She lost Lara. The motorcycle’s engine faded into the distance, and Mia didn’t know her target’s destination. Again, her plan went to shit. Instead of being upset, looking for the license plate or model of the bike, she stayed crouched in her spot behind layers of trees as the argument replayed in her mind.

The woman she needed to find was innocent and grieving.

Fuck.

A dozen feet ahead sat Audrey, still on the ground, frozen in place.

That was fucking emotional. Was she crying at least?

A shiver ran down Mia’s back, and she closed her eyes for a moment. How was she supposed to take Lara in now? Granted she could even track her. The woman wasn’t even guilty, and by the time she reached her van-

One thing at a time.

Mia silently stood, rolling her ankles to regain the feeling to her feet. She needed to check the cabin. She rubbed the bark off her hands, onto her jeans and then reached for the gun she didn’t have anymore. Right. Audrey had that. As if on cue, the lawyer stood too, wiping at her cheeks as she headed down the trail. So she was crying.

Hidden behind her chosen tree, Mia waited for the woman to pass. Time was running out, and she wasn’t a gambler. If she was going to substitute Audrey for the target, she’d at least want a clue where Lara might’ve gone, so she headed straight for the shed once the crunching of leaves and sticks faded in the distance.

The old pine door gave way to a room washed in blue light. Mist hovered in the air, near the ceiling, and a half consumed joint lay forgotten on the floor.

It must have been because of the light, but the bare chamber felt comfortable, somehow nostalgic to even new eyes. The nesting of blankets and pillows lured her in the same way her own bed would. Maybe she was just tired.

Some wrinkles in the covers shaped Lara’s silhouette and lost between two creases rested her target’s phone. A flip phone. Who the hell still had a flip phone besides—right, drug dealers. It wouldn’t turn on, so her next goal was to find a charger. No luck. Not even an outlet.

What she did find—other than a few spiders—were two drawn, colored portraits. One was of a blonde girl sketched in harsh lines, with solid blocks of color. It would have been a respectable cartoony style had the artist not made the lips cover half of the face. The other was much softer, more realistic, impressive.

Though, clearly this had been some sort of game; the realistic drawing had eraser marks where a proper mouth had been, replaced by a thin, straight line.

Lost echoes of laughter tugged at a smile. Without ever meeting these girls, Mia now possessed one of their fond memories. Her lips pressed together. This wasn’t for her to look at.

As she set the drawings down, Mia figured out who the blonde was, or at least had a guess: Sam, the same young girl from the picture in Lara’s apartment. The one Lara said was dying. She couldn’t help but think of—no. Don’t make it personal.

She rushed the rest of her search—every second that ticked added distance between her and the target—and she found herself outside, where the tire tracks started. The trail heading deeper into the forest must lead to the highway. Then she looked to where she came from: the hike that would lead to her car, Audrey’s car, Audrey.

The Don wanted the woman who stole his drugs, right?

Mia rolled her eyes at herself, looking to the tire tracks again. She wasn’t that naïve. But she couldn’t lose both Lara and Audrey.

Expecting a fight, Mia unclasped the silver bracelet and tucked it on the inside of her vest. Then she set in the lawyer’s direction.

It only took her a couple of minutes to catch up; Audrey was walking painstakingly slow, hunched over with her arm hugging her ribs. Although she should’ve hated this woman, Mia decided they were even: she broke Audrey’s rib in her own home, Audrey knocked her unconscious and left her behind a bar. The scales balanced.

She stalked the lawyer for half of the trip since she didn’t want to handle a struggling woman for a thirty-minute hike. Once she thought the two were close to the edge of the woods, she inched closer. Even though she couldn’t spot a weapon, Audrey had bested her without any during their first encounter, so Mia kept her guard up while she approached.

One unseen branch blew the battle horn.

Audrey turned, shooting a hand behind her. Metal glinted in the light as she pulled the gun from her back, but Mia had already closed the distance between them and blocked Audrey’s wrist. A shot went off, leaving a ringing in Mia’s ears as she twisted Audrey’s hand and the Glock fell to the ground. She dove for it and a knee intercepted her trajectory.

Bent over in pain, Mia kicked away the gun just before Audrey’s fingers grasped it, inviting a punch to the face in retaliation. She blocked it in time, swiping it to the side. The movement pushed Audrey off balance and allowed Mia to stand.

Now the playing field was even.

Audrey charged her, and instead of avoiding the contact, Mia pushed again into the other woman’s body, linked her arm around her neck and swung under Audrey’s foot. The lawyer was on the ground before she even realized what had happened.

The next moment Audrey flipped on her stomach with a strangled groan and crawled. It was then that Mia’s gaze fell on the metal in the grass. As Audrey’s fingers touched the grip, Mia’s boot stomped on her hand.

It was over. She won.

Audrey cradled her hand to her chest as Mia retrieved the gun. Pressing a knee into the lawyer’s back and keeping her on the ground, she put the safety on and stuck the Glock into her waistband, where it belonged.

“Lovely seeing you again,” Mia said. She was out of breath, but still soaked in the victory of redemption.

Winning against someone with a broken rib should’ve been easy, but Audrey wasn’t simply a lawyer, or maybe Mia knew nothing about their prerequisites.

Audrey thrashed under Mia’s weight, which must’ve hurt her more than it was worth. It didn’t faze Mia at all. Until a sharp kick caught her in the back, which almost made her lose her hold. She hissed in pain.

Who the fuck wears heels in the woods?!

She pulled the gun safety off and dug the Glock into Audrey’s spine, which finally put an end to the fight. A bead of sweat rolled on Mia’s forehead and she took a moment to regain her breath, again.

“I know you know who I am. You’re making a fucking stupid decision.”

Mia forced her heavy breaths to even out as she pulled two zip ties from her pocket and began securing the woman’s wrists behind her back.

“One lawsuit will put you in jail, and your family on the streets.” Audrey continued to spit. Soon Mia stood, pulling the lawyer up next. “You’re going to regret this if you don’t let me go, right now.”

Though Mia didn’t doubt legal action could ruin her life, it wasn’t enough to cause any hesitation. In fact, this deep into it, she figured being locked up in a cell would be the only thing that could stop her.

“You’re not afraid any of your own secrets would be uncovered?”

Mia followed her for one day and now knew three years’ worth. It looked like the lawyer was already on thin ice.

“I thought the drug dealing girlfriend was bad enough, but throw in a gambling addiction and dabbling as a distributor yourself, and there’s plenty to destroy a lawyer’s life.” The gun pushed more into Audrey’s back. “Not to even mention, being a selfish asshole, but I’m not sure… Do you think that one would hold up in court?”

“Go ahead so I can sue you for defamation too,” Audrey said. “Along with breaking and entering, stalking, identity theft…”

Mia’s stomach twisted, but not for the reason the lawyer would have hoped.

“Assault.”

There was a question she needed to ask, otherwise she couldn’t have a clear conscience about Audrey being a last resort.

“Abduction-“

“I’ll give you one chance to leave a free woman.” Audrey shut up then. “Do you know where Lara went now?”

Though it would be smarter to bring both women.

“I don’t.”

“Fine.”

Mia’s steps were lighter. Audrey wouldn’t betray Lara again, and Mia wouldn’t have to turn in an innocent woman. The real thief, who also happened to be an asshole, was secured. That constituted a win-win in her books.

But as they walked now in silence, Mia realized why she was so eager to respond to Audrey’s threats. Being an asshole was great fuel, but it was like throwing newspaper into a fire. It combusted instantly.

Audrey was a person. A shit one, but one nonetheless. Mia kept pushing forward, though. If she was going to let morals hold her back, she would’ve given up a long time ago. All she had to do was transport now. Keep walking, don’t lose the woman, and get her from point A to B. Simple.

It took a few moments for Mia to notice how quiet Audrey had gotten. The woman’s footsteps had become sluggish, accompanied by trembling, heavy breathing and sweating.

Mia tensed. There was nothing she could do for Audrey now. The woman had made her own bed to lie in.

She allowed Audrey to lean against the car as she opened the door, then sat her prisoner in the passenger’s seat, so she would be easy to monitor while driving. She tied the woman’s hands to the seat buckle with a third zip tie. They would have matching marks on their wrists soon.

Next, Mia felt Audreys pockets.

“What more do you want from me!?”

Mia’s hand flinched away, like she had been bitten. She wrote it off as surprise at hearing Audrey snap back to life and continued what she was doing.

“My phone.”

When Mia pulled out the keys to the fancy red car, it appeared to piss Audrey off more than anything else so far today.

“Get your dirty hands off them!”

Even those were pretentious, sporting an “R” shaped key chain encrusted in what looked like diamonds. They seemed real. They couldn’t possibly be real. Right? A judgemental glare was tossed to the woman before Mia exited her van.

She still heard Audrey as she walked off.

“Don’t you fucking dare. Bryn! Come back here!”

Mia scoffed. She was starting to see why Lara asked about the Mustang during their fight. What was Audrey’s deal?

The perfect paint job glittered in the morning sun, and Mia didn’t resist the temptation to run her hand over the hood. Her fingers slipped into the handle and she pulled the door open, making sure Audrey saw her smile before climbing in.

“Holy...” Mia muttered as the weight left her feet, and she sank into a seat more comfortable than her bed. “Shit.”

Bliss, that was the only way she could describe the sensation. No wonder Audrey was so protective of this thing.

Her head lay back, but one more yell from Audrey reminded her she was in the middle of a job. She grabbed her phone and forced herself out of the car.

“I’ll come back for you.” Mia ran her hand down the open door before pushing it shut and locking it.

A hard glare met her as she entered the van, which Mia promptly brushed off. Slipping into her own seat now felt like sitting on concrete.

“How could you have been so confident?” Mia asked.

The lawyer ignored her, looking out the passenger window like a sulking child.

“With your race bet. That was a lot of money, and... you were almost right.” Mia buckled up and started the engine. “So, how did you know?”

The answer took a few moments to come, nearly drowned out by the rumbling of the engine. “Do you really need me to spell it out for you?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

Silence again, but this time it was because Audrey had passed out.

Got it, something illegal. Perhaps it was for the best.

Twenty minutes into the drive, Mia relented and reached two fingers to Audrey’s neck. Alive, just out cold. It did little to calm her nerves.

Despite how very inconvenient being pulled over would be, Mia drove faster. If she didn’t have Lara for Don, she could at least get there as fast as physically possible and with a living offering.

One thing felt right. Britney Spears played quietly through the speakers.