𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 | 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟏

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 |
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬

"𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀"

She turned her head, following my line of sight.

A beat of silence.

Then—

"Shit," she whispered.

I inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm.

Maybe it was a coincidence.

Maybe I was just paranoid.

I switched lanes again.

The car did the same.

My pulse spiked.

Adriana shifted in her seat, voice lower now. "Gustav?"

I clenched my jaw. It had to be him. Who else would be following us?

"Okay," Adriana exhaled, adjusting her grip on her cup. "What do we do?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I gritted my teeth-
And slammed my foot on the gas.

The engine roared as the car shot forward, tires screeching against the pavement.

Adriana let out a startled noise, gripping the door. "Catalina-"
"Hold on."

I weaved through traffic, dodging cars, pushing the speed limit.

The black car followed.

Adriana twisted in her seat, panic rising in her voice. "They're still there."

I took a sharp turn, cutting into a side street.

"Shit, shit, shit—" Adriana whispered, gripping the seatbelt.

I clenched my jaw, my mind racing.
I needed to lose them.

Now.

I slammed my foot down harder, the car lunging forward.
The city blurred past us, neon lights flashing across the windshield.

Then—an alley.

I barely hesitated.

The tires screeched as I took a turn, my hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary. Adriana's breath hitched beside me, her coffee long abandoned in the cup holder, forgotten the moment we realized we were being followed.

"Do you think we lost them?" she asked, voice tight with nerves.

I glanced at the rearview mirror. The black SUV that had been tailing us for the last minutes was gone. I exhaled, loosening my grip just slightly. "Yeah, I think so."

Just as I allowed myself to relax, my phone vibrated in my lap. I picked it up, eyes scanning the message on the screen:

Let's not make things uglier than they already are.