SIRENS AT SUNDOWN
Elliana barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashing lights cutting through the darkness… and him. That calm, dangerous smile that didn't belong to someone running from the law.
Morning came too quickly.
She was halfway down the stairs when she heard her father's voice—sharp, controlled, the tone he used when work followed him home.
"They were reckless," he said into his phone. "Illegal racers, multiple vehicles. We almost had one of them."
Elliana stopped.
Her father stood in the kitchen, uniform crisp, jaw tight, eyes hard with focus. The
Chief of Police was fully awake now. Fully alert.
"I know," he continued. "Leon Blakk. Same one. He slipped through again."
Elliana's breath caught.
Leon.
The name settled in her chest like a secret she hadn't asked for but now couldn't ignore.
She stepped forward, forcing her voice to sound normal. "Morning."
Her father turned, surprise flashing across his face before it softened. "You're up early."
"You were loud," she said lightly.
He sighed and ended the call. "Last night got messy. Beach party turned into a race scene."
Elliana shrugged, pretending indifference. "I heard."
He studied her for a moment—too long. "You weren't close to any of that trouble, were you?"
"No," she lied. The word slipped out easier than she expected.
He nodded, satisfied. "Good. Those boys aren't heroes, Ellie. They're criminals. Especially him."
"Him?" she asked, though she already knew.
"Leon Blakk," he said, voice hardening.
"Been chasing him for months. Smart. Fast. Careless with lives. He won't outrun the law forever."
Elliana's fingers curled at her sides.
She pictured the way Leon had looked at her—not reckless, not afraid. Just… free.
At school, the whispers followed her.
"She was there." "I heard she watched the races." "My cousin said the Chief's daughter almost got caught."
Elliana kept her head down, but the weight of last night pressed against her ribs.
Samantha leaned close at lunch, eyes wide with excitement.
"Did you see him?" she whispered. "The one in the black car?"
Elliana nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"Girl," Samantha grinned, "that's Leon Blakk. Everyone knows him."
Elliana's heart skipped. "Everyone?"
"Yeah. Street racing legend. Untouchable. Dangerous."
Elliana didn't say what she was thinking—that danger had never looked so calm. So deliberate.
That night, as she lay in bed, her phone buzzed with a notification from an unknown number.
Unknown: You shouldn't stare at fugitives like that.
Her pulse spiked.
Another message appeared.
Unknown: It makes it hard to forget you.
Elliana stared at the screen, fingers trembling.
Sirens echoed faintly somewhere in the city.
And for the first time, she wondered what it would mean to answer the call.