Paige looked out the window of Curtis’s friend’s high-rise apartment to watch the fireworks going off for Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Tanner kicked a few times, making her smile, but that was the only joy she could extract out of the night.

She glanced at her companions, who were also glued to the windows. Her dad, Curtis, Curtis’s parents and Tony were all smiling delightedly, but her mum shared her melancholy. Debbie merely sat on a chair, preferring to watch the fireworks on TV.

Paige didn’t know what was taking the authorities so long in conducting operation TG, as referenced by Curtis and Tony. It had hurt her to hear that. It was like they were just focusing on Tristan, when this syndicate was apparently quite big and influential, with several high-level people as ringleaders.

But, truthfully, she was glad nothing had happened yet. The longer it took for the authorities to act, the more hopeful she became that nothing might eventuate at all.

Then she could go home.

Her heart squeezed. Where was home? Would Tristan ever take her back?

“Hello?” Tony said beside her, putting his phone to his ear.

Paige rolled her eyes. The man grated at her nerves so much that just his voice annoyed the hell out of her.

“What? Are you fucking sure?” Tony thundered, making everyone’s head turn towards him.

Curtis, Larry and Giorgio—Curtis’s father—approached Tony, keen to hear the bad news Tony seemed to have received.

Paige’s heart hammered in her chest. Did this have to do with operation TG?

“Fuck!” Tony replaced the phone in his pocket. “We have to go. The Land Rover is compromised. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Curtis paled. “What do you mean it’s compromised? How?”

“I told you not to fucking fight with this woman in a public place! I bet it’s that idiot at the petrol station. Grab anything incriminating in here and let’s go!”

Paige blinked at Tony. What the hell did he mean? Why was he worried about being incriminated—in what?

“Are you sure it’s been compromised?” Larry asked.

“Yes,” Tony hissed. “My spy uncovered multiple entries on the database searching for the owner of the blasted car.”

“But that doesn’t mean they know where it is,” Curtis said. “They can’t link any of us to the name and address on the registration.”

“We don’t know if they’ve already traced it back to this place,” Tony spat out. “We have to leave or we could be toast.”

“What car are we gonna use?” Fatima, Curtis’s mother, asked. “There’s seven of us, and Curtis’s friend’s car downstairs is a sports car that can only sit four.”

“I’ll drive me, Paige and my parents,” Curtis said. “Unfortunately, Tony, you, Larry and Debbie will have to go on foot.”

“Fuck that!” Tony said. “I’ve been sticking my neck out for you. I’m not the one who’s gonna be caught with his pants down.”

Paige’s breathing shallowed. Something was very wrong here.

“Paige, why don’t you pack while we discuss this?” Larry asked.

“I want to know what’s going on,” she said.

Curtis smiled grimly. “The syndicate is closing in on us and the team backing us up is not expecting this. We’re sitting ducks here, Paige. We have to leave again and go somewhere else.”

Paige shook her head, fear and suspicion closing their big, heavy hands around her heart. She’d been trying to ward off the question marks in her head regarding their stories because she trusted her parents. But Tony’s outburst was giving her reason to put aside blind familial loyalty and consider the possibility that she was being lied to by everyone in this room. Were Tony and Curtis really working for the Australian Federal Police? Or are the authorities actually after them?

“Come, Paige. Let’s pack,” her mother said, practically dragging her towards the back of the living room wall, which was the hallway to the bedrooms and the front door.

“Mum,” she said, pulling her arms from her mother’s grip as the others continued to argue loudly.

“Shh,” Debbie said, placing a finger on her lips.

Paige frowned.

“You have to run, Paige,” Debbie whispered, leading her towards the front door. “Leave while you can. This might be your only opportunity.”

The hairs on Paige’s neck and arms stood up at her mum’s words.

“There’s no time to explain,” Debbie said, glancing behind her. “I’ll tell them I went to the toilet and you left without my knowledge. I have to stay for your dad. I don’t trust Tony. I’ll grab your handbag.” Debbie ran to the room Paige was using, her footsteps muted by the thick carpet.

And all Paige could do was stare at her, stunned. Her mother had all but confirmed they’d been living with dangerous people.

Debbie was back in no time, handing her handbag to her. “Go now,” she whispered. “But don’t talk to anyone, not even the cops, until you’re out of the area.”

Tears sprung to Paige’s eyes. “I can’t leave you and Dad.”

“We’ll be fine. Go to Tristan. He’s the only person I know who truly cares for you as much as your father and I do.”

Paige’s heart skipped a beat. “So Tristan’s not a criminal?”

Debbie placed a hand on her cheek, eyes welling up. “No, darling. He’s not even suspected of being one.”

“You lied to me,” she whispered, stunned.

“I’m so sorry. But there’s no time to explain. Go to Tristan. He has private detective friends who’ll know what to do.”

“Private detective friends?” she asked still trying to process what her mother was saying to her. But Tristan was innocent! She knew it!

“Yes, Gavin Redford and Carter Garrett. I know about them. I’d done some research on Tristan’s friends. Give them the names Tony Axel and Dan Yap.”

Oh, Gavin and Carter were private detectives? She had no idea. “Who’s Dan Yap?”

“A drug lord.”

Paige gasped.

“So we’ll all take a taxi,” they heard Tony say. “We’re sticking together.”

“It might be better if we split up,” Curtis argued.

“No!” Tony insisted.

“There’s no time, Paige. Go now!” Debbie whispered urgently.

“Come with me,” Paige said, tears streaming down her face.

“It’ll be more dangerous. And I have to stay for your father.”

Paige shook her head.

“You’re going to have a baby, Paige,” Debbie said sharply. “The best thing you can do is go now and help authorities catch us. Including me and your dad. We’ll worry about the repercussions later. Go!”

Debbie opened the door and pushed Paige outside.

“I love you,” Debbie said, blowing her a kiss before closing the door.

With eyes blurred by tears, Paige trotted to the lifts. She pressed the call button repeatedly, looking back to check if Tony had come to drag her back inside. After what seemed like ages, the elevator doors finally opened.

She entered and opened her bag to look for her phone so she could call Tristan. Shit. It wasn’t there.

Argh, she couldn’t go back to get it. Would Tristan be home?

And would he ever forgive her for what she’d said and done to him?

She sniffed and shook her head vigorously. Right now, all she could do was hope.

She got to the ground floor and rushed outside. Damn it. The fireworks had just finished, and hundreds of revellers were spilling onto the streets, ready to go home. She’d never find a taxi now. And she didn’t have her phone to call an Uber. She could walk it, but it would take her at least half an hour.

She glanced back at the building she’d just left. Shit. What if they could see her from up there?

She hurriedly mingled with the crowd as she thought about how to get to Tristan. Spotting a husband and wife with a child riding on his father’s shoulders, she approached them.

“Excuse me,” she said, placing her hand on her tummy to ensure they noticed her baby bump. “I was wondering if I could borrow your phone? I need to call my husband and I don’t have mine with me.”

“Oh, sure,” the lady said. She pulled her phone out and unlocked it before handing it to Paige.

“Thank you so much,” Paige said, her eyes welling with relief. Good thing she had Tristan’s number memorised.

But Tristan didn’t answer. The call went to voicemail.

Oh, no. What if he was at the New Year’s Eve charity ball hosted by his friends, the Carmichaels? She remembered now that he’d mentioned it to her a few weeks ago. Well, she didn’t have a choice but to leave a message. She turned around and covered her mouth against the device so she wouldn’t be overheard.

“Tristan, it’s Paige. I’m on my way home to your place. I have to walk because it’s so busy on the streets and I won’t find a taxi. I don’t have my phone with me and I’m just borrowing one from a stranger, so you can’t contact me back on this number. I’ll try ringing you again later. Please answer your phone if it rings again. I’m so sorry for everything. Mum and Dad are in trouble. They’re with Curtis and his parents. Mum said to give Carter and Gavin the names Tony Axel and Dan Yap. Apparently, Dan Yap is a drug lord. I don’t know if Tony Axel is one too, but he’s with them right now. We have to help them, please.” She told Tristan the address of Curtis’s friend’s apartment before saying goodbye, then she returned the phone to the woman, thanking her profusely.

Gosh, she hoped she’d made sense with the message she’d left. She was so nervous that she’d rambled.

She started heading to the direction of Tristan’s apartment when rain began to pour. Damn it!

She ran into a convenience shop for shelter. She had to try contacting Tristan again. “Excuse me,” she said to a young couple. “Would you mind if I borrow your phone to call my husband? I don’t have mine with me and I really need to talk to him right now.”

The boyfriend and girlfriend ignored her and walked away.

How rude!

She looked around. The place was full of young people in groups, with some appearing drunk. She better steer clear of them.

A guy came out of what seemed to be the stock room and she approached him, asking to borrow his phone.

The guy hesitated before pulling out his device from his pocket. “Please make it quick. I’m really busy.”

“I could give it back to you when I’m finished,” she said, not wanting to keep him from his work.

The guy smirked. “No offence, but what if you run off with it?”

She sighed. Did she look like a thief? But then again, the man was just being cautious.

She dialled Tristan’s number. And again it went to voicemail.

What should she do now? She hadn’t even made it far away enough from Tony Axel.

And what if Tristan simply refused to listen to the rest of her message once he’d heard her voice?