99: Running Into Eachother

Allison's POV.

I pulled my hoodie down further, the cold wind biting at my cheeks as I walked briskly down the sidewalk. The city was alive with noise—the hum of traffic, the distant chatter of people, the occasional horn blaring from impatient drivers. I kept my head down, focusing on the cracked pavement beneath my boots. Just another day blending in, hiding in plain sight. That was the life I had chosen, or rather, the life that had been forced upon me.

But then, through the thick fabric of my hoodie, I felt it. That inexplicable sense of being watched. It wasn’t just paranoia—I knew this feeling too well. My instincts screamed at me to keep moving, but something made me glance up, just for a split second.

And that’s when I saw him. Williams. His piercing gaze locked onto mine through the tinted window of the sleek black car gliding past. My heart skipped a beat. Damn it. I yanked my hoodie lower, picking up my pace, pretending I hadn’t seen him, that it wasn’t me he had just recog