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She won’t.

Sean won’t allow it.

I won’t allow it.

I test the binding around my wrists. Plastic restraints, pulled painfully tight. My fingers are numb, but I can still move them.

“Navarro should cut his losses,” the third man mutters. “One girl isn’t worth this much trouble.”

“It isn’t about the money anymore. She broke Mateo’s skull and destroyed Navarro’s knee. Navarro’s men are laughing at him because a sixteen-year-old girl escaped.”

Sage fought them.

Pride rises inside me.

They tried to take my child, and she made them bleed.

The thought almost makes me smile.

“What about the woman’s computer?” the driver asks.

“It was in the alley.”

“You left it?”

“We had police sirens coming from two directions. I wasn’t going back for a laptop.”

“She was investigating us.”

“She won’t be investigating anyone after Navarro gets what he wants.”

The vehicle begins climbing. The pavement changes beneath the tires, becoming rougher. Gravel strikes the undercarriage.

We’ve left the highway.

Silver Crown Mine.

I found the name in an email Greg sent to the nightclub’s former owner. Most of the message was coded, but a delivery schedule included coordinates. When I checked the location, I discovered an abandoned silver mine more than sixty miles north of Juniper Wells.

I typed the information into my laptop because I didn’t trust myself to remember everything if I was frightened.

I never expected Sean to see it. But I know he has.

The vehicle hits a deep rut.

My body rolls hard against the seat frame. Something sharp catches the sleeve of my jacket.

I force myself to remain limp while moving my fingers toward it.

A broken piece of metal sticks out beneath the seat.

I work my wrist against it.

The edge scrapes my skin.

I don’t stop.

The vehicle slows.