“Jesus, Becca… what are you talking about? What the hell is going on?” She heard an inhalation of air on the other end of the phone, and then whispering as though he were talking to someone. “Nina put a GPS tracker on your car. We’re going to find you,” Christian said.

Becca had no way of knowing if this was true or not. And she didn’t care. Hopefully, by the time they located her, she would have Raya. “You’re a good man, Chris. I didn’t say that enough. I neglected you and your feelings, took up so much space in the relationship. I know so much of what happened was my fault too. It just made things easier if I turned you into the bad guy. I see that now,” Becca said. She didn’t mean to make things sound so final, but he needed to know that she was sorry too.

“Becca, I’m begging you not to do…” She hit disconnect, cutting him off as she pulled into the parking lot of the seedy pay-by-the-hour motel, a crash pad for junkies and working girls.

Becca headed toward Mo’s motel room, tucked away at the end of the property, checking her bag one more time, the gun tucked inside. If things went wrong, she could still protect herself. She reached the motel room, opened the recording app on her phone and hit record, then placed it in the front pocket of her purse. She could do this. Becca knocked softly. “Mo, it’s Dr. Ortiz,” she said, hearing the tremble in her voice.

Steady. Don’t let her see your weakness. She will exploit it at all costs.

“Come in,” Mo said calmly as though she were inviting Becca in for tea. She slowly opened the door. The mirror was shattered, furniture overturned, and in the corner, Raya sat on a plastic motel chair, her hands bound behind her with a thick cord, a towel stuffed in her mouth, her face bruised and swollen. She wasn’t the only injured party. Mo’s lip was busted and blood stained her T-shirt. Becca felt a surge of pride knowing Raya had put up a fight.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to tidy. There was a bit of a misunderstanding. Things have been sorted now. Isn’t that right, Raya?” Mo said. Becca caught sight of the large butcher knife glinting in Mo’s hand, the blade so close to Raya’s neck it would take only seconds to pierce her skin.