LOGINNickey woke to the smell of gasoline and smoke. His head throbbed. Blood trickled down his temple."Trina?" He tried to move. Seat belt trapped him."I'm here." Her voice came from the back seat. Weak. "The baby. Is the baby okay?"He twisted to look. She was conscious. Moving. That was good.Davis was slumped over the wheel. Unconscious but breathing.The windshield was shattered. Outside, darkness. They'd crashed into a barrier on an empty highway. No other cars visible.Nickey unbuckled. Climbed out. The van was totaled. Smoke poured from the engine.He opened Trina's door. Helped her out carefully. "Can you walk?""I think so." She took a few steps. Winced. "My ankle hurts but nothing's broken."They moved away from the van. Twenty feet. Thirty. Then it exploded.The blast threw them forward. They hit the ground hard. Ears ringing.When the smoke cleared, the van was engulfed in flames. Davis was still inside."No!" Nickey ran toward it. The heat was too intense. He couldn't get c
Nickey collapsed to his knees. The video of James slumping forward replayed in his mind. Dead. His twin was dead."You bastard," he whispered.Victor leaned back against the desk. "I gave you simple instructions. Kill Raines. You chose deception instead. Actions have consequences."Trina grabbed Nickey's shoulder. "We need to leave. Now."Victor's men blocked the door. Guns raised. No escape."You're not going anywhere," Victor said. "You owe me four million dollars. And now you've killed your brother through your stupidity. So I'm adding emotional damages. Call it six million total.""I don't have six million.""Then you work it off. Both of you. Years of loyal service. Deliveries. Collections. Whatever I need. You're mine now."Nickey's hand moved toward his hidden gun. Victor noticed immediately."Don't. My men will kill you both before you clear leather. And then I'll hunt down everyone you've ever cared about. Friends. Neighbors. That baby will grow up in one of my brothels."Tri
Trina said. "But I don't think he has. I think someone's setting him up.""Why do you think that?""Because Davis has had a dozen chances to kill us or hand us over. He hasn't. That counts for something."Davis nodded. "She's right. And I can prove it.""How?""Give me two hours. Let me track down the source of that wire transfer. I have forensic accountants who can trace anything. If that money's real, they'll find where it came from. If it's fake, they'll prove it.""We don't have two hours.""Then we make time. Because if we go after Victor divided and suspicious, we'll fail. We need to trust each other."Nickey looked at Trina. She nodded slightly."Fine. Two hours. But if you're lying, if you're working with Victor, I'll kill you myself.""Fair enough."Davis made calls. Talked quietly. Sent documents. Waited.An hour passed. Then another. Finally his phone rang. He answered. Listened. His face showed relief."The transfer is fake. Photoshopped metadata. The account number doesn
Nickey stared at the photo. His hands shook so violently the phone nearly fell."What is it?" Trina asked.He showed her. She gasped. "That's impossible. We saw his body.""Did we? We saw a body with James's face. But what if it wasn't him?"Davis appeared beside them. Looked at the phone. His face went pale. "That footage is timestamped during the raid. Fifteen minutes ago.""So James is alive. He's been alive this whole time.""Or someone's messing with you. Deep fakes are sophisticated now.""The body inside. Let me see it again."They went back into the warehouse. The medical examiner was zipping up the body bag."Wait," Nickey said. "I need another look."The examiner hesitated. Davis nodded. He unzipped it.Nickey knelt. Studied the face carefully. Same scars. Same features. But something was wrong. The left ear. James had a birthmark there. Small. Crescent shaped.This body didn't have it."It's not him," Nickey whispered. "This isn't my brother.""You sure?" Davis asked."Posi
Nickey woke to cold concrete and complete darkness. His head pounded where they'd hit him."Trina?""I'm here." Her voice trembled from nearby. "The baby's okay."His eyes adjusted. Small room. Metal door. No windows. Their wrists were zip-tied.He tested the door. Locked solid. "How long was I out?""Maybe an hour. Davis is gone. They took him somewhere else."The door opened. Light flooded in. Two men dragged Nickey down a hallway into a larger room.Victor sat at a desk. James was there. Tied to a chair. Alive."James!" Nickey lunged forward. The men held him back."Hey brother," James said weakly. "Long time.""I thought you died in the fire.""Almost did. Michael kept me alive. Used me as leverage." James's voice cracked. "I'm sorry. I should've found a way to contact you."Victor stood. "Touching. Now let's talk business. You're making a delivery tonight. Drive a truck across town. Simple.""What's in it?""Nothing you need to know about." Victor pulled a gun. Walked to James. P
Nickey woke to cold concrete and complete darkness. His head pounded where they'd hit him."Trina?""I'm here." Her voice trembled from nearby. "The baby's okay."His eyes adjusted. Small room. Metal door. No windows. Their wrists were zip-tied.He tested the door. Locked solid. "How long was I out?""Maybe an hour. Davis is gone. They took him somewhere else."The door opened. Light flooded in. Two men dragged Nickey down a hallway into a larger room.Victor sat at a desk. James was there. Tied to a chair. Alive."James!" Nickey lunged forward. The men held him back."Hey brother," James said weakly. "Long time.""I thought you died in the fire.""Almost did. Michael kept me alive. Used me as leverage." James's voice cracked. "I'm sorry. I should've found a way to contact you."Victor stood. "Touching. Now let's talk business. You're making a delivery tonight. Drive a truck across town. Simple.""What's in it?""Nothing you need to know about." Victor pulled a gun. Walked to James. P







