I stood there, frozen. Raven was smiling. Like nothing in the world was wrong. Like she hadn’t whispered for help through a breathless call. Like she hadn’t written that word in red ink—HELP—on the back of a café card and slipped it into my jeans.
But I quickly snapped back to reality. No. I wasn’t going to be fooled by her smiles. Not again.
"I’m not falling for this, Raven," I said, stepping forward. My voice was low but intense. "You might be acting under duress. I don’t care how calm you look right now. Something’s not right."
She blinked at me, still smiling. "Mia, what are you talking about? You’re not making any sense."
"Stop pretending!" I snapped. "I saw the card. I saw the number. I spoke to you on the phone. I heard your voice—your breathing, your panic. Don’t lie to me."
R
