“Take a look.” He held out the phone and I reached for it, thinking he’d use that as an opportunity to attack. But he didn’t. He handed me the phone and I took it, never taking my eyes off him. “Press play, Tet.”

I looked down at the phone and squinted at the girl on the still shot of the YouTube video. The still shot was a close-up of her face, her eyes wide with fright.

Green.

Her eyes were as green as mine. Her hair was as dark as mine. Her features reminded me of pictures of my mother when she was young. But there were bruises on her face. Not recent ones, which made them all the more ugly.

“Nicola?” It was a question in my head. A desperate, desperate question as I hoped against hope that what I was seeing was real. I pressed the play icon on the screen and her voice carried though the noise in the busy gas station. “James,” she said to the camera, her eyes filled with fear. “Help me. Please,” she begged that day on video. “Please, help me.”

How do you deny your sister when she returns from the dead and asks you to save her?

You don’t. You say, Whatever it takes.

Because blood runs thick.

That f**king blood sticks to your hands no matter how much time you spend in the desert.

That f**king blood makes you do things. Things that you never thought you’d do. Things like kill your brother to save your niece. Things like give up your future to save your sister.

I’ve been looking for someone to save my whole life.

Since the day I shook death’s hand and walked away from a dirty promise.

Since the day I decided I am damned and I’ll take them all to hell with me.

Since the day I realized blood might run thick, but revenge runs deep.

I did make a choice that day. But that was just hours before I met Harper. How could I have known?

I remember now. I remember what was hiding behind that black curtain of denial. I remember those missing hours I forced myself to forget to avoid the consequences.

I remember the dirty deal I made with death.

And death is coming back to collect.

Chapter Thirty-One - James

“Are we there yet?” Sasha asks from the backseat as I shake Nicola out of my thoughts.

“Almost,” I say absently.

Nicola is not that easy to shake. My debt is not small. My debt makes any future I wanted impossible.

I look in the rear view and Sasha catches me staring and smiles. “James?”

“What?” I say back as I study her face.

“Do you think we’ll have time to go to the beach today?”

I nod at her and then look over at Harper. She’s asleep. Or faking it, I’m not sure. “Yeah, I’m counting on a sunset tonight. We’ll definitely go to the beach.”

“Tonight?” she whines. “Can’t we go before that?”

“We’ll see, Smurf. You can see the ocean from my house, but I want you to stay inside. I’ve got some business to do first.” And that’s when Harper’s shoulders stiffen.

Yeah, she is faking it.

“Harp,” I say as I smack her leg playfully. “Harper? You awake? We’re back.” She pulls herself up and turns to me. Her smile is slow and just as fake as her sleep. She’s worried. As she should be. This plan is far from perfect, especially for her. And now I have a new player in the game. Fucking blackouts. “I’m gonna drop you guys off and then I have to go meet some associates.”

She just stares at me.

“OK?”

“Where are you going?” she finally asks.

“I’m not sure yet. I got a message about these missing files. So if I can get a hold of them, then I need to make the delivery.”

“Delivery to where?”

I force a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Harper. But it’ll be fine, babe. Just relax at my place for a few hours, then I’ll come back, we’ll grab some dinner and head towards the beach and have a nice night.”

She nods but I can tell she doesn’t believe me. “Hey,” I say, my hand going to her knee. She’s starting to shake a little. Barely noticeable, but it’s there. “You’re OK. We’re OK,” I stress. “Don’t worry, it’s all gonna work out fine.”

“What are we doing?” she asks in a low voice.

“We’re going to James’ house, Harper,” Sasha pipes up from the back. I have her, at least. She’s totally on my side right now. We’ll see if it stays that way.

“It’s a small job, Harper. No killing, I’m on leave, remember? This isn’t a job like that, so stop worrying.” All that is true. None of this is a job, not really. But while I am being honest, I’m not being forthcoming.

“Let’s go to Mexico,” she says with a bright hope in her eyes. “Let’s just… run away and go to Mexico.”

“I wanna go to Mexico, James,” Sasha says. “I’m ready to go anywhere. You guys just say the word. I’m there.”

“Harper,” I say in my serious voice. “Listen to me, we’re fine. We can’t run away, you know that. You can’t run away, because they know where we are.”

“Then why am I still with you? Why hasn’t my father come to take me back?”

“Because he knows you’re safe with me.”

“We’re being set up,” Sasha says from the back.

I nod to her image in the rear view. “We’re definitely being set up, Smurf. But look, you guys, just f**king trust me, OK?” I study Harper’s face and she’s not convinced, but when I turn my head to see Sasha, she’s smiling. I have her, and right now, that’s all I need. Harper’s trust would be nice, would make this job easier, but it’s not necessary.