I feel my eyes widen when I see a pistol lying on top of a stack of papers. I let my fingers clasp around the metal handle and admire the silver glint in the moonlight. I pull the magazine from the bottom and find it fully loaded. I shouldn’t take it. I know I shouldn’t, but my instincts force me to tuck it safely under my belt at my back. I feel like I’m too loud as I shuffle through the papers. It’s too dark to really see what all of them are, but I freeze when I see a small, leather-bound book at the bottom. I drop the papers to the floor and grab it. This must be the journal. It has to be. I flip open the pages, but there is no way I can read it here.

I stand and walk slowly to the window where the moon shines the brightest. I turn page after page, knowing I won’t find anything about Shadowface while trying to read here. The print is tiny and the book is thick, but I know this has to be what Gabe was talking about.

The creak of springs in a mattress snaps my head to attention and I look up at the ceiling. Paxton’s awake. The sound of feet hitting the floor above me starts a tempo in my heart that couldn’t be healthy. I try to keep my breathing slow, but it feels impossible. His feet are moving now toward the door…the stairs.

I tiptoe to the stairs as the third floor door opens. Each step down I take is a potential alarm system to Paxton. Which board creaked when I came up? My foot lands on the fourth one from the bottom floor and it seems to let out a much louder sound than the first time.

Paxton is near the second floor.

“Is someone there?” he calls out. He flips a switch in the stairwell and the light flickers on, blinding me for a moment.

I decide to make a run for it, skipping the last steps completely, jumping onto the landing at the bottom.

“Hey!” Paxton yells out, probably following closely behind. I run through the middle of the café and slide under the table. I crawl as quickly as I can and push the swinging door open. I look behind me as I run into the kitchen and catch a short glimpse of Paxton following. I run through the back door and scan both directions of the alley.

The dumpster.

I open the top lid and the smell of trash engulfs me. I try to hold my breath as I climb to the top and slide in, allowing the lid to fall slowly over me. It’s not even seconds before I hear the back door crashing open. All Paxton has to do is open the lid to the dumpster and I’m done for.