A blinding white light beat against her thin eyelids. Faintly, a few bird calls chirped by her ear.
Charlotte Shaw pulled herself from a chaotic dream and struggled to open her eyes.
An unfamiliar room, an unfamiliar view from the window, an unfamiliar scent. Charlotte Shaw froze for a moment, then threw off the covers and shot up.
CLICK—
The doorknob turned and released, and the door was gently pushed open.
Willow Quincy walked in at a leisurely pace.
"You're awake?" He stood with his hands behind his back, raising an eyebrow at Charlotte Shaw.
Charlotte Shaw stared at him blankly. The moment their eyes met, the entire sequence of events came flooding back to her with perfect clarity.
The tire punctured by a nail, the stray cat that suddenly appeared in the alley, the dark shadow that loomed over her, the acrid smell of chemicals…
It all connected.
"Willow Quincy, you kidnapped me?" Charlotte Shaw's brows knitted tightly, her lowered eyes churning with overwhelming rage.
