We eat. We drink. We snuggle.
And just as I’m about to say, “Don’t get any funny ideas, young man,” a sudden rattling noise makes me freeze.
Is it one of the choppers? The sky over Los Angeles has been crowded with them lately. Some belong to TV stations covering the unrest. Others are federal helicopters, monitoring the riots. A few have no markings whatsoever.
Michael sits up. “This noise, whatever it is, is not in the sky.” His voice is low, but full of alarm. “Shhh… Listen. Something’s coming up the road.”
I peer out through the tinted side-window, hoping not to be noticed. An unidentified gray van rambles by, its driver glancing blankly in the direction of my secondhand clunker, before stopping on the opposite side of the road, next to Michael’s shiny Tesla. Four figures—four men in unmarked camouflage wear, wide leather belts, and glassy face shields fixed to their military helmets—file out.
I duck down next to Michael, not before catching sight of them surrounding his car. By the sound of it, they’re kicking its fancy tires with their boots. My heart drops a notch with each kick.
Who are they? Why are they here? What do they want?
Michael opens the liftgate of the Escape just enough to let him slip through. I crawl out after him. The moment we hit the ground, a stench of gasoline hits us, spreading in the air. It comes from the direction of his car, which is strange because the Tesla is all electric. Michael is so proud of his big toy, which he assembled with his own hands. It requires no oil changes, fuel filters, spark plug replacements or emission checks.
The men close in on the Tesla. What on earth are they doing? Admiring its innovative design? Its sleek lines? No, not really. One of them is holding a five-gallon rigid container by its angled handle. With each stride, he’s pouring a dark liquid through the spout, aiming it at the car.
Michael lets out a groan, then grits his teeth. I’ve never seen him like this, fighting to hold back rage.
I don’t want him to go, don’t want him to confront them, whoever they are, even as they’re marching back to the unmarked van. So I grab Michael hard, straining every muscle, every fiber in me. But before I can say a word—whoomph—the Tesla ignites, licked by flames.
Her bullet grazed his head, but the leader of a Russian crime organization is still breathing. One way for Vlad to avoid paying the price for his crimes is to play dead; another is to play dying. For Ash, this is not a game. She must learn his secrets. Only one problem: because of the raging pandemic, she must put her plan on hold.
Vlad slips away from the hospital in a body bag, then develops a brazen fraud scheme that will bilk health insurance companies out of millions of dollars. If not caught in time, he will drive victims to suicide, rob Ash of her identity, and slit her throat.
Will Ash manage to stay one step ahead of him and at the same time, protect her loved ones from contagion?
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