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The driver’s window started rolling down and she smiled again, rushing forward. “Girl, how are you?”

Up popped a clown with a gun. She stuttered to a halt.

Lik a giant jack in the box.

“Keep coming,” the clown crooned.

Jenny couldn’t. Her feet were glued to the cement.

“I said keep coming. You want to see your friend alive again, don’t you?” Jenny nodded.

It was a set-up. Brax was right.

“Cops are coming, you won’t get away with this,” she blurted out.

“Jenny, how’s Tina?” Jada shouted from the Range Rover.

“Say, ‘fine.’”

“Fine,” Jenny did her best to shout back.

“Now get in the car and we’re going to go on a little drive.”

Jenny stood up straight. “No. You’re going to end up killing me anyway, so no.”

“You’re right. But you can save the life of that pretty woman over there, if you get in the car with me and we go.” He moved the gun and aimed at Jada.

Jenny rushed around to the passenger seat.

“Jenny, what are you doing?” Jada called out.

“Tina just wants to tell me something really quick. We’ll be over there in just a minute.”

“Good girl,” the clown rumbled as Jenny opened the passenger door and got in. It smelled like cigarettes.

“You can’t smoke in a rental car,” she told him.

Where had that come from?

He laughed. “Yeah, that’s the sin I’m worried about.”

Then he shot twice at the Range Rover before tearing out of the parking lot.

Jenny sat there in shock, then lunged at him. “You promised you wouldn’t kill her!”

He hauled back and hit her hard with the butt of his gun. “I didn’t, you stupid bitch. I shot out her tires.”

Jenny looked over her shoulder and saw Jada running into the street. She took a shooter’s stance and fired off a round. Nothing happened. Everything started to get fuzzy. Jenny felt tears rushing down her face.

No wait.

That was blood.

So fuzzy.

“Where are you⁠—”

Nothing.