Knot Beneath the Mistletoe

Chapter 1

1

RUBY

I hate the sound of Christmas bells at six in the morning.

They echo through empty streets, bouncing off fresh snow, sneaking through the crack under Flour it's my fear. Even as Hannah's face falls and Lily hugs me and the town speakers switch to Let It Snow, I know I'm lying.

Because in twenty-one days, I'll lose both, anyway.

The Mercedes engine rumbles past again. Waiting. Watching. Knowing.

I stand frozen, each breath coming shorter than the last, like a noose slowly tightening—and I'm running out of ways to fight it.

I think of what I told that raccoon earlier in the alley.

Trusting hurts sometimes. But being trapped hurts more. Funny how advice has a way of coming back around.