On the right side of Evadne''s fire-red sports car, something mmed into her with brutal force.


    Thank God the freeway was almost empty-just her cherry-red coupe and that ck sedan tailing her. If an eighteen-wheeler had been nearby, she might''ve ended up as roadkill.


    "Shit!" Evadne gritted her teeth, sweat trickling down her brow. She couldn''t help but curse.


    Anyone with half a brain could see it: that ck car was gunning for her, on purpose.


    Jaw clenched, Evadne floored the gas pedal and yanked the steering wheel left.


    Another gut-churning crash-the cars scraped and sparked, metal grinding against metal, showering the dark highway in a burst of furious light.


    In that sh, sweat stinging her eyes, Evadne whipped her head to the side, trying to glimpse the devil behind the wheel of the ck sedan.


    No luck. The windows were tinted pitch-ck, and the night swallowed the rest. She couldn''t make out a damn thing.


    But suddenly, it all clicked.


    That ck car had been trailing her ever since she left the city, and now, just as she was about to reach the airport, it tried to take her out.


    There was only one reason for it—


    They wanted to stop her from reaching the airport, from finding Chasel.


    “Bastard! I''m not scared of you!" Evadne yelled, her eyes zing like wildfire. She wrenched the wheel and rammed the ck sedan right back.


    The frigid wind outside was drowned by the thunder of colliding metal. The crashes echoed in her bones. Whoever was driving that ck car hadn''t expected this-didn''t expect the girl they were hunting to fight back so fiercely. For a heartbeat, they hesitated.


    The clock was ticking. Her flight was minutes from takeoff. Evadne didn''t have time to y cat and mouse. She stomped the gas, ready to blow past him and leave him eating her dust—


    Then, a deafening BANG!


    The world spun. Her windshield shattered like ice, spiderwebbing so thick she couldn''t see a thing.


    The side windows blew out, ss flying everywhere—like winter hail, slicing her skin.


    Next, agony-her head exploded with pain, the world flipping upside-down. Her car rolled, spinning out. If not for the guardrail, she''d have tumbled straight down the embankment-no way she''d have made it out alive.


    Darkness swept over her in waves. Her ears rang. Every bone in her body felt like it was splintering apart.


    "Thaddeus... Thaddeus..."


    She was sprawled on the freezing pavement, tears streaking down her face.


    For the first time, the ever-proud, always-fiery Ms. Evadne waspletely broken.


    In that raw, aching moment, all she could think of was Thaddeus.


    But then reality crashed in.


    He was gone.


    The man who once would''ve risked everything for her, who shielded her from every storm-he was nevering back.


    Evadne gasped for air, sobbing,


    screaming, her trembling fingers et


    ove


    wing at the ground as she


    dragged herself from the wreck.


    Suddenly, a pair of ck leather boots appeared in front of her.


    Something about them felt... familiar.


    Evadne stopped crying. She tried to lift her head and see who it was, but the pain was too much-her body wouldn''t listen.


    Hans stared down at her, the girl barely halfway out of the wreck, looking even more fragile than the snowkes swirling around them. His sharp brow furrowed. He crouched, scooping Evadne


    arms. p in his


    “Let me go... I need to... find....... Chasel..." Evadne squeezed her eyes shut, but couldn''t stop the tears.


    Hans nced at his watch.


    Chasel''s flight had already taken off.


    His mission wasplete.


    And yet, for some reason, his chest felt tight, unbearably heavy.


    “Chasel, don''t... leave us..." Evadne''s voice was barely a whisper, her mind clouded by the crash.