The headlights were off, but the exhaust was curling into the cold air.

Then, a second set of headlights appeared at the gate.

A sleek, silver vehicle turned into the yard, its tires splashing through the deep puddles.

I recognized the car.

It was Aries’s personal vehicle.

The silver car came to a stop next to the black sedan.

The driver’s side door of the silver car opened.

A single figure stepped out into the rain, holding no umbrella, his coat collar turned up against the wind.

It was Aries.

He was alone.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I watched him walk toward the warehouse door.

He was walking right into a trap, and he was doing it for me.

I scrambled down from the pallets, my mind racing.

Suddenly, the screen of a cell phone on the wooden crate near the chair lit up.

It wasn’t the guard’s phone.

It was mine, lying on its screen, vibrating silently against the wood.

The name on the screen made my blood run cold.

The screen read *Killian Vale*.