Chapter 3

I forced a smile and tried to sound casual. "Gabriel just called. His girlfriend's threatening to break up with him, and he wants me to grab a few drinks with him."

Even as I spoke, my teeth wouldn't stop chattering.

They stood there staring at me, neither of them saying a word. As the silence stretched on, I began to wonder if I would make it out of that hallway alive.

Then "Mom" finally spoke. "Go ahead. Just make sure you're home early."

Her lips pulled into a cold, mechanical smile.

I froze.

Were they really going to let me leave that easily?

I didn't have time to question it. All that mattered was getting out alive.

The next second, I bolted out of the entertainment center. I was running so fast, even an Olympic sprinter would've struggled to catch me.

I hadn't made it far when I nearly collided with Gabriel coming the other way.

The moment he saw the panic on my face, concern flooded his expression. "Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"

I shook my head, struggling to catch my breath. "Let's get out of here first."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him into a cab waiting at the curb.

"You look like you're about to pass out. Drink some water." He handed me a bottle, and I took it, draining more than half of it in a few gulps.

Once I had caught my breath, I told him everything that had happened.

"Try to calm down." He rested a hand on my shoulder. "You can stay at my place for the next few days while we figure this out. I have a feeling there's more to this than we realize."

I nodded, and some of the tension finally left my body.

By the time we reached Gabriel's place, I was exhausted.

Whether it was from everything that had happened or from being on edge all day, I stretched out on the couch and fell asleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, Gabriel had already made dinner.

"Go wash your hands. Dinner's ready."

I sat up and glanced at the food on the table.

Leave it to Gabriel. Not a single dish looked edible.

"You're lucky I cooked for you at all, and you're still judging me?" he said while rolling his eyes.

I grinned. "Anything you make has to be good. Just watch me clean every plate tonight."

"Go ahead. I'm sitting right here until you finish every bite. Waste any of it, and you're dead."

We laughed and joked around throughout dinner.

Afterward, I washed the dishes while Gabriel took a shower.

Just then, I heard a phone buzz.

Gabriel's voice carried from the bathroom over the sound of running water. "Adam, see if that's Diana texting me again!"

Diana Keller was his girlfriend, and they were constantly fighting.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."

After drying my hands, I picked up Gabriel's phone from the table. A text message from an unknown number stood out on the screen.

[Do it tonight.]