~ SASHA ~

The stranger's mouth opened and he made a tiny sucking noise. But even though his face looked like he was screaming, he couldn't seem to use his voice.

Zev got both hands back on the shirt again a moment later and was growling. "Were you just called in, or were you posted here earlier? Blink once for a hot call, twice for a routine."

But the guy didn't blink at all. Sasha watched as the twisted shirt seemed to sink into his skin and one of his eyes bloomed red as a blood vessel in it broke.

"Zev, you're killing him!"

"It's him or you, Sash. He's here for you."

She gasped and stared at the man, whose eyes snapped back and forth between her and Zev, his face swelling. Then he began to shake.

"Did Nick assign you? Blink once for yes, twice for no."

The guy's eyes closed, but never opened again. Sasha watched, horrified, as he silently shuddered, over and over again, foam bubbling on his lips and Zev mercilessly continued to strangle him.

"Zev, stop! Stop! He's going to die!"

"If he doesn't, you will!"

But then a car came careening around the corner from the street and through the open barrier on the other side of the hut, the tires squealing and a quick pop, pop, pop sounded. Zev swore and shoved the guy back out the window and into the staff hut. There was a massive thud as the man hit the ground inside, a deadweight. Leaning out the window and into the little hut, Zev whacked at something on the countertop, then threw himself back into his seat as the barrier slowly began to rise.

"Hold on, Sash!" he snapped and threw the van into gear. It shot forward while the barrier was still only halfway up, cracking against the top of the windshield, then scraping up to the roof.

The van bounced in the dip between the sidewalk and the street, then lurched around the corner at speed, the tires whining.

Sasha was thrown to the side, slamming against the locker.

"Get back in your seat! Now!" Zev snarled and Sasha, shaking and dizzy, crawled across the floor and into the seat, clicking herself back in, panting so hard she wheezed.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Who was this man? Was he even the Zev she'd known? Or just some lookalike?

Her entire body trembled. This couldn't be him. It couldn't be the man she'd loved, the one who was so sweet and thoughtful. He'd always been over-protective, sure. But this?

"He wasn't dead," Zev muttered a moment later as they sped down the street.

"Wh-what?"

"He wasn't dead. He'll live. He sucked in a breath when I dropped him."

Sasha put a hand to her chest with relief. But knowing that the man had lived didn't ease the sick pit in her stomach. "You would have killed him, though," she said.

It wasn't a question, but he nodded. He took a corner at the yellow light at speed and she rocked in her seat. She felt sick to her stomach. She was going to throw up.

"He would have killed you, Sasha. Or worse."

Worse? What could be worse? Then she met his eyes in the mirror again.

Oh.

"Why are they chasing you? And why would they care about me?" she asked faintly.

Zev took three more corners in quick succession before he answered. Sasha was beginning to feel faint, but determined to keep herself upright and focused. If these were her last minutes on earth, she was going to be present for them.

"They're chasing me because I know their secrets," he said dryly. "And they care about you because I care about you. They can… use you to get to me."

"You know their names?" she asked, incredulous.

"What?"

"You know their names. You asked that man if a specific person had put him there?"

Zev sighed and weaved the van in and out of traffic. Sasha refused to focus on anything but him. She knew if she looked out the windows to see the city flying by she would panic. Then he put his foot to the floor as the light ahead of them changed from green to yellow and she closed her eyes, swallowing hard again and again as her body threatened to revolt.

"I asked that man if my boss had assigned him earlier, or if he'd been placed there when we started running."

Her eyes flew open. "How would they get someone there so quickly?"

He snorted.. "You'll see," he said darkly.