Alright… let’s see if Emil is going to help me here…” I mumbled to myself, pulling up the tracking program. “Eureka!” I smirked. “You’ve got to love it when someone always uses the same old jacket but never bothers to check the pockets.”

“Oh, that’s brilliant,” Franklin smirked. “You’re really outdoing yourself this time, Ned.”

“There’s a lot on the line,” I answered, thinking of Stacey. I had no idea where she was or if she was even alive, but as long as I had that faint inkling of hope, then I would go through hell and back to hold her in my arms again. “Let’s get these bastards.”

Franklin and Cruz didn’t need to be told twice.

Even though I still felt a little foggy headed, I followed them to the garage, jumping into the backseat.

The sudden turns and acceleration of Cruz’s driving threatened to make me sick, but I managed to keep myself together. I had to. Stacey was depending on me.

We rode in silence, all three of us mentally preparing ourselves for the worst. It was broad daylight. People would be out and about. This could easily turn into a very chaotic and potentially deadly situation. If our enemies became desperate, there was no telling what they’d be capable of.

Especially Leticia.

Leticia.

The name haunted me. I felt like I knew it from somewhere – somewhere outside of work – but I just didn’t know where.

Leticia Black.

Where did I know that name from?

I tried to think, but my worry for Stacey was making it hard to concentrate. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was making sure I got Stacey back safe and sound. That was my number one priority.

“Alright, we are almost there. I’m going to park a few streets over, and we’ll walk the rest of the way on foot,” Cruz said, driving past the bank at a normal speed. The last thing we needed was to draw suspicion to ourselves.

From what we could gather, nothing was amiss – yet.

Ding!

The sudden sound of my phone going off startled me.

I looked down to find a text message from an unknown number.

With a sense of dread already settling into my chest, I unlocked my phone. Cruz looked at me through the rearview mirror, but he didn’t bother to ask who it was.

Ned. Long time no see. Why don’t you come into the bank, and we can have a touching reunion?

I stared at the text in confusion.

Don’t bring your friends. If you do, I’ll cut the bitch’s throat, and you’ll get to see her choking on her own blood. Won’t that be a lovely parting memory? Lol.

My fingers tightened around the phone so hard they turned white. “Stop,” I growled.

Cruz stomped on the breaks. “What is it?”

“Leticia wants to see me.”

“But you can’t go in there,” Franklin interjected. “It’ll be nothing more than a trap to get you killed.”

“I don’t care. She has Stacey.” I was already halfway out the door.

“She could be lying,” Franklin continued.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

They started to get out of the car to follow me.

“No,” I barked. “Don’t. If you do, she dies. Stay here. I’ll handle it.”

Cruz shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Well, then you might as well fire me because this time, Cruz, I’m not taking orders, and if you follow me in there, I will never forgive you.” My voice seeped with venom. I was shaking with rage, my temper threatening to take control. “This is my fight, and I’m the only one who can get her out of this mess.” Without another word, I headed for the bank.

Deep down, I knew this was a trap. It had to be.

Ding!

Another text.

Time’s ticking. You better hurry if you want your precious girlfriend to survive.

I broke into a jog.

Soon, I was in front of the bank. It was still early, a few minutes before the bank officially opened. From what I could tell, there was no one behind the counter. No security guards. The place was completely deserted.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the door handle and yanked it open.

Inside, my footsteps echoed as I proceeded with caution toward the safe, which was wide open.

Whoever this Leticia woman was, she was good – too good.

Step by step, I got closer and closer until I was standing in the doorway, looking in.

To my surprise, I found Stacey pointing a gun at me.

“Stacey…?” I whispered, tilting my head in confusion. “What are you doing? Why do you have that gun?”

There were tears in her eyes, and yet she cocked the gun, still pointing it straight at me.

What the hell was going on?

Had she conned me this whole time? Had she been a part of this giant scheme from the beginning?

“Stacey… tell me what’s going on.”

“Don’t come any closer… or I will shoot.” She was shaking, but I could tell her threat was legitimate.

I didn’t know what to make of this. To be frank, this came as such a shock that it felt like I was in some stupid nightmare that didn’t make any sense. “Why are you doing this?”

No answer.

Subtly, I looked around, searching for clues. There had to be an explanation for this. Stacey would never double-cross me. Would she?

And yet, there she was, ready to kill me.

I should have known she was too good to be true…