The weight of the FBI’s offer hangs over me like a storm cloud, and I can’t shake the feeling that accepting it would make things worse.
Danger is everywhere-Xavier, Ethan, the third player, and now the feds. They’re all circling me, waiting for the slightest misstep to bring me down. One wrong move, and I’ll be buried.
My phone sits on the table, their message glaring at me like an unspoken ultimatum. Immunity sounds tempting-a way out.
But there’s no such thing as clean hands in this world, and the feds will expect me to bleed out everything I know. And when I’ve given them what they need? Who’s to say they won’t leave me to rot?
I scroll through my contacts, pausing on Isabella’s name. We haven’t been on the same page since the photos implicated her in my uncle’s murder. Things have been tense-every conversation layered with suspicion.
But if there’s anyone who knows how to navigate this, it’s Isabella. I need her insight. I hit the call button.
She picks up after a few beats of silence. “This better be good, Alyssa.”
“You’ve always been such a ray of sunshine, Isabella.” I rub my temple, exhaustion creeping into my voice. “We need to talk.”
There’s a pause. I hear her inhale sharply, like she’s debating whether this is worth her time. “What now? Xavier breathing down your neck, or did Ethan finally lose his mind?”
I close my eyes. “The FBI offered me immunity.”
Her silence is palpable, weighted with unspoken warnings. Then her voice sharpens. “And you’re calling me why, exactly?”
Alyssa: “Because I need advice. And despite everything, you’re still the one person who understands what’s at stake here.”
Isabella: “What’s at stake? You mean your neck or mine?” There’s venom in her voice, a bitterness that stings more than I expected. “In case you’ve forgotten, you’re not exactly batting a thousand when it comes to trust.”
Alyssa: “I didn’t call to fight.” My words come out sharper than intended, but I’m too tired to play nice. “If I make the wrong move here, it won’t just be me who goes down. The fallout will hit everyone-especially you.”
Isabella: “Yeah? And how do I know this isn’t another setup?”
The tension between us stretches thin, like glass ready to shatter. She has every reason to distrust me, just like I have every reason to doubt her.
Alyssa: “Look, we both know we can’t afford to fight each other. Not now. I need to know-if you were me, would you take the FBI’s deal?”
There’s a long pause, and I hear her exhale slowly. “It depends.”
Alyssa: “On what?”
Isabella: “On whether you think you can outplay them. Because if you can’t…” she trails off, letting the weight of her words sink in, “they’ll chew you up and spit you out without a second thought.”
Her words settle into my bones like ice. Outplaying the feds isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
They have resources, leverage, and the ability to disappear anyone they find inconvenient. But refusing them? That leaves me with Ethan and Xavier-both of whom would rather see me dead than free.
Alyssa: “So what you’re saying is, I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
Isabella: “Welcome to the party.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Glad to know I’m not the only one circling the drain.”
Isabella: “You didn’t call me just to vent, did you?”
Alyssa: “No.” I pause, gnawing at the inside of my cheek. “I need to know something else.”
She stays silent, waiting. I lower my voice. “Do you think Ethan knows about the third player? Do you think he’s in on it?”
Isabella clicks her tongue. “Ethan’s smart, but he’s not that smart. If he knew, he’d have already tried to leverage it. No… if anything, the third player’s probably stringing him along, just like the rest of us.”
Her words make sense, but they do little to ease the knot in my chest. Then my phone buzzes with a new message.
I glance at the screen. It’s from one of my informants inside Ethan’s camp.
Informant:
“Ethan’s packing up. He’s leaving the country. If you don’t act soon, he’s gone.”
My stomach drops. The bastard’s bailing.
Alyssa: “Damn it.”
Isabella: “What?”
Alyssa: “Ethan’s planning to run. If he gets out, Xavier will come after me-hard.”
Isabella: “Of course he is.” She sounds almost amused, but there’s an edge to it. “What did you expect? Loyalty?”
Alyssa: “No, but I didn’t think he’d throw me to the wolves this soon.”
My mind races. If Ethan escapes, I’m as good as dead. Xavier won’t give me a chance to explain-he’ll see it as betrayal, plain and simple. And the third player? They’ll use the chaos to tighten their grip even further.
Isabella: “So, what’s the plan?”
I chew on my lip, torn between chasing Ethan down and trying to outmaneuver Xavier. If I let Ethan go, I lose any leverage I have left. But if I try to stop him and fail… I’ll end up in a body bag.
Alyssa: “I need time to think.”
Isabella: “Time’s the one thing you don’t have, sweetheart.”
She’s right. Every second I hesitate, the noose tightens.
I pace the room, my thoughts spiraling. If Ethan makes it out of the country, he wins. He gets to walk away, leaving me to deal with the wreckage he caused. And Xavier… Xavier will make sure I don’t live long enough to regret it.
The choice is clear: I either stop Ethan now, or I get buried under the fallout.
But as I reach for my phone to call my informant back, another message comes through-this one from Xavier.
Xavier:
“Tick tock, Alyssa. Deliver Ethan, or I’ll come for you next.”
The walls are closing in, and the clock is ticking. I have to make a decision-and fast.