Each breath hurt as my ribs screamed in pain. My aunt's basement walls moved in time with the ache radiating from my midsection. The long white couch at the end of the room seemed to dance across the floor.

Claire waved her gun in a circle at me, and Bowie hit me again. This time, the back of my head bounced against the cinderblock wall. "Your uncle never wanted to expand. He held me back at every turn. If we ever wanted to grow this organization, we had to take our thrones at the top, but Richard was happy being small potatoes."

I bit my lip. Not that I agreed with taking over the drug business, but not wanting to climb to the drug ladder sounded like my uncle. He didn't even try for a promotion at his job last year.

"He took charge of the daily operations in town but still didn't see the potential to expand our operation. With a little perspiration we can run the east side of Maine. Bowie sees what we can become if we're willing to do the hard work."

"Like murder?" The question just popped out from my shock at her words, and Bowie answered for her with another punch to my gut. My ribs burned.

"Emma got what she deserved. She threatened to rat me out to the cops unless I gave her a hundred thousand dollars. I'm not going to rot in a jail cell because I couldn't handle a pathetic middleman." Claire descended two more steps, putting her just one from the bottom. "I'll do what I have to, Vonnie. Think of the money if we had a crew on the East Coast with Bowie and me in Florida closer to our suppliers."

She really wanted to hang out with the suppliers? Didn't she watch any television shows about the drug trade? Those people were ruthless. Although, apparently, she had shot a woman and sewn her lips shut, so... maybe Claire had the potential to fit right in.

"I've been in charge less than three years since Pete slipped up, and I've doubled the profits and streamlined the distribution process." She looked at Bowie, who smiled and tilted his chin at her accomplishments.

Did she want me to clap?

"I wasn't built to be a stay-at-home wife. Can't you see? This is my calling, and I won't let you or Richard stand in my way a second longer."

My aunt was a lunatic. Plain and simple.

She opened her mouth to say more, but a knock somewhere upstairs stalled her. Claire's and Bowie's eyes widened as she checked her watch.

Another knock sounded, louder the second time.

"Damn it," Claire said. "I left the garage door open, so they know I'm home. Keep her quiet and tie her up until we can dump her tonight."

Bowie retrained his gun on me as Claire turned around and trudged up the stairs with heavy steps.

"Coming!" she yelled as she reached the top.

Bowie and I stared at one another in silence.

I broke it as soon as the basement door closed. "You'd be better at leading this gang than Claire." It was a long shot, but my time was short, and I needed to get Bowie on my side quickly. "You're smart enough to be the leader."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry about my plans."

"You have plans?" Maybe if I got him talking, he'd forget about the killing me part of said plans.

"Shut up and don't scream while Claire takes care of this. It will make it easier for you."

Oh yes, because death was always easy for the one dying.

My elbow brushed against the small hand-held taser hidden in my pocket, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from smiling. If it was only him down here, I had a better chance of staying alive. He'd have to set down his gun to tie me up.

Voices from above filtered into the basement, and I froze when it sounded a hell of a lot like Tony. Why the hell did he come looking for me? Ugh, why did I give him this address? Of course, Tony would see Broadrick's empty truck and try to be a hero. That's why I called him as backup.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

"What are you doing?" Bowie asked as I wrapped my hand around the taser in my back pocket and flipped the switch.

He walked up to me, the gun in his hand but not pointed at me. I didn't have any more time to wait. Tony had no idea what he was walking into or how dangerous Claire was. I brought him here, and I had to get him out.

I had to rescue Tony, then now was my best chance. I whipped the taser from my pants and swung wide with my arm. The device connected with his stomach, and I hit the button, sending the prongs onto his skin. He screamed, convulsed, and fell to the floor, his body twitching with aftershocks.

"Sorry, Bowie." I jumped over his body, my hand shaking, and pounded up the stairs. Claire had closed the basement door, and I ran into it before getting my hand around the knob to throw it open. It bounced off the upstairs wall as I raced for the front door. "Tony, run!"

"Vonnie?" he asked. His gigantic body blocked the front door, making it easy for him to see around my aunt's shoulders.

She turned at my entrance and grabbed the gun from the table by the front door, taking aim at my chest. "Mother fucker."

Claire-I was never calling her Aunt Claire again-pulled the trigger. The bullet shot toward my head, missed, and flew into her wall, shattering the glass on one of her framed diamond paintings. She shot again and then a third time. I jumped behind her couch. The neighbors were going to hear the noise, but she'd get a bullet in me before the police made it here.

Noises sounded from the front door, but I couldn't see what was happening as I crawled across the living room carpet searching for better cover. I made it to the end as Tony lunged for my aunt. She turned the gun toward him and fired two more times.

"No!"