Page 13 of Unhinged

I open the safe.

It’s empty.

No.

Impossible.

I have to get out of here.

I grab my purse, shove my hand inside for the ATM card, and walk downstairs. Right across from the little convenience store is an ATM.

I need a way out.

I swipe my card.

Red.DECLINED.

I try again. I refuse to believe this is happening.

DECLINED.

I never used it. Never even touched it.

I open the banking app, and a notification flashes in red:Your account has been flagged for fraudulent activity.

I go still as a cold sweat prickles over my skin.

My breath comes too fast.

Every option I had…

Gone.

I have no cash.

I lift my chin and make a decision. I have a second burner phone, and I am not helpless.

I try a different site, something untraceable, something that will let me buy a ticket now, but the damn page won’t load.

A text pings through.

I don’t want to read it, but I have to,god.

What if it’s O’Rourke or one of his men?

An unknown number.

Unknown

Mine.

My phone nearly slips through my fingers.

I need a cab, a train—something.

A car slows at the curb, and a driver leans out the window.

“Need a ride?”

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