Oh god. Everything hurt. I tried to move, but it was impossible. Not only were my muscles tight, but I had been tied up, my hands behind my back, my waist cinched to a cold metal pole.

I blinked but still, I could not see. I was blindfolded.

Panic threatened to overwhelm me. Where was I? What had happened to me? All I could remember was sitting on the park bench and then this woman had approached me, talking about Emil and how he had duped her. I had actually been falling for her lies, and when I’d realized the truth, it had already been too late. So now, here I was.

Why hadn’t I just stayed with Lisa like I was supposed to?

Desperate to escape, I rubbed my wrists together, hoping to free myself, but all I managed to do was chafe my skin against the coarse rope.

“Don’t bother,” a deep, husky voice whispered into my ear.

Suddenly, the blindfold was torn off.

A bright light flooded into my eyes. I squeezed them tight, gulping back the pain. When I finally managed to open them again, I was surprised to find Emil squatting beside me. His face was stern, but behind his cold expression, I could have sworn I saw regret.

“Emil… why are you doing this…?” I started, my voice already choked up. “I…”

He pressed a finger to my lips before leaning forward. I shivered, feeling his warm breath against my ear. “Shh… don’t talk,” he said. “I’m sorry about what I did. I know an apology won’t do much at this point, but I want you to know that I never wanted to treat you badly. It just… happened. My temper has never been something I can control…” His fingers tightened even as he spoke. “I’m going to try to get you out of this mess.”

I didn’t know if I should believe him or not. Even when we were dating, he had been prone to mood swings, but nothing this drastic.

“But… what are you doing? Why did you kidnap me? Please… just let me go… I won’t say a word.”

“I thought I told you to stay quiet,” he growled, his hand gripping my thigh in an almost violent manner. “Do you want to get us both killed?”

The word killed shook me to my core.

Of course I didn’t want to die. At least, not here. Not now. I needed to get back to my baby – back to Ned. One way or another, I needed to survive this.

“So just shut up and do exactly as I say, got it?” Without another word, he placed the blindfold back on my head.

I struggled against it, an inkling of claustrophobia welling inside of me, but somehow, I managed to keep it under control. I breathed in deeply, trying to keep myself calm. I would survive this. I had to.

* * *

We drove for a while. The jostling of the van soon became familiar to me. It almost seemed like we were driving around in circles, but I was probably just imagining things. For all I knew, we were probably already in the heart of Wales.

Suddenly, however, the car stopped. I jerked forward, the rope painfully digging into my skin.

Doors were opened and closed. A gust of wind blew in, followed by the sound of heavy boots approaching.

I tensed up, sensing danger.

The blindfold was once again pulled away. This time, I looked up at Leticia; her eyes were fierce. “Good to see you’re awake because you’re about to be part of the biggest bank heist of all time.”

My eyes widened. “Bank heist?”

Suddenly, her hand flew out, slapping me across the cheek.

My head spun.

“Rule number one, you won’t speak. Rule number two, you do exactly as we say because if you don’t, I have no issue with paying your friend Lisa a nice little visit and slaughtering every last person in that house, including your precious little baby.”

“You won’t!” I screamed. “Don’t you dare touch my baby, or I swear you’ll regret it!”

She laughed. “You’re not in much of a position to threaten me.” She stepped closer, gun in hand. “If I wanted, I could end this right now. Blow your brains out, and I’d have one less headache to deal with, but as it so happens, I need you.”

I wanted to ask her a million and one questions, but I feared what would happen if I spoke out of turn. So I bit the inside of my lip, forcing myself to stay quiet.

She smirked. “You’re learning.” She turned toward Emil. “Alright, break her loose, give her a gun, and then it’s show time.” Her cackle echoed loudly as she jumped out the back.

This woman was completely insane…

What the hell had I gotten myself into?