The world burned around us.
Smoke curled into the night sky, thick and choking, carrying the stench of gunpowder and blood. Alarms blared somewhere in the distance, the echo of gunfire fading as Kieth’s men cleared the last of Andrew’s guards. My entire body trembled, but I couldn’t let go of Ivy. Her skin was cold, her breaths shallow, her wrists raw from the ropes.
“Stay with me, Ivy,” I whispered, brushing her hair from her face. “We’re almost out.”
“Ma—Malia…” she croaked weakly, her lips trembling. “It hurts.”
“I know, I know.” My voice broke. “But we’re leaving, okay? Kieth’s here. He came for us.”
Ahead of us, Kieth moved like a force of nature — all black suit and blood, his movements sharp, lethal, unrelenting. Every time someone lunged from the shadows, he was faster. A guns
