Lina’s POV
The fall knocked the air out of me. I hit the dumpster lid, rolled, and slammed onto the wet pavement of the alley. Pain burst through my hip and shoulder, but I forced myself to move. The gas was already burning my lungs even before I jumped out.
Footsteps echoed nearby as I landed.
“Well,” the man from the car said, voice amused, “that was dramatic.”
I staggered up, knife still in my hand. My vision swam, but I kept it pointed at him.
“Where is he?”
He smiled like we were discussing the weather. “You really think he’s coming back?”
A car door slammed behind him. The man didn’t flinch.
I did.
A second later, two men stepped out of the shadows at the alley entrance, guns raised — not at me.
At him.
The man's smile dropped. A familiar voice cut through the night. “Ste
