POV: Maya

I watched through the trees as they threw Liam into the SUV. Every instinct screamed at me to run back, to fight, to do something. But he'd sacrificed himself so I could escape, and throwing that away would make his choice meaningless. So I ran.

Through the woods, across a creek, over a chain-link fence. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out, collapsing behind an abandoned gas station three miles from the diner. I needed a plan. I needed help. I needed—

Liam.

I couldn't leave him in their hands. Couldn't let them take him to whatever facility they had planned. He'd given up...