?Chapter 180:


    Next to her, Thea was breaking. Silent tears streamed down her face as she stood frozen, her mouth mped shut in terror. “I-I’ve got money too,” she whispered finally, her voice barely audible. “Please… Please don’t shoot…” Thea’s voice trembled as she pleaded, her hands raised in surrender.


    Suddenly, a shadowy figure stepped forward—d entirely in ck, his face concealed beneath a ski mask. The cold steel of his gun pressed firmly against Thea’s forehead.


    “Ahh!” Thea gasped, the scream ripping from her before she could stop it. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that—please, don’t kill me! Please!”


    Her panicked cry triggered Katie’s own terrified yelp.


    “Shut it!” The figure’s voice cut through the chaos like a de—icy, sharp, with no room for mercy.


    Both women snapped their mouths shut instantly, though tears streamed freely down their cheeks. Ransom or no ransom, the gnawing terror of death eclipsed all else. They knew too well the stories of kidnappers who took the money and still killed the hostages. They needed an escape, but their legs felt like lead. Running was impossible. Even if they could somehow flee, outrunning a bullet wasn’t an option.


    “L-look, my family’s filthy rich! Just—please—let me go, and I swear, you can have anything you want!” Desperation wed at Thea’s throat as she threw out her most valuable bargaining chip, her voice breaking.


    “Enough with the chatter—move it! Into the car!” the figure shouted, waving his gun with growing irritation.


    Thea startled, fear tightening her throat. “No—okay! I’m going! I’m going!” she stammered.


    Desperation painted her face, tears carving fresh tracks down her cheeks as she shuffled closer to the truck.


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    A sharp blow from the gun barrel caught her off guard. “Not that one!” the figure yelled, rapping her head to drive the point home.


    “Please—don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Thea yelled, her voice breaking as panic sent her nearly to the ground.


    Trembling, Thea asked, “If not that one, then where do you want me?”


    The figure’s cold reply came quickly, “Your own car.”


    Realization dawned, and Thea bobbed her head in frantic agreement. “Right, right! I’ll get in—don’t shoot!” She scurried toward her sports car without looking back. A wild urge screamed at her to bolt, but with a gunman shadowing her and another keeping Katie under the muzzle, escape wasn’t an option.


    Defeated, the two women raised their hands and climbed back into the low-slung car,pliance their only weapon.


    Once behind the wheel, Thea’s mind raced—she considered mming the car in reverse and mowing these men down. It would have been a brilliant n, except fate wasn’t on her side. Her car keys were somehow missing.


    A growledmand cut through the tension. “Seatbelts. Now.”


    Both women fumbled nervously, buckling up with shaking hands. They couldn’t guess what these men wanted, but for now,pliance seemed like their only hope—maybe if they stalled long enough, someone would spot the danger and intervene.


    Just as thest seatbelt clicked, one of the men snapped, “Now!”


    At his order, several burly figures in ck masks leapt from the truck bed. Without hesitation, they started hauling down massive blue stic barrels—each one sending a new chill down Thea’s and Katie’s spines. What was in the barrels?


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