AVA

He was sitting on the leather sofa, a phone pressed to his ear. He looked like the exact picture of a professional Marine, his posture straight, his expression impossibly neutral.

But the second his eyes landed on me, he ended the call abruptly. He didn't even say goodbye to whoever was on the other end.

He stood up, his presence filling the room. "You’re ready to go?"

"Yeah," I said, gripping the handle of my suitcase so hard the blood rushed from my knuckle. "Just going to call a ride and head to the subway station."

"Don't bother," he said, stepping toward me. "I'll drop you off."

"No, Brad,...