The wind howling carried a bitter, biting cold that cut straight through thick clothing, but Ethan didn't feel it. He stood perfectly still in the shadows of the narrow alleyway behind Mara’s off-campus apartment building. The dim orange glow of the streetlamp barely reached his position, leaving him wrapped in a comforting cloak of darkness.
He stared up at the third-floor window. The lights were out. She had returned from the library nearly two hours ago, hurrying up the concrete steps with her keys clutched like a weapon between her knuckles. She was trying to be safe. She was trying to protect herself.
It was tragic how little she understood about real danger.
Ethan pulled a pair of thin black leather gloves from his coat pocket and slipped them on, flexing his fingers to ensure a t
