Ronan's POV

The road stilled beneath the tires, gravel crunching low as Colt eased the car to a halt.

We were here.

“Not what I expected.”

Not some forest cabin, not an off-grid bunker buried in the mountains. No — this was a busy corner of a half-alive town, neon signs blinking at rusting traffic poles. A narrow street filled with stores that looked abandoned and lived-in at the same time.

It was a contradiction: loud, cluttered, but hiding something it didn’t want you to see.

A ghost town that was still alive, barely.

I stared out the window.

Then cracked it open an inch.

The air was oddly fresh....