(Eleanor's POV)
The car door clicked shut behind me, and the sound felt too definitive given how quickly everything was unfolding.
Elise was already seated in the driver’s position, focused on the road, both hands firmly gripping the wheel as if this were just another routine drive.
The silence weighed heavily on me until it became almost unbearable.
“Why did you have a gun?” I asked, my voice coming out softer than I intended. “Back there. With Marcus.”
Elise didn’t glance my way.
“Because he was going to hurt you,” she replied matter-of-factly. “And that’s not part of my job.”
I didn’t press further. I wasn’t really shocked, though. Elise worked for Marcus; that much was clear. I still didn’t fully understand what Marcus was capable of, but the way Elise maintained her express
