One, two, three... She counted her steps. He matched them.
Leila did not look at her wrist. She looked at his shoes. Dirty white sneakers, too new. A man who wanted to run but dressed to chase.
The man crossed the street.
His jaw tightened. For a second, his hand twitched inside the pocket. Leila’s thumb pressed the button on her keychain alarm—the one that emitted a shriek at 130 decibels. She hadn’t used it in two years. Her thumb hovered.
He blinked, thrown off. “I just… I need to know.”
He began to walk parallel to her, on the opposite side of the street.
She took a slow breath, then turned her head just enough to meet his eyes. She didn’t see a monster. She saw a tired, hungry desperation. That was worse. Desperation had no rules.
He was close enough now that she could smell cheap cologne and something sharper—nervous sweat. He wasn't a professional. Professionals were silent, invisible. This one was a coward dressed in a predator’s clothes.
One, two, three... She counted her steps. He matched them.
Leila did not look at her wrist. She looked at his shoes. Dirty white sneakers, too new. A man who wanted to run but dressed to chase.
The man crossed the street.
His jaw tightened. For a second, his hand twitched inside the pocket. Leila’s thumb pressed the button on her keychain alarm—the one that emitted a shriek at 130 decibels. She hadn’t used it in two years. Her thumb hovered.
He blinked, thrown off. “I just… I need to know.”
He began to walk parallel to her, on the opposite side of the street.
She took a slow breath, then turned her head just enough to meet his eyes. She didn’t see a monster. She saw a tired, hungry desperation. That was worse. Desperation had no rules.
He was close enough now that she could smell cheap cologne and something sharper—nervous sweat. He wasn't a professional. Professionals were silent, invisible. This one was a coward dressed in a predator’s clothes.