The ledger was still pressed against his ribs, its leather cover warm from his body heat, its edges digging into his skin with each desperate step. Cole's boots pounded against the concrete floor of the warehouse, the sound echoing off the walls in a rhythm that matched the frantic beating of his heart. His lungs burned, each breath a ragged gasp that scraped against his throat.
He had been running for what felt like hours, but it was probably only minutes. Time had a way of stretching when you were being hunted. The building was a labyrinth of corridors and storage rooms, its walls covered in layers of dust and decay. The air was thick with the smell of rust and mildew, the faint metallic tang of old machinery and neglect.
He heard footsteps behind him, heavy and deliberate. They were c
