Something made a sound nearby, and Briar jumped. In the pitch blackness, she saw nothing. How could she? There was no light to guide her way, not even the headlights of cars on the road.

This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, she cursed herself. I shouldn’t have run blindly into the dark. I should have just asked Alec to take me back to the city.

But Alicia’s words still haunted her, and the idea of returning to the gated mansion was terrifying. Still, as the minutes passed, the notion of going back was less horrific than what lay in wait for her in the night. She stumbled along, unsure of where she was or what direction she was heading. She hadn’t seen another house or a sign to give her an indication of where she was.

There’s nothing out here. I’m lost in the middle of nowhere.

Briar had no concept of how much time had passed or how long she’d been walking along the lone road, but when she turned back in the direction she thought she’d come, she didn’t recognize anything. Of course, that didn’t mean anything—it was far too black for her to know one tree from another or one field from the next.

She was tired, scared and getting cold, even though there was decided humidity to the night. It was the creeping fear in her gut, rather than the atmosphere, which prickled her skin.

Keep it together, Briar, she coached herself. Rest for a minute and get your bearings. Someone has to come along at some point, and maybe you can hitch a ride back to the city.

A dozen untoward thoughts filtered through her head, the news stories about serial killers picking up hitchhikers and a dozen horror flicks all compiled into one horrifying collage in her head.

Get a grip on yourself! This is not a movie. You are in the middle of nowhere. Serial killers don’t come prowling for prey away from civilization. The thought did little to comfort her, and she willed herself to breathe normally. Alec would come looking for her.

It was the first reasonable thought she’d had since leaving his house, and it gave her a modicum of hope. When he realized she was gone, he’d get in the car and come looking for her. She would apologize for running off and ask him to take her far away so that this Raven wouldn’t hunt her down and kill her.

Briar inhaled shakily and stopped walking. She realized she had a much better chance of being found if she just stopped moving. Someone would have to travel down this remote road at some point, wouldn’t they?

Suddenly, Briar was furious with herself. She wished she’d gone directly to Alec after Alicia had spoken to her, but as always, she’d let her fear carry her. Would she ever stop being afraid?

The air was so still, it was eerie. Being raised in the city, the quiet was disheartening to her, and she tried not to focus on the calm, but the alternative was being lost in her own thoughts. She couldn’t be sure which was worse. She moved off the side of the dirt road and found a tree to flop against. She was insurmountably tired. Would this day ever end?

A slight noise caused her to jump, but Briar couldn’t immediately tell what it was she was hearing. The faint sound of a whoosh, though it was nothing she could identify.

What is that? Her eyes scanned the field beyond, but it was impossible to see if something moved through the flatland, a realization which caused her pulse to race wildly.

“Please, no bobcats,” she murmured to herself. “I don’t want to be eaten by a bobcat.”

The noise grew closer, and Briar noticed it was coming from above. She raised her eyes upward toward the cloud-filled sky. Still, she saw nothing. A bird, perhaps? She wracked her brain to recall what birds were nocturnal. It had to be large, making such a noise with its wings. It certainly didn’t sound like a helicopter or plane, but her eyes took in nothing as she peered into the night.

Then, there was another sound, one she identified easily and instantly. She dropped her head toward the road, a lurch of excitement forming in her chest. The unmistakable light of a car was coming toward her in the distance.

The bird above forgotten, Briar pushed herself off the tree and waved her arms, even though the vehicle was quite a distance away.

“Hey!” she yelled, hurrying up the road toward the nearing vehicle. She didn’t want to get hit, but she also didn’t want the driver to miss her. “Hey!”

To her relief, the sleek, black car slowed, and Briar exhaled in relief as the window of the driver’s side went down.

“What are you doing out here, honey?” the woman behind the wheel asked. “Car troubles?”

Briar swallowed and shook her head.

“No—well, kind of. Could you bring me back to the city?” she asked. “I don’t have a cell phone, and…” She trailed off and looked into the woman’s penetrating blue eyes. It was then that she saw someone else in the passenger seat.

“Where’s your car?” the woman asked suspiciously. “Is it nearby? I can call a tow truck for you.”

Briar sighed deeply and realized she needed to be truthful. Who knew how long it would be before another car came along?

“I don’t have a car,” she confessed. “But please, don’t leave me out here. I had a fight with my friend and I left his house. I’m lost and I just want to go home.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “What’s your name, hon?” she asked pleasantly.

“Briar. Briar Baker.”

The couple exchanged a long look. It went on for such a time that it made Briar uncomfortable, and she backed away from the car.

“You know what? I’m sorry. Never mind,” she mumbled. The black-haired driver whipped her head back toward Briar and smiled lazily.

“Don’t be crazy,” she said. “Hop in. You can’t be out here by yourself. You’ll get eaten by a bobcat or something.”

An unexpected shudder slid through Briar’s body, and she eyed the couple for a long moment. Even in the dark, she could see how much alike they appeared: the same shiny black hair, their cobalt blue eyes an identical shade. Are they twins?

“Seriously,” the driver growled, her good nature fading. “Get in the car. We’re not sitting out here all night.”

You always let fear guide you. Get in the car before you get eaten alive by a pelican or something. Without hesitating, Briar grabbed for the handle on the back door and slid into the backseat.

“Thanks,” she muttered. “I’m really sorry about this. You can leave me anywhere in civilization. I’ll find my way home.”

They didn’t say a word as the car continued stealthily down the road, and Briar sat back against the leather seats, willing her heart to slow down.

“You say you had a fight with your friend?” the woman asked, peering at Briar through the rear-view mirror. “Must have been quite a fight if you ran out like that.”

“It was stupid,” Briar said quickly. “I shouldn’t have run.”

“No,” the man said, speaking for the first time. “You probably should have stayed.”

Briar chewed on her lower lip. “There’s really not much out this way,” she offered. “I didn’t realize that.”

“Oh? Is this your first time out this way?”

Briar nodded. “Yeah. I don’t even know where I am.”

The woman chuckled.

“I guess that’s the beauty of it,” she commented. Briar didn’t know what to make of the statement. “Do I look familiar to you at all?”

The question caused Briar’s head to jerk up.

“No,” she replied softly. “Are you someone famous?”

The couple snorted and exchanged a look. “No, sweetie. We just thought you might have recognized us. We recognize you.”

Briar’s eyes widened, and a cold fear clutched at her heart.

“I think you have me confused with someone else,” she told them. “My name is Briar Baker.”

“We know. You and your friends robbed us. Don’t you recognize our car?”

Oh, no, no, no!

“Don’t you recognize this spot, hon?” Raven purred. “This is exactly the place where you and your pathetic friends robbed us. A little poetic justice, don’t you think? What are the chances that you would be stupid enough to return to the scene of the crime?”

“Please,” Briar gasped. “I had nothing to do with this!” Oh, God, please save me, she prayed silently. She had never been a religious woman, and if she had, it was clear that God was mocking her in those moments. In an effort to hide, Briar had walked directly into Raven’s hands.

She’s going to kill me. Alicia warned you about this. Alec warned you about this!

“Please!” Briar mewled. “I had nothing to do with that—”

“Why don’t you tell us where our stuff is, Briar?” Raven asked conversationally. “And we’ll make this as painless as possible.”

“And I want the name of your friends, too,” her companion told her, craning his neck around to leer at her.

“I swear, I don’t know where your things are. My van was there, yes, but I wasn’t. Ask Alec. He knows the truth.”

The temperature in the car seemed to drop ten degrees at the mention of Alec’s name, and the couple looked at one another again.

“Honey,” Raven sighed, pulling the car off to the side of the road. “We are not Alec.” Through the glowing green lights of the dashboard, Briar saw the glint of the gun as Raven’s companion waved it in her face.

“Who else was with you, and where is our stuff?” the man asked. “I won’t ask you again.”

Briar squeezed her eyes shut and sniffled as tears burned behind her lids. You can’t give them Colton’s name. They’ll kill him. They’re already going to kill you. That’s enough.

“I swear,” she moaned. “I had nothing to do with it.”

“This is useless,” Raven grumbled. “Shoot her.”

The gun fired so loudly inside the closed car, Briar’s ears popped, but the searing hole in her heart overpowered anything else she felt as she slumped forward.

“Seriously, Drake? Inside the damned car? I just had it detailed!” Raven yelled. “Get her out before the blood sets.”

“If I’d let her out, she would have just run!” Drake complained. The entire conversation seemed surreal.

They’re arguing over the damage my blood is going to do the upholstery, Briar thought. They aren’t human. They are monsters. Monsters…

Blackness enveloped her, and she felt her life slipping away, but not before Drake opened the backseat and dragged her out by her arms, leaving her to die on the abandoned dirt road.

Before death consumed her, she heard the strange whooshing again of the unknown bird high in the clouds.

It’s a vulture, she thought, succumbing to the darkness, coming to feed on my corpse.