coat.

My shoulder throbbed where the seatbelt had locked, but nothing felt broken.

Suddenly, the phone in my hand began to vibrate, the screen flashing with Clara’s contact name.