<
cleanly in two, and inserted my old,
untraceable one.
I didn’t sleep a wink.
The moment I stepped off the plane in South
City, a police officer, Officer Davies, waved
me over.
“Ms. Miller, around the time you were taken, a
lot of children went missing in South City, so
sifting through the records is a bit
challenging.”
“We’ll need a little more time for definitive
results.”
I nodded, took his card.
Nina was starting to fuss, hungry. I found a
public restroom to feed her.
I’d barely taken a few steps out when a
bone–chilling cold snaked up my spine.
My gut screamed danger.
I looked up, and my eyes locked with a man
walking directly towards me.
His gaze was predatory.
The next second, I turned and ran.
He and his buddies were on me in an instant,
chasing me like hounds after a rabbit,
relentless and terrifying.
Panic clawed at my throat.
Nina was heavy in my arms, and my strength
was already failing. My lungs burned, and I
was gasping for air.
Desperate, I ducked behind a row of large,
black dumpsters at a recycling station.
I gritted my teeth, cold sweat drenching my
clothes.
Thank God, Nina wasn’t crying; she was just
snuggled quietly against my chest, her little
body trembling.
The harsh thud of their footsteps grew closer.
I heard one of them curse, his voice raw with
frustration.
“Damn it to hell! They said she just had a
baby! How the hell can she run this fast?”
“Enough screwing around! Find her!” another
one snarled. “If we don’t, we kiss the rest of
our payment goodbye. The client was crystal
clear: that bitch and her kid are not to leave
South City alive!”
His words hit me like a physical blow. My
whole body went rigid.
Landon had called last night, practically
offering an olive branch, even if I’d slammed
the door in his face.
He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t order a hit.
Which meant… it could only be Vivian
Calloway.
