Nimue’s hands gripped her desk edge until her knuckles went white. “I don’t have the money. I turned everything over to the Caleb Group. If you can’t access it, blame them for freezing the account. I’m out.”
“Sorry, darling. You stole it. I want it back.”
“I don’t have that kind of money?—”
“Don’t lie to me.” Teresa’s eyes narrowed to slits. “I know about your inheritance.”
Nimue stilled. “If you know about it, you know it’s not four million. Most of it isn’t liquid. It would take weeks?—”
“You’re good with computers. Figure it out. And I know you’ve got those files stashed in that rust bucket you call home. You have twenty-four hours.”
Nimue’s heart hammered, but she lifted her chin. “Or what? You’ll put a bullet in me?”
Teresa’s laugh slithered through the speakers, venomous and low. “Why do you keep saying that? Dead, you’re worthless to us. If you don’t deliver, you can work off your debt in the Bratva’s employ. Consider it a career change.”
“That’s a great idea. Send me your access codes. Give me five minutes in your system, and?—”
“Your sister would die.”
Nimue swallowed, her mouth tight. “That would be a fun game—Emberly versus the Bratva. Oh wait—” She held up her finger, set it to the side of her mouth. “I think we’ve seen that episode.” She smiled.
“How’s Liam these days?”
Nimue’s breath stopped.
“Who?” Her voice squeaked. Oh, see, she didn’t play this game well!
Teresa smiled. Then photos cascaded across Nimue’s screen—her laughing with Liam by the campfire, their shoulders brushing by his Bronco, his eyes soft and unguarded.
No.Her pulse thundered in her ears.
The final photo wasn’t of her and Liam. It was her sister, Emberly, and Stein, captured mid-laugh at their favorite Florida restaurant. “As for that episode, I think the stakes have changed. Twenty-four hours, Nimue.”
The feed cut to black.
Nimue stared at the empty screen, breath coming in shallow gasps, vision blurring. Four million dollars in twenty-four hours.
She lurched to her feet, pacing the narrow aisle on unsteady legs. Her hands shook as she began opening every banking app she had—savings, crypto wallets, her inheritance. If she liquidated everything, scraped together every penny…maybe two million. Two million short of dead.
She dialed Emberly, routing the call through her VPN. One ring before her sister answered.
“Nim?”
“Teresa found me.” Her voice cracked. “She knows about the files, the money. They want four million in twenty-four hours plus the files. She threatened Liam, you, Stein. They have photos—they’ve been watching us.”
Emberly mumbled something to Stein, then was back. “Okay, listen to me. You need to disappear. Now.”
“The bus’s tire is slashed. I can’t move it?—”
“Too obvious anyway. Take Liam. But not his Bronco—they could track it.”
“How do you know he drives a Bronco?”
“You think I wouldn’t background-check the guy who appeared in your life? Doesn’t matter. You both need to vanish.Completely off-grid. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going—not even me. I’ll get backup, but you need to buy time.”
“I can’t ask Liam to do that. He has a job. A life.” Her voice pitched higher. “He doesn’t even know?—”
“Ask me to do what?”
