The rain didn’t only fall in the city; it attacked. It battered the pavement, drummed against the roof of my beat-up sedan, and washed away whatever was left of my dignity.
I sat in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was 11:45 PM.
I was fifteen minutes late.
"You can do this, Maya," I whispered to myself, but the voice shaking in my head didn't believe it. "Just walk in there, give them the money, and walk out. It’s done."
Except, I didn't have the money. Not all of it.
I clutched the envelope in my lap. It contained five thousand dollars. Every cent I had, plus what I’d managed to borrow from a friend who didn't know the trouble I was real
