“If you don’t, we all go down together.”

I felt another contraction, stronger than the last, and I couldn’t stop the groan that escaped my lips.

I sank back onto the concrete, my fingers locking around the leather book.

The sound of car doors slamming outside echoed through the warehouse.

Footsteps hurried toward the main entrance.

A red laser dot suddenly appeared on the wall behind Victoria.

It danced across the dusty bricks, then moved to the center of her chest.

“Federal agents,” a loud voice boomed through a megaphone outside.

“Stay where you are.”

Victoria stared at the red dot on her coat.

She did not move.

Julian took a step back from the side door, his hands raised.

Chloe sank to her knees beside him, weeping into her hands.

The main warehouse doors began to buckle under a heavy impact.

I looked down at the ledger in my lap, my vision blurring from the pain.

The red light on my phone continued to flash.

The world was watching.

The door burst open with a loud crash of metal against concrete.