Page 115 of Gambler's Fallacy

The side doors slide open, and a man wearing a face mask points a gun at us. “Into the van, kid,” he says.

I’m going to throw up.

If I refuse, though, they’re going to shoot someone — and it won’t be me. I’m not naive enough to think they’ll hurt me, but I can’t be responsible for anything happening to Caleb.

I don’t want anything to happen to Vortex’s sister, either.

I let go of Caleb. My voice wobbles as I tell the masked man, “Okay. Okay, I’m coming. Please don’t—” My voice cracks. “Don’t hurt them.”

“No,” Caleb says, pushing me behind himself. “You aren’t takinghim. And you’ll lower your weapon and drive off if you know what’s good for you.”

The masked man laughs.

Connie screams.

Caleb and I both turn around to see another man grabbing Connie. Her phone clatters to the garage floor.

“Get in the van, pretty boy,” he says.

My world stutters and stops, and I sag, almost losing my balance. Caleb grabs me, but I don’t know what to do. I try to push past him.

“Remember,” I urge him, trying to get him to think of the tracker, but I don’t want the man in the van to understand what I’m talking about. “Remember you promised to keep me safe. Don’t let them shoot you.”

“Listen to the kid,” the man with the gun says. “Fuck, we don’t have time for this. Get them both in the van.”

Caleb looks like he wants to fight, and I squeeze his wrist. “You said… you said never to negotiate if you aren’t,” I whisper, “if you aren’t sure you’ll win.”

Caleb grits his teeth. “Okay. We’re both coming,” he says. He takes my hand and squeezes it, then leads me into the van. He steps in first, and I’m stupidly grateful that I’m not going to be doing this alone.

I blink away tears as I get into the van. The masked man pokes me with his gun. “Into the back, both of you.”

“Don’t hurt the girl,” Caleb demands. “She’s not involved in this at all.”

The man from the bar shrugs, then shoves Connie away. She stumbles and lands hard on the concrete, her head slamming into the ground.

I watch as he picks up her phone and flings it against a concrete pillar. Connie doesn’t get up.

The van door closes.

“You’re making a mistake,” Caleb says, his hand still tight around mine. “Do you know who I am?”

“Some rich entitled gambler?” the masked man asks with a laugh. “Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll fill it with bullets.”

I cling to Caleb, trying desperately to stay calm. The men pull me away from Caleb and secure my wrists behind my back with cable ties, and I can only watch as they do the same to him.

The van takes off, and I try to remind myself that Havoc and Vortex can find us both. As long as we’re alive, things will be okay.

They have to be.

TWENTY-SIX

VORTEX

Connie’s screamon the other end of the line stops my heart cold. The line goes dead soon after.

“Vortex?” Havoc says. “Why did you stop? We have to keep moving.”

“We fought the last time I talked to her,” I say, my emotions somehow distant. “What if she’s not okay?”

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