In parallel, Rory's brows knitted, suspicion and caution creeping in as she looked at me.
"What do you mean by that?"
I rolled the window down, letting the rain spill into the car.
A twisted smirk curled at the corner of my mouth, just enough to make her blood run cold.
"Rory," I said, my voice low and deliberate, letting my gaze wander outside, "I'll give you two choices."
I paused, watching her squirm.
"Either you die..." I let the silence hang in the air, thick with menace, before adding, "...or him."
Not far beyond the car window, Jesse dangled, tied up, suspended from a crane.
Jesse stood before a sheer cliff, the wind whistling past his ears as he gazed down into the dark abyss.
His face drained of color, his body trembling violently as terror consumed him.
Tears streaked down his face as Jesse screamed, "Rory, save me!"
Rory froze, her eyes locked onto the scene. For a heartbeat, it felt like the world might implode, the pressure building in her head until she thought she might shatter.
Then, in a blur of panic, she unbuckled her seatbelt and lunged at me, her hands grabbing my neck with an iron grip.