Nick was shaking his head vehemently as he shifted uncomfortably in the back seat of the car. Jack was driving, Yuri was in another car, and a patrol car was escorting them back home. The last protection they had for the moment because Detective Norton had bought the story about Miranda leaving the country.

But he hadn't. Nick knew Miranda wasn't the type to take the hit and walk away.

“I don't like this,” he said, turning half his body toward Valeria. “I don't believe that Miranda's gone. We know how she is.”

“This must be a trap,” Valeria agreed. “But what can we do, Nick? Protecting ourselves is the only thing we have left.”

“That and wait for her to attack us again... No, Valeria, I'm not going to stand idly by,” Nick declared. “We can't afford to just wait.”

Valeria didn't feel good about that either. She took his hand and squeezed it tightly as a sign of support.

“What do you want to do?”

Nick ran his hands through his hair, weighing his options.

“Why don't we leave?” he