“I know.” Serena pressed her forehead against mine, and a sense of calm settled over me. A feeling only she’d ever been able to give me when I got like this. “The hallway is packed. You’ll never even reach the elevator in time. We’ll have to go another way.”

Together, we pushed through the lingering crowd. Serena led me down the hallway in the opposite direction of the elevators. When we reached another door, she flung it open and strode inside. It was a small, cluttered office, likely for the manager of the bar. There was a single window overlooking a courtyard below. Sirens drifted through the cracked panes.

“You’ll have to go down the fire escape,” she said quietly. “Do you think you can manage it by yourself?”

My stomach dropped. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I can’t. I have clients here, and some of them might need me when the cops start to ask questions. If I leave now, my firm will not be pleased.” She pressed her lips together. “But I don’t like the idea of you running through the streets by yourself. As soon as you reach the bottom of the fire escape, head to the next block over. There are a few bars there, and they’ll be open. If you can’t find a taxi, call for one and wait inside one of the bars. Don’t stand around in the street. And for the love of god, Mia. Don’t walk home.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not an idiot.”

“I know you’re not an idiot, but I also know how scared you are right now. Sometimes you don’t think straight when it comes to the media and the cops.”

“Gee. I wonder why.” Dread filled my heart. “This is going to turn out just like Nashville.”

“This is not Nashville all over again. You had nothing to do with Willow’s death, and the cops will quickly realize this matches up with the serial killer. There’s no reason for them to think it’s you. Alright?”

“I had nothing to do with it then either.”

She sighed. “I know.”

Shouts exploded down the hallway. Heart pounding, I threw my legs over the side of the window and jumped out onto a rusted fire escape. The metal groaned beneath me. I grasped the handrail that flaked against my skin. Gritting my teeth, I tiptoed down the first flight of stairs while Serena vanished back into the dying party.

I made my way down the fire escape as quickly as I could, scaling the final ladder until my boots hit the ground. Following Serena’s advice, I turned the corner of the next block over. And came face to face with a line of police cars.