ra felt a cold shiver run down her back, sharp as a knife. She forced herself not to look over her shoulder.


    The mountains here seemed endless, one after another, stretching on forever. With no phone on her, she couldn''t call for help. All she could do was trust her gut and keep moving.


    She walked and walked, until Dn''s car was nothing but a tiny dot behind her, almost lost in the distance.


    ra took a deep breath. She''d made her decision. No more looking back. She had to get away, and fast.


    The whole area was just dense forest and steep hills. Even if Dn sent a helicopter, all they''d see from the sky would be a thick nket of trees-nobody would ever spot her down here.


    She''d thought this through. Even if Dn tried everything, there was no way he''d find her.


    ra didn''t even know how long she wandered through the mountains.


    Eventually—maybe two dayster—she finally saw a few houses clustered on the edge of a vige.


    Her heart wouldn''t settle. Dn''s eyes when she left kept haunting her: half mocking, half amused, but also touched by something much darker, almost wild.


    She lowered her head. That look stayed with her every step, shing through her mind again and again, making her head ache so badly she could barely stand it.


    When she finally reached the vige, she just sat down on someone''s front steps, worn out.


    They were still technically in the Capital''s outskirts, so it wasn''t too remote. She managed to borrow a phone, but as she held it, she realized she didn''t know who to call.


    In the end, she dialed Scarlette.


    Almost no one knew they were friends, but Scarlette had connections-enough to help her right now.


    It had been two days since ra left Dn. She''d spent two nights in the mountains and, weirdly, didn''t feel tired at all.


    When Scarlette answered, she sounded shocked, making ra repeat herself more than once.


    "Wait, you''re saying Dn took you off, married you, then locked you up in Palm Bay, and you only just managed to escape?"


    ra nodded, then couldn''t help asking, "Scarlette, did you hear anything? Is Dn okay?"


    She figured he must''ve gotten out, but what if he''d been hurt?


    No matter what, she couldn''t forget the way he''d looked at her.


    Whenever she was about to


    copse, that look would sh in her mind, like something from the dark was chasing her. If she didn''tkeep moving it would pull her dow with it.


    "Dn? He''s fine, as far as I know. Nichs has been calm, and if something had happened, he and


    the others would''ve lost it. Palm ne


    brother Cam


    Bay''s been quiet. You looking for you, but didn''t


    ca


    but didn''t you post


    on social that you were going off the grid? I thought you really meant it."


    ra took a long breath and sent Scarlette her location, not saying anything else.


    Turns out, Scarlette wasing to a nearby vige for work and would be there in two days.


    They agreed to head back to the Capital together then.


    ra was determined to see Z. It had been so long since they talked-she had no idea how he was.


    She didn''t even dare to call him. She''d have to make it up to him in


    person, coax him face to face when she finally got back to the Capital, she''d do whatever it took.


    119


    She nced down at the red bead bracelet on her wrist. She''d never taken it off. She''d told him—as long as she wore it, there was still a chance for them.


    But then she thought about that day in Dn''s car, when they were being chased. Why had she kissed him in a panic, just to calm him down?


    Her head was a mess. She kept circling back to the Westhill Cemetery. What was hidden there? What had Dn seen that left him so shattered?


    No matter how much she thought about it, everything came back to that note: -Dn will definitely marry Tara.


    ra let out a shaky breath.


    He had someone to protect, and so did she. Maybe it was time they became strangers for good.