Chapter 324
Daphne
[HOST. DON'T.]
I freeze in my tracks, one foot hovering over the threshold of the parking garage elevator.
The concrete space stretches before me, rows of cars gleaming under fluorescent lights. Mine is parked three rows in—a sleek black statement of wealth and power.
[There is a bomb. Counting down. In your car.]
My eye twitches.
"How long?" The words barely leave my mouth.
[Twenty-five seconds.]
I don't think.
I run.
My heels are wrong for this—five-inch spikes designed for boardrooms, not sprints. I kick them off mid-stride, bare feet slapping against cold concrete. The elevator is too slow. The stairs are too far. I just need out.
I push harder. Muscles scream. Lungs burn. Twenty seconds. Fifteen. Ten.
The exit looms ahead,a ramp leading up, leading out, leading to life.
I'm barely through the doorway when the world explodes.
***
Vivienne
