We arrived home, and the silence of the mansion was the first thing that hit me. It was a heavy, expectant silence, broken only by the synchronized, ragged breathing of two people who had spent the last hour on the verge of a violent explosion.
I looked around the foyer, my eyes darting toward the empty coat rack and the still kitchen. "Mom isn't home..." I managed to whisper, my voice cracking with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. "She must be out with the committee. We're alone—"
The words were barely out of my mouth before the world turned upside down.
Collins didn’t just move; he blurred. In a heartbeat, he had me pinned against the heavy oak front door. The impact made the wood groan, and the decorative glass panes rattled in their frames. He slammed his hands on either side of my
