2026-04-12 00:11:15
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103 - Proof She's Watching
"They're here," Tommy said. Looking out the window. Black SUV pulling up. Harrison's people. Professional. Armed. Ready."Go with them. Let them protect you. I'll figure this out. I promise.""You keep promising. But people keep getting hurt. My shop burned down twice. I got kidnapped. Now my cousin's family is being threatened. When does it stop, Jake? When do the people around you stop paying for your war?"Silence. Heavy silence.Then: "I don't know. But I'm going to try. That's all I can do. Try."Tommy hung up. Grabbed his go-bag. Went upstairs where his cousin was putting Lucas to bed."Mark. We need to talk. Right now. It's important."His cousin looked up. Saw Tommy's face. Knew something was very wrong. "What happened?""We need to leave. All of us. Tonight. Right now. There are people outside who are going to take us somewhere safe. Don't ask questions. Don't pack anything we don't absolutely need. Just trust me."Mark's face went pale. "Tommy. What the hell is going on?""I
102 - Stuck In The Middle
"Tell him he has forty-eight hours to surrender all the Hearts he possesses. The Dragon's Heart Crystal. The Midnight Tear. The Crimson Heart pendant. All of them. Delivered to a location I'll specify.""And if he refuses?""Then I don't kill you, Tommy. That would be too simple. Too quick. Too merciful." Marguerite's voice stayed perfectly calm. Perfectly pleasant. Like she was discussing the weather. "Instead, I kill everyone in that house. Your cousin Mark. His wife Sarah. Their two children. Emma age seven. Lucas age four. I'll burn that house to the ground just like Victor burned your shop. Just like my people burned it the second time."Tommy couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. The room was spinning."And then," Marguerite continued. Still calm. Still pleasant. "I'll find the next person Jake cares about. And the next. And the next. Until there's no one left. Until everyone he's ever known. Everyone he's ever cared about. Everyone who's ever mattered to him. Is dead.""You're insa
101 - I Know Where You Are
Tommy Owen sat in his cousin's living room. Small house. Three bedrooms. Quiet neighborhood. The kind of place where everyone knew everyone and strangers stuck out like neon signs.Perfect for hiding. Terrible for living.Two weeks. He'd been here two weeks. Working remote IT support for his cousin's small business. Fixing computers over video calls. Troubleshooting software bugs. Pretending everything was normal.It wasn't normal. Nothing about this was normal.The house smelled like cinnamon. His cousin's wife baked constantly. Stress baking apparently. She knew something was wrong. Knew Tommy was hiding from something dangerous. But she didn't ask. Just baked.Cookies. Brownies. Three different kinds of pie. The whole house smelled like a bakery.Tommy's laptop sat open on the coffee table. Remote desktop session. Some client's computer running slow. Probably malware. Always malware.His phone buzzed. The encrypted one. The military-grade secure app Jake had set up for him.Message
100 - The Perfect Plan Should Be Perfect, Right?
"Lily is new. A recent friendship. Tommy Owen is foundational. Brotherhood forged in shared trauma. That kind of bond runs deeper than blood." Keys clicked. Marguerite typing something. "We force Tommy out of hiding. Make him visible. Make him vulnerable. Then we use him." Derek shifted uncomfortably. "Victor already tried kidnapping him once. Morrison destroyed twelve armed men to save him. What makes you think trying again will work?" "Because last time Victor used brute force. Crude. Predictable. Expected." Marguerite's voice held amusement. Dark amusement. "This time we'll be smarter. We won't kidnap Tommy. We'll give him a reason to come to us. Willingly." "How?" "His family. Tommy Owen has a cousin. Wife. Two children. Emma age seven. Lucas age four. All currently safe. All currently alive. All currently unaware they're being used as leverage." Derek felt cold. Actually cold. Like ice water in his veins. "You want to threaten children?" "I want to threaten the possibility
99 - Derek's Web (II)
"No angle. Just. Keep an eye on him. Watch for signs that he's in trouble. In real trouble." Derek pulled out a business card. Set it on the table between them. "If you see anything weird. Anything dangerous. Anyone following him. Anyone threatening him. Call me."Lily picked up the card. Plain white. Just a phone number. No name. No company. "Why would I call you instead of the police?""Because if what I think is happening is actually happening, the police can't help. They're outmatched. Outgunned. Out of their depth." Derek stood up. Adjusted his jacket. "But I have resources. Connections. People who can actually do something if Jake needs help.""Resources from where?""Don't worry about that. Just. Keep the number. Use it if you need it. That's all I'm asking."He started to leave. Stopped. Turned back."One more thing. Jake mentioned Ms. Chen a lot when you visited him, right? How she was handling things. How she was in control. How everything was fine.""Yeah. So?""Did he ment
98 - Derek's Web (I)
Derek settled into his chair. Got comfortable. Like he was about to have a friendly chat with an old buddy instead of manipulating someone's friend.Lily kept her laptop open. Hands on the keyboard. Ready to close it and leave if this went south. "Clock's ticking. You said five minutes.""Right. Straight to business. I like that." Derek pulled out his phone. Started scrolling. "Look, I know Jake probably told you I'm the bad guy. That I'm terrible. That you shouldn't trust anything I say.""Pretty much.""Fair enough. We had a falling out. Got physical. I'm not proud of it." Derek's expression shifted. Regret. Shame. Well-practiced shame. "I was going through stuff. My family was falling apart. I took it out on the wrong people. Including Jake."Lily didn't say anything. Just watched him. Waiting for the catch."But here's the thing." Derek leaned forward. Lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. "Even after everything. Even after our fight. I still care about what happens to h
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