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t wasn't dark anymore. It was a terrifying, bleached-out white. Then the thu
old Alya H
city water splashing up her shins. The rain wasn't just falling; it was a solid wall of water, cold a
value she had in the world right now. In her head, the voice of her mother's cowor
happened. Flo... oh God, Alya,
ad nothing to do with the cold. She could feel th
The street was empty, a canyon of brick buildings and shuttered store
ising and falling cry that tightene
e had to get
b. Hope surged in her chest, hot and painful. Alya scrambl
d the rain-streaked windshield. He paused, his gaze taking in the sight of
e hit
ilthy water that hit her square in the
the back of her hand. The hope in her c
tic motion. This one didn't even slow down. The driver just laid on the ho
n on her cheeks. An image of her mother's face, pale and still, f
n't wait
ear-old desperation. She was going to ru
than the taxis. A black car, long and sleek. A Rolls-Royce Phantom. Not tha
She took a breath an
wet pavement, a high-pitched scream of tortured rubber. The
gainst her, knocking her off her feet. She fell backward, her knee cr
glare of the headlights. The en
sudden jolt had thrown him forward against his seatbelt. He glanced at the drive
he butterfly on her shirt, and then down to her knee. He saw the dar
ng a silent, steady rhythm agains
d the do
bodyguard in the front s
snapping open above his head. His polished leather shoes made soft sounds as
gh pavement, the pain in her knee flaring. Sh
s the storm, but without the
lded her from the punishing rain. The sudden silence, with o
just short of her bleeding knee. The gesture was si
istance. His voice, when he spoke, was low and
o go to the
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