In that frozen moment, the truth settled over her like ice water.
This was no longer about money, deals, or even her body.
It was survival.
Pure, brutal survival.
And the child growing inside her had just made the cost of failure impossibly higher.
Daniella couldn't breathe.
The realization crashed over her like icy water: she was no match for any of them. These were hardened men, armed, seasoned, utterly at ease with the smell of gunpowder and the promise of blood. She had nothing but raw fear and the fragile heartbeat growing inside her.
She was going to die here.
Not someday. Not after some drawn-out negotiation.
Right now.
This instant!
Who had said when life gives you lemons you can make lemonades? Where? How?
The thought hit so hard it bypassed thought entirely.
Her hand shot out, fingers closing around the handgun. She raised it with a trembling grip, pointing it at the nearest masked man before her mind could catch up. Her finger tightened on the trigger.....
