“Get your pretty ass over here and sit down.” Abe continues to haul on the chain linking my hands together, not caring that the incessant pressure causes the metal bracelets to bite into my tender skin.

I have no choice but to grit my teeth against the discomfort and follow at his heels like some half-trained puppy.

He kicks the metal folding chair so it slides a few feet away from the rickety table and points the muzzle of his gun at it.

“Sit,” he orders. Now that I’m near the computer, his tone is lighter, almost gleeful.

Heart pounding in my chest as a layer of cold sweat chills my skin, I obey. It’s not like I have much choice.

The computer in front of me is nice. I’ve seen pictures of it in catalogs and online and have read articles about how much power it has under the hood, but considering that its sticker price is several thousand dollars, I have never done more than silently lust after the brand, knowing full well I’ll never be able to afford one of my own.

Abe keeps the gun pointed at me. I watch wide-eyed as it bobbles and sways while he uses his free hand to dig into his pants pocket. He pulls out a small silver key.

“What is that for?” I ask.

Abe ignores the question. He grabs my left wrist and uses the key to unlock the bracelet, then, moving faster than it seems a man of his size should be capable of moving, he relocks it around the arm of the metal folding chair.

Satisfied I’m secure, he pokes at the computer’s keyboard, waking up the high-tech machine. “Time to get to work.”

I stare at the screen. A program has already been loaded into the computer but it’s not one I’m familiar with. And until I know what it does, I won’t even know how to begin going about using it.

“What do you want me to do?” I keep my eyes glued to the screen, terrified that if I look at Abe, the false bravado that’s the only thing currently keeping me together will disappear and I’ll fall apart.

“You stupid bitch!” Abe’s meaty fist slams down on the tiny table with so much force that the computer bounces up a full inch before clattering back onto the tabletop. I wince and cringe back against my chair. My hand jerks against the cuff in a futile attempt to free myself.

Abe leans close. His lips contort in a sneer that sends a fresh wave of panic through me. How had I once thought that he was once a relatively harmless jerk?

Now that the smarmy exterior is gone, and I’m finally seeing him for what he really is, I realize that not only is Abe dangerous, but he’s also nuts.

The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach warns me that the combination, along with the desperation he’s feeling about whatever this shipment is, makes him far deadlier than his father ever could be – and right now all of that emotion is directed at me.

“You’re supposed to be so smart.” He hurls the words at me. “That’s what Jerry keeps telling me.”

Wait a minute. Jerry? The only Jerry I know is my manager. If that’s who Abe is talking about, if they’re connected, then Abe knows exactly who Jason is and has probably already checked him out, learned his net worth. He’ll have also worked out that there’s something going on between Jason and me.

Meaning that Jason is in almost as much danger as I am. Guilt slices through me.

And if Abe is working out how to use my connection to Jason for his own gain, is Kelsey in even more danger than she was in just last night?

Abe’s right, I’m stupid. I shouldn’t have indulged myself last night pretending that for just a few hours we were a real family, one with a whole future ahead of us. I should have told Jason about what was happening in my life, explained the niggling sensation that had been tickling the back of my brain all week, taken steps to get him, Adele, and Kelsey out of the country and out of Abe’s reach.

Now, because of my greediness, my need to pretend everything is normal, everyone I love is in danger.

“Yo!” Abe grabs the back of my chair and gives it a good shake, causing my head to jerk back and forth and my teeth to snap together. “Pay attention when I’m talkin’ to you.” He points a thick finger at the screen. “There’s a military shipment coming in to the city today. They’re bringing it to that big base in North Chicago. I want what’s on that truck.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

Abe lets out a frustrated sigh. He’s used to dealing with people who are already in the loop, who know what he needs and what he wants even before he does. Probably long before he does. Having to explain things to me isn’t something he’s used to doing and it’s wearing on his nerves.

“You’re going to use this computer stuff you’re supposedly so good at and make sure that truck never gets to the naval base. It’s coming here instead.”

“How am I supposed to accomplish that?”

“I got my hands on the new computer system the military is using, the one your new boyfriend designed for them.” I remember reading that in addition to designing games and other bits of software for the general public’s enjoyment, Jason had also done some work for the military. “One program is linked to the truck’s GPS. You’re going to use that link and redirect it here.”

I furrow my brow. “Won’t the driver notice something’s wrong?”

Abe shrugs a wide shoulder. “Who cares? They’re driving one of those new self-driving trucks, it’s an experimental thing – or something like that. The driver is just there to make sure it doesn't crash into anyone – and by the time they realize that something’s wrong, it will be too late. By then my boys will be ready to step in and take over.”

He doesn’t have to say it. I know that he’ll kill anyone who’s in the truck when his people start liberating its contents.

It’s not enough that Abe’s forcing me to commit a serious felony. It’s directed at the U.S. military and people, innocent people who are probably younger than me, will be killed.

By the time this is over, the government that once wanted to hire me will be bucking to have me strapped to an electric chair.

Abe grabs the computer’s mouse and clicks an icon at the bottom of the screen. A different program fills the monitor. “This program disarms the truck’s security system.”

“Why is this shipment so important?” Even as I ask the question, I know I probably don’t want to know the answer, but I can’t help myself.

Abe’s mouth lifts into a self-satisfied smile. “It’s experimental weapons the military is trying out. It’s the first time they’ve been moved from the site where they were created and tested. My source within the military says that they’re wicked.”

“And you want them,” I whisper. I don’t know anything about weapons other than that they kill. But I don’t have to know much to know that if Abe is excited about the shipment and the military is being secretive, then they’re not something that should be out on the streets.

By helping Abe get his oversized paws on whatever weapon the military has developed, I will be the reason any number of untold horrors are unleashed on the city. And I know how these things work. The weapons won’t stay in the city. They’ll be duplicated, modified, re-created and passed on until they’re in every city all over the world. The world my daughter lives in.

An image of Kelsey’s bright smile and trusting eyes floats across my mind’s eye. Letting these weapons out on the street could put her life at risk. I can’t let that happen.

I take a deep, shuddering breath. “No.”

Abe googles at me. “No,” he repeats, as if he can’t quite comprehend the word.

I shake my head. “No. I won’t do it.”

It happens so fast, I don’t even see Abe move.

Crack.

Something hard, probably the side of the pistol, slams into my face. The force of the blow forces my entire upper body sideways. The change in weight causes the chair to overbalance,and I crash to the floor, hitting my head on the concrete.

Snarling obscenities, Abe reaches down and grabs my shoulders, yanking both me and the chair back into an upright position.

The right side of my face feels like it’s on fire. Blood from a jagged cut on the inside of my cheek fills my mouth, and where I hit my head is already starting to throb.

Abe doesn’t care. He waves his gun at the computer. “You’re going to do it,” he screams.

Fighting a wave of dizziness, I take stock of my situation. Funny, I’ve always understood that people use physical abuse as a means of control. They want their victims to be so afraid of getting hurt that they automatically fall in line with the abuser’s plans. I’m sure that’s what Abe expects.

But, I don’t know, maybe I’m just wired wrong, but instead of making me back down, of encouraging me to acquiesce to his demands, the pain has made me stronger, more determined than ever to defy him.

I set my aching jaw and fix my best basilisk glare on Abe. “No,” I repeat. “You can threaten me, beat me, do whatever you like to me, but I’ll die before I help you get those weapons.”

I tense for another blow, wondering how many I can withstand before I black out, before the life ebbs from my body.

I’m not bluffing. I’m prepared to die for something I believe in, and right now I believe, with all my heart and soul, that if my death prevents this military shipment from landing in Abe’s hands, my death will be worthwhile.

My only regret is that I didn’t tell Jason how much I missed him during the seven years we were parted. That I didn’t tell him that I love him, and that if it weren’t for my involvement with the Bianchi family crime organization, I’d marry him in a heartbeat.

Abe’s fingers flex on the handle of his gun, but this time he doesn’t swing it at my face. He simply stares at me. After a moment, his eyes narrow and I can practically see the wheels spinning in his head.

He leans closer, placing the side of the gun against my breast. Despite the sweater I’m wearing, I swear the cold metal chills my skin. Still, I refuse to look anywhere but Abe’s eyes. He needs to understand that I’m serious.

“I don’t need to kill you,” he murmurs in a low voice, one that he probably thinks is seductive. “You’re forgetting that I know all about you. I know where your daughter goes to school, who that old woman you’re rooming with is having an affair with, and I know that you’re boinking the same wealthy guy that designed the software I need you to hack. I even know the name of that fucking cat your daughter is so fond of.”

He slides the gun upwards, stroking the side of my neck with the cold barrel. “Now I want you to think about what will happen, what I’ll have done to them, if you don’t do exactly what I tell you to do.”

He straightens and pulls the gun away from my neck. He doesn’t have to say anything else. He knows as well as I do that he’s hit on the magic formula that will get me to do anything he wants.

I tug the keyboard into my lap, adjusting it so that I can still use my right hand to type, despite the restrictions of the short chain attaching me to the chair.

Abe doesn’t hang around to watch. He drags his cell phone out of his pocket and taps the keypad a few times before lifting it to his ear. He stalks away from the computer while he waits for whoever’s on the other end of the line to pick up, confident that my fear means he doesn’t need to watch my every move.

He’s right. I won’t do anything to jeopardize my loved ones.

Jason’s a hell of designer. Hacking into the truck’s software program takes all of my skill and more time than I expected. While I work, Abe sits on the edge of the cot, keeping one eye on me while he talks on the phone.

Finally! I break through the last firewall.

I look over my shoulder at Abe. “I’m in.”

He jumps to his feet. While he crosses the room, he pokes at the phone’s screen before handing it to me. The screen contains a text message of a location. “Send it to this place,” Abe orders.

I type the address into the truck’s self-driving program. “Done,” I tell him.

“’Bout time,” he huffs. “Now break into the truck’s security system. I don’t need it going off and alerting the military that we’ve stolen their precious weapons until we’ve got them unloaded and stowed away.”

As he moves away, a message at the bottom of the screen catches my eye. It’s not much, just a simple note to anyone who needs help with the program, but I jump on it like I’m drowning and it’s a life raft.

A plan, half-baked and risky, forms in my mind.

With a glance at Abe to make sure he’s not paying me too much attention, I open up a new window and enter a string of numbers into it.