Chapter 5

The words hung in the air. The highway was dead silent except for the frantic beeping of the heart monitor.

Tiffany let out a harsh, ugly laugh. The sound scraped against Dakota's ears.

"You?" Tiffany sneered. She looked Dakota up and down, her eyes lingering on the scuffed boots. "You cannot even afford a decent coat. You are a street rat playing doctor."

The private physician scrambled to his feet. He pointed his uninjured hand at Dakota.

"She is a murderer," the doctor yelled. He looked at the head bodyguard. "Throw this lunatic into the ditch before she kills my patient."

Two bodyguards stepped forward. Their massive hands reached out to grab Dakota's shoulders.

Dakota's eyes turned to ice. Her right hand dropped instantly to her waist, her fingers curling into a tight fist. Her muscles locked, ready to break the first arm that touched her.

On the ground, Audrey violently convulsed. 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 toxin hit her heart," the doctor yelled, his voice cracking with terror. "She is gone. Start making the calls."

Tiffany's face drained of all color. She grabbed handfuls of her own hair.

"If she dies, the Wilder family will slaughter us all," Tiffany shrieked. Her voice echoed off the trees.

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, sliding smoothly past the two men in front of her.

She dropped to one knee beside Audrey. She pressed three fingers hard against the side of Audrey's neck, feeling for the carotid artery. The pulse was a weak, chaotic flutter.

Tiffany saw Dakota touching Audrey. She lunged forward, her hands hooking into claws, aiming for the back of Dakota's jacket.

Dakota did not look back. She swung her left arm backward in a sweeping arc. The back of her hand slammed into Tiffany's waist.

The force sent Tiffany stumbling backward. She tripped over her own heels and crashed hard onto the asphalt.

"If you want her to live, shut your mouth," Dakota commanded. The sheer authority in her voice hit the crowd like a physical wave.

The bodyguards did not move. They stared at the girl, paralyzed by her absolute dominance of the space.

Tiffany sat on the ground. Her chest heaved with rage.

"If she dies while you are touching her, you will pay with your life," Tiffany screamed.

Dakota peeled Audrey's eyelids back, checking her pupils. She did not look at Tiffany.

"And if I bring her back?" Dakota asked.

Tiffany gritted her teeth. "That million dollars is yours."

Dakota shifted her gaze. She looked at the massive, glittering diamond necklace resting against Tiffany's collarbone.

"A million is not enough," Dakota said. Her voice was flat. "I want the necklace. And I want you to bow to me and apologize in front of everyone."

Tiffany gasped. Her hands flew up to cover the diamonds. She had 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 of panic spilling down her face. "Deal. But if she is not awake in five minutes, I will have you thrown in a cell forever."

Dakota's lips curved into a cold smile. "Deal."

Dakota 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 hair in place.

She pulled the pin out. Her long black 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 of the pin slid open. Inside lay a row of hair-thin silver needles.