I flipped the puzzle piece between my fingers, nausea churning my stomach.

No matter how hard I tried to distract myself from thinking too much about what I was doing, it proved to be impossible.

I’d hurried out of the gym before Alex was done showering. I didn’t want her to know which direction I was heading. She was worried about me, and had every right to be, but she couldn’t stop my life’s trajectory any more than I could.

Breaking routine, I didn’t call for an Uber. I didn’t have Maxwell drive me. Instead, I went back to doing something I hadn’t done in a very long time. I took the city bus.

I rocked back and forth in my seat with hooded lids.

Inhaling breaths of stagnant air mixed with the occasional whiff of exhaust fumes reminded me of when I was a teenager preparing to leave home. It was these quiet moments staring out the window, aimlessly traveling the city with my earbuds in, that gave me the insight I was looking for.

When the bus stopped, I checked the time on my phone.

I knew I would be late, just not as late as I’d made it sound with Alex. Panic squeezed my chest. I wasn’t prepared to have the conversation I knew she was after. I’d run away from it. Avoiding the suffering that would soon follow, I needed time to process what I had to do to ensure my own survival.

I stared at a mother and her unruly child with unblinking eyes.

The sight flooded my mind with memories of my own childhood. Soon, my thoughts swirled back around to wondering if what Marvin did to me was a result of my own behavior.

I watched as the mother’s patience waned, snapping at her young daughter to get her to sit still. The child’s eyes filled with tears and I could see the annoyed, tired look on the mother’s face. They got off at the next stop and were replaced with a man in a hoodie.

Turning my head back to the window, I clutched tighter onto my bag.

I still couldn’t believe that I had confessed to Alex that I’d stolen Kelly’s gun. I just didn’t know if it was out of self-defense or because I was afraid that Kelly might be pushed to his limits and mistakenly use it on Madam—or maybe even me.

The thought of Kelly hurting me sent my pulse racing.

Kelly would never intentionally hurt me. I hated myself for even thinking it. I was losing my mind. How could I be thinking of leaving him? Who had I become and what did he do to cause these thoughts to sprout?

No wonder Alex was worried about me.

My behavior was erratic and growing more unpredictable by the hour.

I respected the fact that Alex kept her cool when I admitted that I wasn’t all right, but I could see the concern she had for me flash over her eyes. The deliveries, the women getting killed, the possibility of me being the next victim, and my need to run as fast and as hard as I could to escape the pressures of what my life had become. Never mind Alex’s guilt at having a hand in putting me in this position.

I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. One second, I was ready to self-destruct and sabotage everything I had earned just to start over again. The next, I was willing to fight for what I still had.

Feelings of anxiety kept my breathing shallow.

The bus stopped and I opened my eyes.

The next stop was mine. I still had some time.

I wanted to trust my parents. I wished our relationship was better. But I couldn’t, and it wasn’t. Mixed with the uncertainty of what I could potentially lose, I was left in a constant state of limbo.

I took one last glance at the puzzle piece before sliding it back into its pocket inside my gym bag. Then I threaded my arm through the shoulder strap and made my way to the front of the bus just as it was pulling to the curb.

Lowering my sunglasses over my eyes, I marched up the block with my head down.

Nothing about this meeting made me feel good. Nothing other than the simple fact that Echo was on the opposite side of town. Even knowing that did little to relieve the growing jitters when approaching the bar.

I reached to my ears and pulled out my earbuds.

My palms were already clammy from the nerves fluttering my insides as I walked through the front doors.

I entered slow, allowing time for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the bar. Blinking until my vision came back, several pairs of eyes stared like I didn’t belong. The juke box played a classic rock tune and I heard the sound of a cue ball smacking against the newly racked set.

The bartender met my gaze, calling me to come inside, take a seat.

My heart thrashed between my ears as I took small steps to an empty stool.

Smells of hard alcohol and beer filled my head and mixed with tobacco smoke. My skin crawled as I felt several men’s lust-filled eyes follow me all the way to my seat. Keeping tabs on them out of the corner of my eye, I wondered if one of them was the contact I was here to meet.

“Don’t be shy,” the tender greeted me. “We may have tough appearances but we’re all friendly here.”

I forced a smile and set my bag down near my feet.

“What can I get you to drink?”

“Water would be great.”

He squinted his eyes above his handlebar mustache and turned his eyes sideways.

“I was just at the gym,” I added, feeling the need to explain why I wasn’t interested in alcohol.

His head nodded with mild confusion before turning to fix me a glass.

Looking over my shoulder, I caught sight of the dartboard. Something about it reminded me of Marvin and his supposed gambling debt. If it was true what Giselle had said, I wondered who he owed money to and if they were bad enough to have him killed. Suddenly, I was hit with the idea that if I could find those details, then maybe I could use Madam’s manipulation tactics to give him the justice he deserved.

A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach made me question if I did need that drink after all. With all this talk of death, and threats landing on my doorstep causing fears of my life being taken, it was only a natural response to wish others the same outcome as the one I faced. Wasn’t it?

Leaning forward on my elbows, I hung my head with thoughts churning.

There were so many speculations about my family that I didn’t know where to begin searching. I believed Giselle had done her research, but there was one question that still needed to be answered: Was Dad really as sick as Marvin and Mom made him out to be?

The tender was back with an ice water. I slammed it down and was quick to order another.

“Goes without saying.” He laughed.

Spinning around, I faced the bar wondering who I should approach first. With what happened on my last delivery, I didn’t have the confidence to make the first move. Today, they would have to come to me.

Grinding my teeth, I wanted to kill Sylvia for putting me in this predicament. This was all her fault, the reason Madam was putting a time limit on my relationship with Kelly, the reason Kelly wasn’t acting like himself.

I checked the time as my second glass of water arrived. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” His thick hands gripped the counter ledge as he leaned forward.

“Anyone ask about meeting a girl who fits my description?”

His eyes traveled down my face, rounding my shoulders. “Can’t say we get too many customers who look like you coming through here.”

I frowned.

“Are you sure you’re at the right place?”

I knew what Madam’s instructions said better than the back of my hand. “Yeah.” I sighed and ordered some fries. Part of me worried I had missed my chance to deliver the goods because I’d chosen to take the bus.

My stomach grumbled. I was hungry enough for my fingers to shake.

Several agonizing minutes later, the plate of fries arrived just as a man wearing a black leather jacket took a seat two stools down from where I sat.

While I ate, I watched him carefully.

He kept his gaze forward and I might as well have been invisible to him.

I watched him order a dark, chocolatey lager—my favorite—and I couldn’t help but think that maybe this was the first clue to tell me he was the person I was looking for.

He sat there mostly in silence, exchanging few words with the tender, before finally finishing his drink. Just when I was starting to lose hope, his hand slid over next to my plate. I stared at his large knuckles with wide eyes. When he pulled his arm back, there was the other half of my puzzle.

My head jerked to him.

He refused to look me in the eye.

Hooking my gym back strap on my toe, I pulled it up to my lap and quickly dug out my piece of the puzzle. I didn’t have to smash it together to know that it was an exact fit, but I did anyway.

The man smiled, still refusing to meet my gaze.

I took the envelope that housed the flash drive and pushed it over to him.

He threw some bills on the bar, stood, and stuffed the envelope away inside his jacket. “The story will be printed and published by morning.” His voice floated behind me as he left.

“Hey, who are you?” I called to him, but he never stopped, never looked back.

Flipping back to face the bartender, his shoulders shrugged. “Don’t take it personal. That’s the kind of clientele we tend to attract.”

“I thought you said people were friendly?” Digging in my clutch, I pulled out my credit card, closing out my tab.

“He kept to himself. Better than starting a fight.” A wide grin spread beneath his mustache.

With Rob Jones, Sylvia Neil, and Julia Mabel all working for major publications, I wondered who he was and what media outlet he was affiliated with. Who would be first to break the story? Would all of the news outlets catch on?

I packed my things, feeling mildly relieved to know that Sylvia wouldn’t be able to stay hidden after this came out. Saying a quick goodbye to the bartender, I stepped outside, squinting beneath the bright sun.

My phone rang and I answered. “Kendra, doll. You’ve done the right thing.” Madam’s sharp tone did nothing to calm my nerves.

“I was told the story will be in tomorrow’s news.”

“Yes, I know honey.”

“So what now? The clock stops, right?” I held my breath, hanging on to my last bit of hope.

Madam cackled. “Honey, go home. To your apartment.”

My face pinched as my gaze drifted up the block. “Why?”

“The answer to your question will be waiting for you there.”