Chapter 3

At nine-fifty the next morning, I stood on the sidewalk outside City Hall.

People bustled in and out of the front doors, but Nathan was nowhere in sight.

Just as I pulled out my phone to dial his number, a pair of sharp designer heels stopped right in front of me.

"I’m the one who texted you."

Sierra stood there, arms crossed over her chest, wearing an unnatural, tight smile.

"Nathan drank way too much last night. He's still passed out. I wanted to talk to you woman-to-woman, so I used his phone to send that text."

"Just ten minutes. It won't take long."

I hesitated, then nodded and followed her.

She led me off the main street, turning down a quiet, shaded alley. The farther we walked, the more deserted and rundown the path became. An uneasy knot tightened in my gut, and I stopped walking.

"If you have something to say, say it right here."

Sierra turned around, flashing a sweet smile as she reached for my arm.

"Come on, Chloe. There’s a quiet coffee shop right around the corner. It’s private."

I looked down the desolate, dead-end alleyway.

There was no way a coffee shop existed in a derelict lane like this.

Instinct screamed at me to run. I yanked my arm back from her grip, spinning around to bolt.

The fake smile on Sierra’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a vicious snarl as she screamed:

"I brought her! Grab her, now!"

I whipped around in shock, staring at Sierra.

Before my brain could process what was happening, a brutal blow slammed into the back of my neck.

White-hot pain ripped through my skull, draining every ounce of strength from my limbs. My knees gave out, and I crashed hard onto the cold stone pavement.

Through my blurring, fading vision, I saw Sierra strut toward me with a smug sneer, kicking my limp shoulder.

But before she could speak, a heavy wooden club swung out from the shadows behind her.

Crack.

Sierra crumbled to the ground right beside me.

In the final second before blackness swallowed me whole, my hands instinctively curled over my lower stomach, desperate to protect the tiny life inside me.

When I opened my eyes again, the low, grumbling voices of two men drifted from the front seat of a speeding van.

"Boss, this was a genius move!"

"We got both his wife and his little side piece. Cross has no choice but to show up now. We’re finally making that bastard pay for putting Spike behind bars!"

The driver, a burly man, grunted darkly.

He slammed his foot on the gas, speeding toward the abandoned industrial outskirts of the city.

My vision swam as a tearing, agonizing cramp seized my lower abdomen. It hurt so much I couldn't breathe.

The violent jolts of the van tossed me around, and the pain pulled me back under into darkness.

Wailing sirens woke me.

My eyes fluttered open to flashing red and blue lights. A heavy police perimeter had cordoned off the entire warehouse floor, surrounding Sierra and me.

I looked down.

Both Sierra and I were strapped into complex, homemade explosive vests.

The wires were tangled together, linked to a single countdown timer.

Nathan was sprinting frantically toward us across the concrete floor.

The timer only allowed enough time to defuse one bomb.

In other words, Nathan could only save one of us.

Sierra clutched desperately at Nathan’s tactical vest, sobbing hysterically:

"Nathan! Please, save me!"

"I don't want to die! Please, I'm begging you!"

I didn't have the strength to scream. The cramps in my stomach were coming in violent, crushing waves.

I knew something was terribly wrong with the baby.

All I could do was reach out with trembling fingers, weakly clutching Nathan’s sleeve.

"It hurts... Nathan, my stomach hurts so bad..."

"Nathan... the baby..."

Nathan’s mind was in total chaos. He didn't even have the patience to lean down and listen to my muffled whimpers.

For the first time in his career, his hands shook so hard he didn't know which wire to cut.

The agony between my hips was tearing me apart.

Using the last scrap of air in my lungs, I gasped out:

"Nathan... Sierra set this up with them!"

"She took your phone... she lured me to that alley..."