ELENA

My breath came in sharp, ragged gasps as I kept running. The cold air burned my lungs, but I barely felt it. All I could focus on was getting as far away from Dominic’s mansion as possible. My legs ached, my muscles screamed, but stopping wasn’t an option.

The city was still alive. Cars sped by—headlights flashing and horns blaring—and people moved in clusters, laughing, talking, and completely unaware of me. No one looked twice at the woman running through the streets. I was ...