Chapter 31 · Cold Rail Reunion

The bolt screamed off the freight car door.

I couldn't see a damn thing.

My eyes were still on fire from the tear gas. Under the dirty bandage, my split palm leaked fresh, hot blood down my wrist. Every pulse made my fingers throb.

"Mara." Gia’s voice sounded dead. Completely flat. "Go look."

"If this is another setup, I swear to God—"

"Just look."

Metal scraped on rusty track. Cold air hit me first, smelling like spilled kerosene, diesel exhaust, and rotten fish. In the far corner, a small space heater threw a sick orange circle onto the corrugated walls.

Beside it, a skinny guy sat on an upturned wooden crate. He had a gray wool blanket pinned around his shoulders and a scraggly beard that didn't belong on his jaw.

He looked up.

My knees gave out half an inch before my boots caught me.

"Hey, Mar," Danny croaked. His voice broke right down the center. "You look like hell."

I didn't even realize I was moving.