Chapter Forty: Rendezvous

Layla pushed herself to a sitting position on the bed at the first blare of the alarm. She felt blood drain from her face to her feet as she stood from the bed to switch off the alarm. She held a side of her head, staggering backward. She felt dizzy. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink throughout the night, as she had anticipated. Her mind had been in a constant state of turmoil. What would she do without Akila? How could she sleep knowing Akila was in danger, and it was because of her? She trudged toward the alarm, and the blaring sound ceded. Derek was still fully asleep, undisturbed by the alarm. He slept deeply whenever he saw fit, and on some occasions, he was a light sleeper. Layla checked the time on her phone and saw that it was still 4:00 a.m. She needed to leave soon. But no cars passed around that area, or she would have flagged one down to take her from there to the location Canaan had sent to her. She called Ethan first, knowing Niklaus might be busy with pack