Lucia did not expect Dominic to follow her.
Which was precisely why it unsettled her when his vehicle appeared in the rearview mirror forty minutes later, headlights steady, unhurried, impossible to mistake for coincidence.
"He's still behind us," Elena said, unnecessarily.
Lucia's jaw tightened. "I see him."
Anna sat rigid in the passenger seat, hands folded too tightly in her lap. She had not spoken since the convoy, her silence heavy but composed. Lucia respected it. Trauma often needed quiet before language.
"He's not signaling," Elena added. "No attempt to overtake."
Lucia exhaled slowly. "He's giving me space."
"That is uncharacteristic," Elena observed.
"Yes," Lucia agreed. "Which makes it strategic."
They crossed into the city just as the sky began to lighten. Dawn softened the sharp edges of buildings, turning glass and steel into something almost forgiving.
