The scent of rain and cheap detergent filled the cramped motel room, a pathetic upgrade from the sterile fear of her dorm. Lily’s heart was still a trapped bird beating against her ribs. Five years.
Five years of looking over her shoulder, of jumping at shadows, and he’d just… appeared. In her sanctuary. Leaning against her desk as if he owned the space, as if he owned her.
A floorboard creaked outside her door.
She froze, a statue of pure dread, the greasy burger she’d forced down turning to lead in her stomach. It was just another guest. It had to be. He couldn’t have found her here. Not this fast.
The metallic scrape was unmistakable. A key, sliding into a lock that wasn’t theirs to use.
The door swung open with a quiet, terrifying sigh.
He filled the frame, his presence sucking t
