h was ove
ed through the narrow sewer pipe, the rough concrete scraping her raw knees. Above her, the grate of a manhole cover rattled as
imy floor, holding her breath until her lungs bu
ndred in the suffocating dark,
gh her arm. Finally, she saw it-a rusted ladder leading up to another manhole, this one
Cold night air, clean and sharp, rushed in. I
ting ground, and she was the prey. She stayed in the shadows, her eyes scanning every corner, every doorway. She moved like a ghost, using
ered steel door set below street level. It was a place she never wanted to see again.
amming it shut behind her and sliding all three deadbolts into place. The metal
finally giving in to the exhaustion and the pain. Her bre
mirror, a stranger stared back. A pale, gaunt creature with wild eyes, a bloody g
e cut away the blood-soaked fabric. The sight of the wound made her stomach he
ords echoed in her head. Lock down every undergr
s only o
swallow. The alcohol seared a path down her throat. Then, she took a deep breath, stuffed a corn
eclipsed everything else. A muffled scream tore from her throat, absorbed by th
n the small piece of metal finally clattered into the sink, she was drenched in sweat, trembling violently. She pa
ed mattress in the corner, her bod
d in a feveris
ousness, her world shrinking to the throbbing pain in her shoulder and the gnawing hunger in her s
cramp in her gut. She staggered to the small, ancient refrigerator and opened i
forever. She had to erase
rt-and stuffed them into a metal trash can. She added the last of the gasoline fro
cross her face, illuminating her hollow cheeks and the grim determination in her eyes
buzzing vibration s
e from under the mattress. The burner phone. A cheap, dis
o
out. The screen glowed with a name:
nswering was a bigger one. Ignoring a call from Sasha was a fa
her thumb leaving a
through the tiny speaker, sharp and furious. "I've been
whisper. She tried to inject a note of pathetic wea
plague," Sasha snapped. "He's back.
as she gripped the phone. Geoffrey. The owner. The man who pulled the strings of her life with invisib
, urgent hiss. "He wants everyone here. Tonigh
e desperation in her voice real. "I'm
ce? You don't show up tonight, Jasmine, and Geoffrey will send someone to
of. She knew the cold, quiet cruelty that lay behind his charming, philanthropic smile. Draw
ut on the mask, play the part, a
spered, the words tastin
rom her numb fingers. She was trapped. Caught between a hunter
der, at the crude dressing of gauze and duct tape. The uniform at The Onyx Club was a ti
anyone at that club saw it, they wouldn't ask
aster would come t
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