The heat shimmered off the empty parking lot as Mara pressed her palm against the car window. Inside, Rex panted softly, his tail thumping once against the seat when he saw her. He trusted her completely—that was the worst part.
The keys lay useless on the asphalt, mocking her. Locked in. Engine off. Time slipping away.
Mara clenched the stone in her other hand. She had picked it up without thinking, her heart racing louder than her thoughts. One strike, and the glass would shatter. One strike, and Rex would be free. But the sound, the damage, the consequences all crowded her mind at once.
Rex tilted his head, brown eyes calm, as if asking why she looked so afraid.
“I’m here,” she whispered, forcing herself to breathe. She wrapped her shirt around her fist, raised the rock, and hesitated only a second longer—long enough to remember why she would do anything for him.
The glass broke. The silence followed. And in that moment, fear gave way to relief as love proved stronger than hesitation.