Tᴏʀʏ's Dᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs Gᴀᴍʙʟᴇ

No Turning Back

The night air was sharp against Tory's skin as she followed Nadia into the shadows. Every instinct screamed at her to stop, to turn around and face the cops, to run back to the hospital where Malik lay fighting for his life. But something in Nadia's voice—calm, cold, and assured—pulled her forward. If Nadia knew Malik, if she worked with him, then she had the answers Tory needed.

They moved quickly through the alleyways, avoiding the main streets where the flashing red and blue lights still glowed in the distance. Nadia led them to a sleek black car parked just behind an old brick building. She slid into the driver's seat, and without a word, Tory got into the passenger side, heart pounding.

As the car sped off, Tory tried to make sense of everything. Mason was dirty. Dre had ties deeper than she'd imagined. Now this woman—Nadia—had entered the picture, claiming to have worked with Malik. Tory could feel her world unraveling, the threads of her life snapping one by one.

"You said you worked with Malik," Tory began, breaking the silence as they drove further from the warehouse. "What does that mean?"

Nadia glanced at her from the corner of her eye, the streetlights casting shadows across her face. "Malik wasn't just running dope or small jobs for Dre. He was part of something bigger, something way more dangerous than you think. And that flash drive?" Nadia paused, gripping the wheel tighter. "It's not just Dre and Mason who want it. There are others. People with a lot of power. If that information gets out, a lot of people go down. Not just the cops."

Tory's stomach turned. "What's on the drive?"

Nadia hesitated, then spoke slowly. "There's a list. Names, shipments, transactions—all connected to a network that spans more than just this city. It's drugs, guns, human trafficking. Malik found a way in, but it got too deep too fast. That video you saw of Mason? It's just the beginning. Mason's been covering for people—important people."

Tory's breath caught in her throat. "And Dre?"

Nadia nodded. "He's in deep. But he's not the mastermind. There are people above him, pulling the strings. Dre's just another pawn, like Malik was."

Tory felt sick. Malik wasn't supposed to be a part of this. He was supposed to be getting out, staying clean. But it seemed like every step he took brought him closer to danger. And now she was in the middle of it, holding the one thing that could either save him or bury him.

"So why are you helping me?" Tory asked, her voice laced with suspicion. "Why not just take the drive and leave?"

Nadia's lips pressed into a thin line. "Because Malik asked me to. Before everything went sideways, he told me if anything ever happened to him, I needed to help you. He knew things could go bad, and he didn't want you getting caught up in it."

Tory's heart ached at the thought of Malik, always trying to protect her, even when he couldn't protect himself. "So what now?" she asked quietly, staring out the window as the city blurred past them.

Nadia pulled the car into an abandoned parking lot, the tires crunching on gravel. She turned off the engine and turned to face Tory, her expression hard. "Now, we make a choice. Either we use what's on that drive to take down Dre, Mason, and whoever else is involved, or we disappear. We could run. But if we stay, we're in for a fight. These people don't leave loose ends."

Tory's mind raced. Disappear? Run? She thought of Malik lying in that hospital bed, fighting for his life. If she ran, would they come after him? Would they finish the job? And what about her mother? Tory couldn't just vanish. She couldn't leave everything behind. But staying meant facing a threat bigger than anything she'd ever imagined.

"I can't run," Tory said finally, her voice stronger than she felt. "I need to protect my family. Malik. I need to stop them."

Nadia studied her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Then we do this the hard way. But understand this, Tory—once we go after them, there's no turning back. You'll be in their crosshairs."

"I know." Tory took a deep breath, her fingers still gripping the flash drive in her pocket. She wasn't ready for this, but she didn't have a choice. Malik had risked everything to keep her out of this life, but now she had to face it head-on.

Nadia started the car again. "There's someone you need to meet. Someone who can help us. But first, we need to make sure we're not being followed."

As they drove off into the night, Tory's mind buzzed with a hundred different thoughts. She thought of Malik, of her mother, of the life she had once dreamed of beyond the streets. It seemed so far away now, almost unreachable. But if she had to fight to get there, she would.