“I'll come.”
“No.”
Both men looked at her.
“This is between me and the truth.”
Daniel stared at her.
Then he nodded.
They drove to an old warehouse district on the edge of the city.
The rain became heavier.
The buildings grew darker.
Finally, Daniel stopped in front of a structure that looked abandoned.
Mara stepped out.
She recognized it.
Her heart began pounding.
The blue door was exactly as she remembered.
She walked toward it.
Atlas was not with them.
Vance had insisted he stay behind.
Mara placed her hand on the door.
A memory struck.
A gunshot.
A scream.
A dog barking.
Her own voice.
“Daniel, run!”
She pulled her hand away.
Daniel stood behind her.
“What did I say?”
He looked at her.
“You told me to run.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor had found us.”
Mara looked at the door.
“What happened next?”
Daniel's face became pale.
“You opened it.”
She turned.
“And?”
“You walked inside.”
“Why?”
“You thought someone was trapped.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked away.
Mara stepped closer.
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Who?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“You.”
Mara stared.
“What?”
“You thought someone was trapped inside.”
He swallowed.
“But the woman you heard was you.”
Mara's face went cold.
“A recording.”
“Yes.”
“Victor used my voice.”
“Yes.”
“To lure me inside.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“You were shot.”
Mara touched her chest.
“Where?”
“Here.”
She looked down.
“Why don't I have a scar?”
Daniel said nothing.
Mara looked at him.
“Why don't I have a scar?”
He finally answered.
“Because the bullet didn't hit you.”
She stared.
“What?”
“It hit Atlas.”
Mara stopped breathing.
“No.”
“He moved between you and the shooter.”
The memory came back.
A German Shepherd jumping.
A flash.
A scream.
Blood.
Mara falling.
Atlas collapsing beside her.
She dropped to her knees.
Daniel rushed forward.
She pushed him away.
“Don't touch me.”
He stopped.
Mara covered her face.
She could see it.
Not as a dream.
Not as a fragment.
A memory.
Atlas had jumped.
He had taken the impact.
He had survived.
She had survived.
But someone had died.
Mara opened her eyes.
“Who did Atlas kill?”