The words hung in the air. The highway went dead silent except for the frantic beeping of the heart monitor.
Tiffany let out a harsh, ugly laugh.
“You?” She looked Dakota up and down, her eyes lingering on the scuffed boots. “You can’t even afford a decent coat. You’re a street rat playing doctor.”
The private physician scrambled to his feet. He pointed his uninjured hand at Dakota.
“She’s a murderer,” he yelled at the head bodyguard. “Throw this lunatic into the ditch before she kills my patient.”
Two bodyguards stepped forward. Their massive hands reached for Dakota’s shoulders.
Dakota’s eyes turned to ice. Her right hand dropped to her waist, fingers curling into a tight fist. Her muscles locked.
On the ground, Audrey convulsed violently. A stream of thick, black blood erupted from her mouth, spilling down her chin and staining the silk dress.
The doctor screamed and jumped back.
“The poison hit her heart,” he yelled, his voice cracking. “She’s gone. Start making the calls.”
Tiffany’s face drained of color. She grabbed handfuls of her own hair.
“If she dies, the Wilder family will slaughter us all,” she shrieked.
Dakota heard the name. Wilder. The most powerful family in the country.
The bodyguards froze, their eyes locked on the black blood. Dakota used their hesitation. She dropped her shoulder and slid past them.
She dropped to one knee beside Audrey. She pressed three fingers against the side of Audrey’s neck, feeling for a pulse. It was weak and chaotic.
Tiffany saw Dakota touching Audrey. She lunged forward, her hands hooking into claws, aiming for the back of Dakota’s jacket.
Dakota didn’t look back. She swung her left arm backward in a sweeping arc. The back of her hand slammed into Tiffany’s waist.
Tiffany stumbled and crashed hard onto the asphalt.
“If you want her to live, shut your mouth,” Dakota commanded. The authority in her voice froze everyone in place.
The bodyguards didn’t move. They stared at the girl, paralyzed.
Tiffany sat on the ground, her chest heaving with rage.
“If she dies while you’re touching her, you’ll pay with your life,” she screamed.
Dakota peeled Audrey’s eyelids back, checking her pupils. She didn’t look at Tiffany.
“And if I bring her back?” Dakota asked.
Tiffany gritted her teeth. “That million dollars is yours.”
Dakota shifted her gaze to the massive diamond necklace resting against Tiffany’s collarbone.
“A million isn’t enough,” Dakota said. “I want the necklace. And I want you to bow and apologize in front of everyone.”
Tiffany gasped. Her hands flew to cover the diamonds. She’d borrowed the piece just to impress the Wilder family.
Audrey’s chest stopped moving entirely. The heart monitor’s beeping grew erratic.
“Fine,” Tiffany screamed, tears spilling down her face. “Deal. But if she’s not awake in five minutes, I’ll have you thrown in a cell forever.”
Dakota’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Deal.”
She turned her full attention back to the dying woman. She reached up to the back of her head. Her fingers found a plain black bobby pin holding her long black hair in place.
She pulled the pin out. Her hair fell in a heavy wave over her shoulders.
Dakota pressed her thumbnail against a hidden groove on the side of the hairpin. A tiny click sounded. The top slid open. Inside lay a row of hair-thin silver needles.
