LESS THAN a minute later, he was greeting them as if he hadn’t just declared his love to a monster. “Eth, Dad, what are you guys doing here?”

“Lou said you might be in trouble,” the younger voice—the one I assumed must have been Ethan—said.

“No trouble,” Clay said in response. “I just needed some time to myself.”

I had no idea how he planned to get us both out of the situation, but I was willing to trust that he would find a way.

He loves me.

I kept that thought running as a mantra in my mind as I tried to find another escape path from the tiny office, just in case Clay’s plan didn’t work. There was only one—up. Unless I suddenly discovered I had an unknown ability to climb walls, it wasn’t going to happen. My eyes darted around every part of the tiny space, cursing the smooth walls and lack of hiding places.

“Why don’t we go get some coffee and breakfast?” Clay said. “This place is a dump.”

“Then why are you staying here, bro?”

“I told you, I needed some time alone. That means away from people. You don’t get more away than this.”

Ignoring Clay’s instructions, I crept forward toward the door to the room. I hoped I could get out of the space and hide somewhere in the labyrinth of corridors around the warehouse, but I couldn’t risk being seen—or heard—leaving the room. Peering out into the hallway, I saw the shadow of the three men flickering over the graffiti on the walls. Then my gaze was drawn to my own very obvious shadow in the outline of the open door and I jumped back inside the room. It was my worst fear—I was trapped.

The thought made the tips of my fingers prickle instantly with heat. The warmth licked up my arms as if the flames had already leapt from my body and were burning their way over my skin. The heat was more intense than anything I’d experienced. Deep within me, a strange voice whispered undecipherable things.

At first, the speech terrified me. It wasn’t something I’d experienced before. The stories Dad had told me about the sunbird came back to me as if planted in my mind by someone else. As those images flittered through my mind at a rapid pace, I understood. Almost by instinct. The quiet utterances were a form of encouragement.

The sunbird, or whatever it was that the voice belonged to, would keep me safe.

A renewed confidence rushed through my limbs, and I breathed out my fear. Closing my eyes, I surrendered myself to the meaningless words. Once I had, they were no longer meaningless.

You’ve never been in such danger before, the voice whispered. I’m here to help.

How? I asked silently.

You know how. It was my own thoughts that bubbled up in response to my question. The invisible flames that licked along my arms burned hotter for a second.

Surrender to me, and they will pay.

The unveiled threat in the sunbird’s words terrified me, but then she moved within me. My heart beat a little faster, and my stomach clenched.

If you need me, I will take control.

“I’ll be okay,” I whispered to myself to silence the voice. The thought of something else—even something within my own body—taking control of my actions terrified me. It made me consider the fact that maybe Clay was right—maybe I was a monster. Or at least I had one residing just beneath my skin.

I moved into the corner of the room closest to the door, hoping I could at least surprise them from behind and gain some advantage if it was going to come down to a fight. In the seconds that it took for the three voices to fill the corridor outside the room, I wondered what they looked like and how strong they might be. They were both seasoned hunters—I remembered Clay telling me his brother was a few years older than him. Even if Clay was willing to fight against them, making the fight two on two, would I have enough strength to fight off a fully-grown man?

You don’t need strength; you have fire.

I nodded in response to the voice inside me. She was right; I did have fire. I could make them burn. The thought terrified me as it ran through my mind, mostly because I recognized that it was not my own. I didn’t want to deliberately hurt anyone, but she would if it was necessary.

It won’t be necessary, I thought again to pacify the sunbird. It didn’t seem she could come to the surface unless I let her, so I didn’t have to be evil. I couldn’t stoop to their level; it would make me no better than them or the creature they believed me to be.

Closing my eyes, I tried to retrace the steps back out of the warehouse and cement the escape route in my mind. When I opened them again, I was looking at three backs: Clay and two other men who had entered the room. Clay’s head immediately turned, and his gaze sought me out.

He ripped his hand from his pocket, lifted his shirt to reveal a holster and gun. In the next instant, he had it drawn and pointed at his father.

“Now, Evie! Run!”

I didn’t think twice. I turned, and I raced from the room—rushing through the doorway and into the darkened corridor. Before I’d even broken free of the warehouse, I heard the sound of fighting erupt behind me. After a rash of thuds and bumps, Clay’s voice shouted indecipherable words, and then the sound of a gunshot sliced the air. My heart beat rapidly as I skidded to a stop. A pained cry filled the corridors. The sound was enough to stop my progress and spin around.

Another loud crash sounded, and one of the men was right behind me.

“What the hell?” the older voice, Clay’s Dad, shouted from inside the room. Angered cursing replaced his uttered statement and filled the space around me, vibrating off the walls and drowning out all other sounds.

At least until Clay saw me standing still with his brother fast approaching.

“What are you waiting for, Evie? Run!” Clay shouted as he crash-tackled his brother into the wall. “Run and don’t look back. I’ll find you!”

A loud, wet thud sounded as Ethan fought back against Clay’s hold.

Bursting out into sunshine, I didn’t even stop for the air I desperately needed before I climbed into the truck and gunned the engine. My eyes were trained on the warehouse as I reversed out onto the road, so I barely even noticed the Hummer that was parked in my way until I almost hit it. I spun the wheel at the last second to avoid collision and ripped out part of the fence on my way to freedom.

I drove like a madman until I was halfway home and then the adrenaline left my system in a rush, leaving me with tear-filled eyes and shaking hands. It was in that instant that it struck me what was different about Clay’s kiss.

The extra time and space I’d had to assess it properly had left me without any doubt. With his kiss, he’d said goodbye.

He didn’t think he was coming with Dad and me anymore. After that gutting discovery, I couldn’t move the car another inch, even if I wanted to. A chorus of beeping sounded around me as a reminder that I wasn’t alone on the road, and yet even that wasn’t enough to force me to drive.

Pressing my forehead against the top of the steering wheel, tears that I couldn’t fight fell in cascades. The ghost of his kiss lingered on my lips. His “I’m sorry” and “Goodbye” had echoed through every motion of his mouth, I just hadn’t understood.

By the time I’d finally been able to compose myself enough to drive, I didn’t know where to go. I worried that taking the truck home would flag a warning in some database. Did they already know where we lived? Dad would kill me if I dumped his truck, but he’d be more devastated if it was a link that led to us being discovered. I had no way of contacting Dad to discuss the best course of action. After hearing Clay’s admission of how he’d found me, I had no doubt Dad’s reasons for not getting cell phones were valid. I would have to make the choice unaided and live with the consequences.

I put the truck into drive and forced myself to head down the tree-lined road toward home.  Just as I drove past Renaissance Park, the black Hummer that had been at the warehouse tore through the streets behind me and slammed into the rear of my truck, jolting it roughly. I was thrown forward, and my head smashed against the steering wheel. For a moment all I could see were stars, but I fought to remain conscious.

When my vision finally cleared, my heart slid into my stomach as I looked beyond the hood to see a young man who could almost have been Clay sitting behind the wheel. I hadn’t had the chance to look at him in my rush to flee the warehouse, but now I couldn’t look away. He was clearly a few years older, his exposed arms were bulkier, but otherwise the likeness was obvious. After hearing his statement before Clay had left to greet him, I was certain he knew the truck was mine and that I was the one driving it. Cringing at the violent look on his face, I held tightly onto the steering wheel and forced my foot flat against the accelerator pedal.

With the Hummer on my trail, there was no way I could go home. It would be leading him straight to my father and my best chance of long-term survival. At the next intersection I turned right instead of going straight ahead. That road would lead me away from the city and could only hope it offered the opportunity to shake Ethan before too long.

I gunned the engine and watched the rearview mirror closer than was probably safe. Desperate to put as much distance between my vehicle and the Hummer as I could, I drove recklessly—with no regard for the law, other cars, or traffic lights. After a time, the houses grew farther apart and the trees grew denser. Regardless, Ethan was always right behind me, giving my truck the occasional tap on the rear. My skin flamed hotter as his vehicle swerved through the lighter traffic on the highway, almost in time with mine. It was as if he were tethered to my rear bumper.

Once the traffic around us had thinned, Ethan’s driving grew ever more aggressive. He’d slow the Hummer down before speeding suddenly to ram into the back of my truck with almost enough force to send me through the windshield. My hands shook as I just tried to keep the car on the road, looking desperately for any opportunity to get away from him. I whimpered each time he smacked his vehicle into mine. The truck jolted forward roughly with every impact and at least once it crabbed to the side. Tears pricked at my eyes, and the vinyl on the wheel melted away to reveal a metal frame. I watched the rearview mirror rather than the road ahead. All I could do was look for any signs he was about to try to ram me off the road again.

The next time he tried to ram me I twisted the truck to the right as I applied the brakes. The extra momentum he had in the Hummer brought it halfway alongside me.

Too late, I saw my potentially fatal mistake.

The new position of his Hummer gave him the opportunity to smash against the side of the F150. Each time he did, another involuntary scream raced from my throat. A bridge loomed near us and Ethan’s attack grew more incessant. Each time he rammed the side of my vehicle, the exposed metal on the steering wheel bit into my fingers and I lost control of the truck.

Once we hit the bridge, my vehicle pin-balled between the Hummer and the guardrail on the bridge. I’d lost control of the situation. There was only one possible outcome. I made my choice—an easy one to make considering the vehicle was slowing.

If Ethan was able to bring it to a complete stop while I was still inside . . .

It didn’t bear thinking about.

I yanked at my seatbelt, freeing myself from the restraint. Once I was clear, I pulled my feet up and climbed over to the passenger side. Trying to focus on each task one at a time as I moved as fast as I could, I wound down the window.

Timing my movement between bounces, I pulled myself out of the seat until I was sitting in the window cavity. The truck careened along out of control at some crazy, breakneck speed, despite the friction of the constant attack slowing it down.

That was all the more reason I needed to get the hell out.

The wind whipped at my hair, lifting it until it was a halo of flames around my head. Risking a quick glance at the Hummer, I watched Ethan’s face twist into one of shock at my appearance.

I drew my legs free from the now completely out of control truck and balanced on the windowsill, holding to the roof with everything I had.

Under the heat of my hands, the metal buckled and curled, and the paint peeled away. The next time my truck struck the guardrail, I made my move.

I mustered all of my strength and leapt out of the window, aiming for the lake below.