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then Cullen Sharpe gave her the
sweetest, most loving kiss she’d ever been given, and for a brief
moment—Ivy was able to forget everything bad that had happened.
    They broke off from their kiss and Cullen
took her hand, and they began walking once more.  
    Ivy marveled how the city had transformed
into something so beautiful, now that Cullen Sharpe had taken her into his arms
once again.
    Everywhere she looked, she saw light
dancing in the trees, and children giggling as their mother tried to wrangle
them into a nearby car.  
    An older man walked a cute dog.
    A young couple laughed at a private joke
across the street.
    The nearby buildings towered majestically
toward the blue sky above them.
    But then a cloud moved across the sky and
blocked the sun, and the day grew colder, and Ivy remembered what had truly
brought her here.
    “I have something important to tell you,”
she said.
    Cullen glanced at her as they kept
walking down the sidewalk together.   She looked around, searching for suspicious vehicles or people.
    “Somehow I have a feeling I’m not going
to like this,” he replied.
    “I got a text from an unknown person last
night,” she said.   “They told me my
phone wasn’t secure and that one would be delivered to me.”
    Cullen’s face grew pale.   “My father,” he whispered.
    Ivy put a hand to her mouth as if she was
coughing, but then she turned her face towards him and spoke.   “He told me you’re being held under
constant surveillance, so he can’t contact you.   Everything’s being watched.   Your phone, email, everything.”
    Cullen’s posture immediately
stiffened.   “Continue.”
    “But most importantly, he wanted me to
tell you that he needs money.   He
wants you to place two point six million dollars into the Swiss account.   He said you’d know what that meant.”
    Cullen barked a disbelieving laugh.   “He must’ve meant two hundred thousand.”
    “No, he said the number twice and
corrected me when I said two and a half million.   He was clear that it’s 2.6 million.   He said lives are at stake.”
    Cullen didn’t respond for a long
time.   “Did he give a timeframe for
when this needed to occur?”
    “Within twenty-four hours,” she said.
    He shook his head.   “Damn him.”
    “I’m sorry,” Ivy said.   “I don’t know if I made a mistake…”
    “No,” Cullen said.   “Don’t take any blame.   As usual, this is what happens when you
involve yourself with me.”
    “I don’t care about that.   Please,” she said.   “Don’t let this get between us.”
    He smiled, but his eyes looked
strained.   “I won’t,” he said.
    “Promise?”
    “Promise,” he agreed, squeezing her hand
comfortingly.   “But we should head
back to my place.   I need to move
some things around, liquidate an asset or two to free up that much cash.”   Cullen shook his head yet again.   “The man won’t be satisfied until he
bankrupts me.”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t do it,” Ivy
suggested.
    Cullen didn’t reply at first.   “Maybe not,” he said, eventually.   “I need time to think.   I want to just be with you tonight,” he
told her.   “We’ll go back and I’ll
make us dinner and we can pretend that it’s just the two of us, and none of the
rest of it matters.”
    “That sounds lovely,” Ivy agreed.
    She almost felt happy, despite all of the
negative prospects hanging over their heads.
    They’d just arrived back at Cullen’s
apartment when she felt Cullen stiffen again and saw his eyes narrowing as he
looked past her.
    “What’s happening—“ he began.
    Two police cars had pulled up and cops
were getting out of them, hands on their holsters.   They announced themselves, and told Ivy
to step away from Cullen.
    “What’s going on?” she cried.   Terror overwhelmed her.
    And that’s when she saw her mother
getting out of one of the cars.  
    “Is that your daughter, ma’am?” the
police officer said.
    “Yes, that’s