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I took off, running like hell, the sting in my arm screaming with every swing. Blood from the cut dripped down my hand, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except putting distance between us and the men behind us.
The blood on my face was everywhere now, sticky and warm, rolling in beads down my cheeks, smearing into my hair. I could taste it again, that hot, metallic tang. I gagged, wiping at my mouth with the back of my hand, but it was useless.
I fucking tasted him. I tasted that bastard’s blood.
I didn’t have time to process it. I didn’t have time for anything except running. Vaughn’s men were pounding after us, their heavy boots echoing in the narrow alley. My breaths came fast, ragged, my chest burning as I pushed myself harder.
“Don’t stop, Eleanor!” Adeline’s voice was sharp, cutting through the chaos. “Just fucking run!”
Her words dragged me forward, even as my legs felt like they’d give out any second. My mind flashed back to years ago, to my father shoving a gun into my hands. His hands were shaking, his voice raw as he gripped my shoulders and looked me in the eyes.
“Run,” he’d said, his voice breaking. “Don’t stop, Ellie. Vaughn will kill you. You hear me? Run!”
And I had. I’d run that night, through the streets, through the woods, with his words chasing me just as hard as the men behind me now. I’d been running ever since.
I turned the corner, my feet skidding on the slick pavement. The alley opened up, spilling toward the main road ahead. I was gasping for air, my body screaming for me to stop, but I kept going. The pounding footsteps behind me were getting louder.
Adeline was shouting something, her voice raw and urgent, but I couldn’t hear her over the sound of my own heartbeat. My vision blurred with sweat and blood, my arm throbbing, my head spinning.
Then I saw it—the headlights.
A car came out of nowhere, roaring toward us. I screamed, throwing myself to the side as it screeched to a stop, tires burning against the asphalt.
“Shit!” I cursed, my hands slamming against the hood as I stumbled back. My heart was in my throat, pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.
Adeline was beside me in an instant, her face breaking into something that almost looked like relief. “Finally!” she shouted, slamming her palm against the side of the car.
The door flew open, and Adeline grabbed my arm, yanking me so hard I stumbled forward. “Get the fuck in, Eleanor! Move!”
I hesitated, my feet refusing to listen to the command. My mind was miles away, fighting to catch up with what was happening.
“Now!” Adeline bellowed, and with a sharp shove, she forced me toward the open door.
For a moment, everything around me blurred—the shouts behind us, the glaring headlights of the car, the sound of my own ragged breaths. Déjà vu hit me like a punch to the chest, the kind that stole all the air from my lungs. My vision swam as my throat tightened.
Dominic.
Just days ago, it had been him shoving me toward a car like this. Bunny’s car, screeching out of nowhere, his voice sharp and urgent as he yelled at me to move. Dominic had been the one pushing me forward, shielding me from the chaos behind us. Now, that memory was all I could see.
The déjà vu wrapped around me like a vice, the ache in my chest blooming into something raw, something unbearable. My eyes stung, tears pricking at the edges as Adeline’s furious voice snapped me back to reality.
“Are you fucking deaf?!” she shouted, raising her gun, her face twisted in frustration. “You’re so goddamn slow!”
The venom in her voice jolted me. My body acted on instinct, and I leaped into the car, scrambling onto the seat. The door slammed shut behind me with a force that made the whole vehicle shake.
Adeline threw herself into the front seat, slamming the passenger door shut, her breaths coming in harsh, furious bursts. She barked at the driver to go, her words laced with curses, but I couldn’t make them out.
I was trembling. My hands were shaking so hard they couldn’t find anything solid to grip. I leaned forward, my body folding in on itself as the taste in my mouth turned sour, bile rising hot and fast.
The car hadn’t even lurched forward when it happened. I barely had time to feel the shift before I doubled over and puked my guts out.
It was violent, my stomach twisting painfully as everything came up at once. Blood, bile, and the remnants of panic. It sprayed over my lap, my shirt, splattering against the seat and floor. Warm, sticky, acrid—rolling through my fingers as I tried to stop it.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Adeline’s voice was sharp and unforgiving, her words biting through the haze in my head. “Are you kidding me, Eleanor? Get a grip!”
I couldn’t stop. My body kept heaving, each convulsion pulling the air from my lungs until it felt like I had nothing left. My throat burned, my vision swam, and still, my stomach clenched, forcing out whatever scraps remained.
“Jesus Christ,” Adeline muttered, and I could hear her moving, trying to shift away from the mess. “You’re a fucking disaster, you know that?”
Then, a voice—soft, calm, cutting through Adeline’s fury like a knife. “Give her a break.”
The words were barely above a whisper, but they made Adeline stop. I lifted my head slowly, my arms trembling as I tried to wipe the vomit from my face, but it was everywhere—on my shirt, on the seat, on my hands. It clung to me, thick and sour, seeping into the fabric and dripping in strings to the floor.
Through the blur, I saw her.
Blonde hair, green eyes, watching me through the rearview mirror. The soft light of the dashboard framed her face, and for a second, my mind went blank. Déjà vu slammed into me again, harder this time, the memory of Bunny’s face flickering like a ghost in her place.
It was Bunny’s eyes I’d seen the day Dominic shoved me into his car. Bunny’s voice that had told Dominic, “I’ve got her,” as the door slammed shut.
My head spun, the exhaustion clouding my thoughts, twisting the present into the past. I blinked, trying to focus, but the lines were blurring, everything spinning out of control.
“Eleanor.”
Adeline’s voice brought me back, sharp and impatient, but the haze didn’t lift. I stared at the girl in the mirror, her calm gaze meeting mine, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I was still running or if I’d finally been caught.
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