Before I could react, he shoved aside the old wooden cabinet near the floor, revealing a hidden compartment beneath the groundboards. My pulse exploded violently inside my ears as I stared into the darkness below.
"Father—"
"Get inside!" he snapped, panic finally cracking through his voice. "If he fed you that information, then it was bait. He wanted you scared enough to run here. He followed you from the beginning."
My entire body went numb.
No.
That meant Nicholas knew.
Or suspected.
Or maybe… maybe he had known all along.
My breathing turned ragged as I lowered myself into the cramped hiding space beneath the floorboards.
Darkness swallowed me instantly, thick and suffocating, smelling of dust and damp wood. Above me, my father shoved the compartment shut just as my heartbeat spiraled completely out of control.
Then came silence.
A horrible silence.
One second.
Two.
Three.
BANG!
The apartment door slammed open so violently the entire room shook above me.
