CARMEN
The moment I saw the blacked-out SUVs in the mirror, something cold and sharp cut straight through me.
My stomach dropped so fast it felt like I was back in my room again, after spending hours anticipating Arthur's return home, I suddenly heard the front door slam shut. The doom of that petrifying terror filled me wholly.
At first, I thought maybe I was imagining it.
Maybe it was paranoia.
Maybe fear had worn grooves so deep into my mind that every dark vehicle now looked like a threat, but then one of the SUVs shifted lanes behind us, matching our speed too neatly, and the other stayed farther back, wide enough to make sure we didn’t lose sight of either of them.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
Not even close.
I stared at them through the rear window until my vision blurred, my
