I held it against my chest, the cold plastic pressed against my skin as the car sped into the tunnel.

The shadows swallowed us, the orange lights of the tunnel wall flashing past in a regular, hypnotic rhythm.

I looked down at the ledger in my lap, the secrets inside it suddenly feeling heavier than ever before.

The trap hadn’t been set for my father.

It had been set for me.

And we were driving straight into it.

The SUV behind us accelerated, pulling level with our rear bumper.

Gabriel reached inside his jacket, his hand closing around the grip of his holster.

“Hold on,” the driver said, his voice tense.

I gripped the door handle, the tires screeching as the car swerved toward the exit ramp.

The screen of my phone lit up one last time, displaying a single, short sentence from the unknown sender.

“You should have kept your mouth shut.”

The driver jerked the wheel, sending the car sliding across two lanes of wet asphalt.

The SUV clipped our rear bumper, a sharp metallic scrape echoing through the cabin.