Garage, she realized. They were in a garage.
And the door was open.
An engine started. A heavy door opened—a van door, by the sound of it.
Run.
She was halfway through thinking the word and her body was already in motion. She ran blindly toward the fresh, cool air, screaming. If they were in any sort of neighborhood, maybe someone would hear her before?—
Strong hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her off her feet.
“Bad girl.” Dimitri carried her kicking and screaming into the garage and threw her into the back of a cargo van. April hit the floor hard, her shoulder taking the impact. She heard the van doors slam, then a moment later, heard the men open other doors and get in. The van backed out of the garage before she even heard their door close.
There had to be at least three people—the driver, Dimitri, and the other guy who'd been with her in the basement. Maybe another guy sitting in the passenger seat, which would bring the total to four. Was Vince driving or was he riding shotgun?
"April."
April's heart stopped. The voice was right next to her.
"Vince?"
"Hey, baby." His voice was strained, terrified in a way she'd never heard before. "Looks like we're both screwed."
"What are you doing back here?" April twisted toward his voice. "What are you?—"
"They're gonna kill both of us," Vince said, and he sounded like he was crying. "April, God, I didn't think—I didn't know they'd?—"
The van lurched forward. Whoever was driving was going fast.
April's mind raced. Vince was in the back of the van with her. Which meant he wasn't in control. Which meant he'd gotten inwayover his head with people who were now going to?—
Going to what? Drive them somewhere remote and kill them both? Or was this the exchange? Were they taking her to Shane?
She had no idea. And tied up in the back of a van, blindfolded, with Vince sobbing beside her, April had never felt more helpless in her life.
The van sped on through the night, rain hammering the roof. April could hear the rhythmic thump of windshield wipers, the muffled voices of the men up front speaking Russian. It felt like they were gaining altitude—her ears always plugged when she went up into the mountains.
She couldn’t take Vince’s blubbering any longer.
"Can you at least take the blindfold off of me?" April asked.
"No way, baby. I'm not pissing them off any more than they already are." He sniffled. "Besides, my hands are tied and I've got a blindfold on, too."
"My God, Vince, who are these guys? What the hell did you do? Why did you tell them I had some sort of crypto code?"
She waited. And when she didn’t think he’d ever answer, he said, "I guess it doesn't matter if I tell you now. Here's what happened." He took a shaky breath. "The money my crew and I made from counterfeiting the chips—I got this idea that we could put it all into crypto. Bought a bunch just a few days before I was arrested."
"Oh God, Vince, you didn't."
"Yeah. I put the seed code on a chip and I thought, just in case the police decide to raid our place, I'd hide it in something that belonged to you. Teeny tiny memory chip, not even as big as my fingernail. Easy to hide.”
April's blood ran cold. "What are you saying?"
"You were clean. You had nothing to do with the operation. I told the cops that, you know. I kept you safe."
April snorted.
His voice took on a bitter edge. "I was thinking, once I got out, once I told you what I'd done and that the money was hidden, maybe we could make a deal. It's a lot of money, April. A huge jackpot. But when I got out, you were gone. You and all your favorite things. That was my mistake, putting it in something you loved.”
