I can’t do this. I can’t shoot Ned.

“Don’t talk to him. If he walks into the safe, then you shoot him or else you will never see your baby again.”

The woman’s vile voice came in through my earpiece. It made my skin crawl. This couldn’t be happening. This sort of thing only happened in movies and nightmares.

“You must be wondering why I’m doing this. I could have taken the money and made my getaway by now and this would be all over. But, what’s the fun in that? Pitting you against your man is too much fun. You can say that I hold a grudge but, if you ask me, payback is the sweetest dessert.”

My fingers shook. This woman was insane. What was she saying?

“He rejected me once, you know. Never quite got over it.”

What? That’s what this was about? A rejection?

This had to be some sort of sick joke.

What was I supposed to do? My baby’s life was on the line, but at the same time, would I be able to kill the man I loved?

As deranged as this woman was, I knew she wasn’t playing around.

I broke down in tears, my vision blurring.

“Shoot him!” Leticia shouted. “Shoot him now!”

My finger was on the trigger, but I just couldn’t pull it. I couldn’t kill Ned.

“Kill him. You fucking idiot, kill him!”

Suddenly, Ned charged forward, startling me. My finger tightened on the trigger.

Pop!

The blast shot me back, slamming me into the shelves and knocking the wind right out of me.

My eyes widened.

Had I killed him?

Fear tightened around my heart, making it hard to breathe. No… Please, God no…

Before the smoke could clear, Ned appeared, snatching the weapon from my hand. He then spotted the earpiece as well, tossing it to the ground and crushing it underfoot.

“Ned!” I fell into his arms, holding on tight to his body – clinging to it.

“Are you okay…?” he whispered, looking me over for injuries.

“She’s going to hurt Missy!” I yelled, terrified for my baby.

He shook his head. “That was just a way to get you scared. I have Lisa’s house fortified with VanGuard men. There’s no way in hell she could get in there and hurt Missy. Don’t worry, Missy is safe,” he assured me, looking into my eyes. “She’s okay.”

I nodded. I trusted him. “But… what are we supposed to do?”

“We need to track her down and stop her.”

“I think I know exactly how to do that.” Franklin appeared in the safe, towing Emil behind him.

Ned turned, his eyes narrowing, his features instantly painted with rage.

Feeling that he would lunge forward at any moment, I held him back.

Ned, however, jerked away, letting a punch fly in Emil’s direction, throwing him onto the ground.

Another man, who I had not yet met, stepped forward, keeping Ned back. “Now’s not the time. He’s agreed to help us.”

“Help us? This fucking bastard is probably trying to lure us into a trap.”

Emil got up, wiping the blood from his lip. “Well, do you have any better options? I’m just trying to help.”

“Why the hell would you want to help us?” Ned was still shaking, trying hard to keep himself composed.

I came up behind him and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. He relaxed a bit, his shoulders slumping down. My thumb rubbed the back of his hand, which seemed to help even more.

“Look. I never chose this life. It was the only one I could have under the circumstances. Fighting was the only thing I was good at. The only way I could protect the ones I loved. You and I aren’t that different,” he said, squaring up to Ned.

“Oh, I think we are much, much different.”

“Are we?”

“Yes. Yes, we are. I would never think of abandoning a woman like Stacey – or leaving her to fend for herself when she has a baby that isn’t even a month old – or coming back and hitting her – leaving her for dead in the bathroom. I will never be scum like you.”

“Now’s not the time, Ned,” Franklin said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “He’s the only chance we got. As good or as bad as that is, we can’t really afford to be picky.”

I stepped forward. “How do you plan to help?” I asked Emil. At this point, I would never consider getting back together with him, but I was willing to give him a shot at redemption. After all, everyone deserved a second chance.

“I know where she’s going.”

“Tell us,” Ned ordered.

“Old Stairs. West side of the Thames, across from the London Eye. She’s meeting up with her boyfriend or something. They are going to use the money to get out of London.”

“Shadow,” Ned growled. “She’s meeting Shadow. We have to hurry. Franklin, bring Stacey back to Lisa’s house and make sure she stays there this time.”

“No. I’m not leaving you.” I planted my feet in the ground, refusing to budge. “I’m going with you.”

“Don’t be daft. These are high-level criminals. They won’t think twice about killing you at this point.”

“Same thing goes for you,” I shot back. “I’m going.”

“You’ll only be putting yourself in danger.”

“I’m going.”

“I don’t think you’re going to win this one,” Franklin butted in. “Let her go.”

“You can’t be serious,” Ned interjected. He then took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “Please… Stacey… I can’t afford to lose you.”

“And I can’t lose you. Please. Just let me go with you.”

“She’s stubborn. You aren’t going to win,” Emil agreed.

Ned sighed. “Fine. But you absolutely cannot get out of this car.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Alright. Let’s go then,” the darker-skinned man spoke up, tossing the keys in Ned’s direction before shoving Emil forward. “And you’re going to tell us exactly where Leticia is.”

“Hey, hey, no need to push. I already said I was going to help you guys.”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t a criminal. You aren’t getting off the hook completely, you know.”

Emil groaned. “I should have known.”

A part of me felt bad for Emil, but I knew that now was not the time for that.

Together, all five of us piled into the car. Ned and Emil were in the front while I was sandwiched between Franklin and the leader – Cruz, I found out.

Sitting there, my body quickly filled with nervous energy. I knew this was insane. If I had been smart, I would have taken the escort back to Lisa’s house, but here I was, about to follow a bunch of ex-Navy Seals into the battleground.

Why couldn’t I just have a normal life for once?