Sofia almost turned around when she reached the front door.

Music rattled the windows. Someone inside laughed too loud. The bass hit like a second heartbeat. She adjusted her jacket, checked her phone—no new messages—and told herself she was being dramatic.

It was just a birthday party.

She stepped inside.

The heat hit first. Bodies packed shoulder to shoulder, people shouting over the music, cups raised, someone dancing on a couch like gravity was optional. Sofia moved through the crowd, nodding at people she barely knew, scanning for the host.

And then she felt it.

That sharp pull in her chest. The instinctive awareness that someone was looking at her....