Free Redemption (Enigma Black Trilogy Book #3) by Sara Furlong-Burr

could only hear the sound of my own heart beating in my chest. Then, with my open palm, I gripped the side of the door as best as I could and attempted to slide it open. A small crack opened up between the door and the rest of the steel shelving unit, which enabled me just enough room to push my fingers into it and slide it open the rest of the way.
    It was now or never. There was just one thing left to do.

Chapter Nine
The Goodbye
    I stood before the door to Kara’s room, rehearsing what I was going to say to her over and over again in my mind, finally coming to the realization that there were no perfect words to say and no perfect ways to say them. After all, was there ever really a perfect way to tell someone you’re leaving and not coming back? Given my past, I should be an expert on that particular topic; the words should flow easily by now. But they won’t because the truth is that no matter how many times and no matter how many ways you do it, saying goodbye always seems to reopen old wounds and the feelings you kept locked away in the dungeons of your soul.
    As I stood at her door, I began to feel as though I was becoming detached from my body because I don’t remember feeling anything as I lifted my arm, formed a fist with my hand, and knocked on her door. Time passed, seconds most likely, but it all fell in slow motion like grains of sand from an hourglass. A moment later, after getting no response, I knocked again—and then once more, for good measure. Finally, Kara, her hair disheveled from sleep, opened the door just as I was about to bring my arm up to knock again.
    “This had better be an emergency,” she said, rubbing her eyes, clearly irritated. “Honestly, Celaine, don’t you realize what time—” she paused, her eyes adjusting to the sight before her; me, clad in my suit, my backpack secured around my shoulders. “What’s going on? Why do you have that backpack? What’s in that backpack?” She flooded me with a barrage of questions that I did not want to answer in the hallway.
    “May I come in?” I asked, holding my finger up to my mouth to prevent her from saying anything further.
    “Of course,” she answered, her composure switching quickly from irritation to worry. She opened the door wider and allowed me to walk into her room. I’d been in her sleeping quarters—a room she often chose to crash in over her lonely apartment—numerous times before. Each and every time, it never ceased to amaze me how clean and orderly Kara kept things. I often wondered whether she was just really super organized or if she was secretly one of those crazed perfectionists who walked around their homes wearing rubber gloves, searching for the slightest hint of dust. “What is it, Celaine?” she asked, breaking my concentration.
    “You know I can’t stay here,” I said without looking at her. “Especially after the events that transpired at the address and after Victor’s alteration of my statement today. I can’t work for someone I don’t respect, whose morals are so skewed that lying is perfectly acceptable to him just as long as his bottom line isn’t affected.”
    “Then I’m afraid you aren’t going to be able to work anywhere,” Kara said jokingly.
    “Kara,” I said, turning around to face her, “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be.” She shook her head. “I really can’t say that I’m surprised. Frankly, I’m shocked you held it together for as long as you have.” Kara sulked down on her bed and stared off into space. “You aren’t going to be able to pull this off, you know that, right?” she said after a long pause. “Victor will have you hunted down, he’ll—”
    “Try and have me killed,” I finished her thought. “I know, and I’m prepared to face the consequences brought about by my decision because it’s one that I believe in. My life will be utter hell, but I’ll be happier because of it. If you had seen even an ounce of what Ian and I have witnessed, Kara,