Chapter 20 The Line Between

• The tunnel lights hummed overhead, flickering in and out like the beat of a failing heart. Valentina’s arms trembled as she held her pistol level, aimed at the woman who had once been her salvation and her shadow. Isabel Reyes stood calm in the half-light, her eyes locked on her daughter’s.
• Three rifles were trained on Valentina’s back. Boots shuffled behind her, a single order away from blood. The silence stretched like a wire.
• “Call them off,” Valentina said, voice low, deadly.