“Sorry, no can do, pal. Since one of my fucked up friends here forgot our masks, you’ve seen our faces, and we sure as hell ain’t gonna leave behind no witnesses.”

“But my girls are only four. They’re too young to tell anyone anything, and my wife, she won’t say a word. Will you, Cathleen? Tell them you won’t say a word.”

“No…no…not a word. I promise I won’t say a thing.”

“Look, just let…just let my wife take the kids upstairs. There’s a bank a couple of blocks over. All I need to do is put on some clothes, and I can get you cash. Okay? I’ll empty my accounts. I’ll give you everything I have and…and you can do anything you want to me, but for the love of God, please don’t hurt my family. I’m begging you, man. I’m begging you. Take me…and let them go.”

“Sorry, but that ain’t happening, so say goodbye to your wife.”

The element of surprise was in Bennett’s favor when she burst through the door, and all eyes turned to her. She knew in an instant what she was dealing with because of all the lowlifes and addicts she’d ever run across, meth heads stood out, and Bennett loathed meth heads.

There were three, their clothes hanging from their cadaverous bodies as if purchased two sizes too large, and the teeth displayed in their slack-jawed expressions were rotten or missing. Their eyes were wide, and no other color could be seen because their pupils were dilated to the extreme. Two had burns on their noses and lips, and the third had scabs and sores on his chin that had yet to heal, if they ever would. And by the way he couldn’t stop scratching his arms and chest through his tattered jacket, Bennett knew exactly what she would be facing. The sons-of-bitches were tweaking.

Of all the stages a meth user goes through, this was by far the most dangerous. Coming down off their last binge, they hadn’t slept for days. Their paranoia would be at an all-time high, their propensity for violence would be off the charts, and they would do anything—anything—to get their hands on more drugs. Even for someone like Bennett, the setting was precarious. Would she survive? Absolutely. Would she leave unscathed? Most likely not.

If Bennett had met these three in an alley, her reaction would have been swift and deadly. She would have snapped their necks and walked away without giving it a second thought, but there were four other pairs of eyes on her, and it was those eyes that stopped her.