A lurch of fear darted through me, but I clenched my jaw and held my position. “Three. I’m risking a lot here.”

“Sometimes you have to take big risks to get big rewards.”

“Three.”

Violeta blew a smoke ring into the damp air. “Two and a half.”

I looked at Gabe. He shrugged and grinned. His eyes were glazed, the oxy kicking in. I would need to sell forty prescriptions in the next few weeks if I made $2,500 each. It was a risk, but I’d have enough to pay the hospital to get Josh’s reprogrammed cells injected. A few more sales after that, and I could pay off the hospital bills. Then I was out, and I’d never have to see Gabe or this horrible girl-woman again.

“Okay,” I agreed. “I’m in. But I have one more question.”

“Yes?”

“Who is we?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said ‘we.’ Once we have the pills, we deliver them to people. If I’m going to get involved, I want to know who I’m working with.”

Violeta took one last drag, then flicked the cigarette onto the floor. The light around us dimmed as the lantern flickered. “That’s need-to-know information, and right now, you don’t need to know.”

We stared at each other, eyes locked.

“Fine.” I lifted a shoulder and extracted a handful of signed prescriptions from the canvas bag. “There are a dozen here, from six different doctors. There’s more once this batch is sold.”

She giggled again, back to being a child, which I now saw was all an act. She rifled through them. “Genius. Using other doctors’ prescription pads. Ha! I love that.”

She tucked the prescriptions into the briefcase and snapped it shut, twisting the metal numbers on the combination lock and setting it on the floor. Then she turned her attention to the little pile of cocaine on the table.

“You sure you don’t want any?” She waved at the white powder.

“Uh, no thanks. I never did like it.”

She scraped at the pile with her pinkie nail, frowning. “Do you have something I can use?”

I dug around in my purse but couldn’t find anything.

“Here.” Gabe handed her a white card.

“I’m going to head off.” I stood and backed away from them. The lantern flickered, casting shadows at my feet. “It was nice meeting you, Violeta. Gabe, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Byeee!” Violeta called. She didn’t look up, just continued cutting the powder into two thick lines with the card Gabe had given her.

Outside, I flicked the flashlight on. The light cut through the mist rolling off the falls. I jogged silently through the underbrush, the darkness like a fist in my back, propelling me forward. It wasn’t until I reached my car that I realized I was shaking. But I wasn’t shaking from adrenaline or fear.

I was shaking from relief.