We Were Written in Blood

clicking against the hardwood floor. The weight of the day pressed on h

adbolt and the chain. Maybe it was paranoia, or mayb

self a glass of water. Her hands trembled slightly-a frustrating betrayal of ho

wouldn't just put him behind bars-it could unravel a network of corru

justice system she had built her life around felt less like a system and more like a game-one where the rul

eak broke

s. Her heart pounded. It could've been the bu

heard i

step. Not the win. Some

fully, soundless. Her hand inched toward the drawer beside the

sound.

ing herself to stay calm. Her mind raced through options. Run? Fight? Hide? No, hi

ure mov

er. The blade slashed through the air, missing by inches as

h

ok, a frying pan-but before she could grab anything, he caught her w

re a black ski mask, his dark

hey fight back

hard. He grunted, stumbling back just enough for her to break free.

of t

it down. The second man was taller, broader, and he m

clawing. The first man recovered quickly, comi

one of the

ants he

d-boss-sent ice

ino O

s wasn't some random break

she yanked her head back, slamming her skull into the nose of the man holding her. He

icked. S

er. Her breaths came fast and shallow. The man wiped at th

Alive, r

tered somethi

f her head, the world tilted sideways. The last thing she

leather and gasoline. Her wrists ached from the zip ties around them. A blindfold pressed aga

urned through her hazy mind. T

musement, broke through th

er out again?" an

She'd too scared

e instinct to lash out. Think, Benne

ly, somethi

creeching as the driver swerved. G

It's an

elting the metal frame. Men shouted orders in Spanish, the so

volley o

pen and dragged her out.

d herself to focus. Was this

sil

l are we gonn

can't kidnap a lawyer

your choic

sion w

orward. Before she could resist, she was

r slamm

-

was pulled out. Her hands felt n

od uptown. We guessed it had to be El Gusano's hideout. We thought we could gonna intercept t

ntly, "A-anyway, we

le

other man muttered with

ognized the other two from earlier, but not t

gratitude, don't hold your breath. You

you are." The

tsteps approach her, gett

breath drew quicker. Sti

in front of her, then-her

She blinked frantically, trying to adjust. When

lined with sleek, high-end cars, the scent of moto

the entrance; their ey

on the man stand

o De