Chapter 21

Cecilia's pov I snuck out of my parents' house at 5 AM, leaving only a note behind. Mom and dad were still asleep--they'd been grilling me about my hospital visit yesterday. They didn't fall asleep until 2:00 a.m. After disguising myself with sunglasses and a baseball cap, I hailed a cab to Harper's place. When she opened the door, the dark circles under her eyes told me she hadn't slept since my panicked call in the middle of the night. "You look like hell," I said, trying to inject some normalcy into this nightmare. "Right back at you," she replied, but her attempt at humor didn't land as she ushered me inside. After I recounted last night's events in detail—the trap, the drugs, the men Cici had arranged to assault me, and Sebastian's unexpected rescue—Harper looked ready to commit murder. "Xavier isn't even human anymore! He's a monster! No, calling him a monster is an insult to monsters!" Her voice rose with each word, hands trembling with rage. "And Cici and his psycho mother? The