Amelia never knew that silence could be so deafening.

The night she sneaked out of Alexander Carter's mansion, her heartbeat had been louder than the thud of her footsteps on the pavement. No guards. No glass walls. No more calculating eyes watching her every move. For the first time in weeks, she felt unrestricted. Free.

But freedom, she quickly discovered, was a double-edged sword.

First, the city wrapped around her like an arm. The sounds, the automobiles, the neon along the rain-washed ...