Outside, Christian gripped the steering wheel harder as he turned onto the main road. His thoughts churned. He wanted to believe she was safe here.
But the job had changed. It was no longer routine.
Too many pieces were moving at once.
He turned at a junction, scanning his mirrors. His eyes flicked toward the trees ahead.
And there she was again.
The woman.
Blond hair. Cold, unreadable stare. Standing beside a tree, half-shadowed by branches.
Something about her felt familiar—but wrong. Like a face from a nightmare barely remembered.
Christian blinked.
She was gone.
But this time, his pulse didn’t settle.
It quickened.
Christian dragged a hand over his face, trying to clear his head of the image of the woman by the tree. One second she was there, the next—gone. Just a flicker.
