She strained against the zip ties at her wrists, the plastic still biting into raw skin. They hurt like hell, and blood dripped onto her fingertips. Her ankles were numb from being bound too long. Her body ached, and every small movement made it ten times worse.
“Time’s up, Bing. Is it done?”
He was on the phone.
Her pulse spiked. She couldn’t hear Andy—only Diego’s side of the conversation. The silence between his words was worse than anything.
A low growl vibrated from his chest.
“What do you mean you’re still working on it?” he snapped.
Tess’s stomach dropped.
“No, I don’t care how—” Diego cut himself off, breathing hard through his nose. “You stupid idiot!”
Panic wormed its way to the forefront of Tess’s brain, her thoughts blurring at the edges. Her lungs felt too small, and dizziness washed over her.
He was angry.
Angry meant unpredictable.
She twisted slightly, trying to orient herself, but the hood stole all direction. Light and dark blurred together through the fabric. The basement air suddenly felt heavier, stale, and suffocating.
“Don’t play with me, Bing,” Diego barked. “You think I won’t?—”
His footsteps came closer again.
Her heart began to pound so hard, she thought it might explode.
“I’ll put a bullet in her head and send you the video,” he snarled. “You think I won’t?”
Tess sucked in a shaky breath.
This was it.
He meant it.
She tried to shift, to roll, to get her head out of the way—anything—but the restraints held tight. Her shoulders burned from where she’d been dragged earlier and her current position. Her cheek throbbed where she’d been hit.
“Say goodbye,” Diego said, his voice cold now.
Her body shook uncontrollably, and she lost control of her bladder. There wasn’t room for shame—only terror. She was about to die.
She braced herself, praying it wouldn’t be painful. Praying Andy wouldn’t blame himself. That he would recover from another devastating loss of a loved one and somehow move on with his life, becoming someone she and her parents would be proud of.
Her lungs froze, then?—
Something clattered across the floor.
A metallic scrape.
A half second of confusion.
And the world exploded.
The blast was blinding even through the hood—white light burning through the fabric like the sun pressed against her face. The noise that followed wasn’t just loud—it was violent. A crack that punched the air from her lungs and ripped through her skull.
She screamed as the shock wave hit her body like a vicious shove, rolling hard onto her side. Her shoulder slammed against concrete, breath knocked out of her.
