As soon as the gunshot erupted, my body froze.
It wasn’t fear first.
It was shock.
Like my brain didn’t believe what my ears had just heard. Like the sound didn’t belong in the room I was standing in. My chest locked up, breath caught halfway in, my feet refusing to move even though every instinct screamed at me to run.
A hand yanked my shoulder hard.
“Hey!”
I flinched violently.
“Zander.”
I turned to him, my heart pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else. His face was calm. Too calm. His eyes locked on mine, steady and sharp, like this was exactly how he planned it.
“Don’t be scared,” he said.
The words didn’t help.
They barely reached me.
Before I could respond, another hand grabbed mine and pulled me away.
Hard.
I stumbled forward, dragged along without warning.
