Chapter 34: A Phone Call from Hell

We doze fitfully in the car, the cold night air making every joint ache. At dawn, my phone vibrates—the burner phone. I grab it, pulse racing. The caller ID is blocked. I exchange a look with Elena before answering.

"Lucas," comes a low, familiar drawl. Vasquez. My blood runs cold.

He doesn't wait for me to speak. "You took something that belongs to me," he says, voice frighteningly calm. "I can forgive many things, but betrayal isn't one of them."

Elena grips my arm, eyes wide. I press the phone closer, heart thudding. "I—"

"Listen," he cuts in. "You have a chance to bring my wife back safely. If not, I'll drag her—and you—through every court, every back alley. I don't care. You can't hide." His tone is matter-of-fact, like a man describing the weather.

He hangs up. My hands shake violently. Elena closes her eyes, whispering, "He knows we're together. He's threatening war."

I slump back, a hollow pit in my stomach. He's not bluffing. Time is running out. We need to vanish, or we'll face the full wrath of a powerful man unrestrained by morality.