Chapter 21 · The Baby in Her Dream

I don't sleep after that dream.

I just lie there on Kyle's couch with my eyes open, watching the window turn gray, trying to figure out if what I saw was real or if my brain's making stuff up because I'm scared and exhausted and everything's falling apart.

But I can still feel the rain. I can still hear my mother's voice.

*Keep her hidden. Keep her safe.*

And the way Darius looked at that baby—at me—like he was making a promise he knew would cost him everything.

By the time the sun comes up I'm already dressed. Kyle's still asleep in his room. I don't wake him. I just grab my phone and walk out into the cold morning air, and I don't stop until I'm standing outside the building where Darius locked himself in last night.

The storage room door's still shut.

I knock once. No answer.

I knock again, harder this time. "Darius."

Nothing.

"I know you're in there," I say. My voice comes out steadier than I expected. "And I know you can hear me. So open the door or I'm going to Kyle and asking him to do it."

Silence.