“Open it.”
The lock clicked.
Lena did not wait.
She pulled the door open with shaking fingers and climbed inside, collapsing onto the leather seat like a child falling into the only safe place left in the world.
The warmth hit her first.
Then the smell of expensive cologne.
Then the sharp realization that she had just climbed into a stranger’s car with muddy feet, torn clothes, and a bruise blooming across her cheek.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, trying to move away. “I didn’t mean to dirty your car.”
The man looked at her for a long moment.
His jaw tightened.
Not with disgust.
With anger.
But not at her.
Outside, footsteps splashed through the rain.
A woman’s voice cut through the storm.
“Have you seen this girl?”
Lena stopped breathing.
The man beside her turned slowly toward the window.
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