Ava's POV
She was still staring at the text when Sophie's voice came back through the phone.
"Ava? Ava, are you there?"
She made herself focus. The text sat on her screen. Tell her to run, and her brain was doing the thing where it kept sliding off the surface of it, refusing to grip, because the implications of it were too large and too immediate, and she needed to deal with Sophie first.
"Go with Leo's men," she said. Her voice came out steady. She was proud of that. "Right now, Soph. Don't pack anything, don't stop for anything. Just go."
"You're scaring me."
"I know. I'm sorry. Please go."
A pause. The sound of movement. Sophie was making the decision with the particular trust of someone who had always, even when it wasn't logical, believed her sister. "Okay," Sophie said. "Okay, I'm going. But Ava"
"I'll call you when you're somewhere safe. I promise."
She hung up.
Stared at the unknown number text for three more seconds.
