Justin wasn't what most people feared at first glance. He was short, wiry, with restless eyes and a lopsided grin that made him look more like a street-smart hustler than a city-wide threat. But anyone who knew the streets of Pharr knew better.
Behind that smile was a storm, a cunning mind, a coiled temper, and a reputation that left even the boldest men trembling.
When he stepped into the hospital room and saw Kalisa lying in the bed, bruised but breathing, and Caleb sitting beside her like a guardian angel, the grin vanished.
"What the hell?" Justin muttered, his eyes flicking from Kalisa to the sharply dressed detective.
Caleb turned his head slowly, calm and unreadable. "And you are?"
Before Justin could spit something dangerous, Kalisa cut in, her voice thin and tight. "He's… a friend."
Caleb didn't look away from Justin for several long seconds. His eyes said, "I don't believe you," but he didn't press.
"Alright," Caleb said, smoothing down the front of his jacket. "Get some rest, Kalisa. We'll finish our conversation later."
Then he turned to Justin, gave him a smile so civil it felt like a threat. "Pleasure."
Justin offered a crooked smirk, the kind that didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah. Likewise."
Caleb didn't wait for more. He walked out, the door clicking softly behind him.
And the second it did, the temperature in the room changed.
Justin was at her bedside in two strides, the smile gone. His eyes blazed. "What the hell was that?" he hissed. "Why is the guy you were supposed to rob sitting at your bedside like he's your boyfriend?"
Kalisa winced, more from the situation than the pain. "It's… complicated. I thought I got your guy. But it looks like he disguised himself as the Detective."
Justin leaned in, his voice sharp. "Did you get the wallet?"
She looked away.
His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "Kalisa."
She swallowed. "Like I said, I think… I stole the wrong wallet."
The silence stretched. Then Justin let out a cold, disbelieving laugh.
"The wrong wallet?" he echoed. "No. No, Kalisa, don't mess with me. The guy you were supposed to hit was the detective. The cop. The very person who was here a few minutes ago."
Her eyes widened. "You never said he was a cop! You never told me I was supposed to steal from a police officer!"
"I described him to you. His location. What he looked like," Justin replied.
"Yes! But…. You said nothing about a badge or a name, for that matter!"
Justin's face twisted. "Then who did you steal from?"
Kalisa hesitated. "He had a scar on his right wrist."
"I thought… I thought it was Caleb."
Justin went utterly still. His fingers twitched, his jaw clenched.
"You don't know who you stole from…" he said slowly, as if trying to wrap his head around it.
She gave a small nod.
"Then tell me how you got shot."
By the time she finished explaining, Justin was pacing, eyes wild.
"We're dead," he muttered. "We are so dead."
"Justin—"
"You stole from Don Khan, Kalisa. Don. Khan." He looked like he wanted to scream. "Do you know what that means?"
Her blood turned to ice. The name hit like a bullet to the chest.
Justin leaned in, his voice hoarse. "Do you still have the wallet?"
She nodded weakly.
"Where?"
"It's safe."
He cursed under his breath. "Nothing is safe now. You didn't just cross a line, you walked into the lion's den wearing perfume and heels."
Kalisa sat up slowly, pain screaming through her body. "I can't just walk out of here, Justin. I got shot."
"If we don't leave right now, that bullet won't matter. The next one won't miss."
She thought of her mother. Her house. If they found her…
"Fine," she snapped. "But I want my money first."
Justin's laugh was empty. "Your what?"
"You heard me. I did the job."
"You stole the wrong wallet! You dragged me into a war I never signed up for!"
She glared. "Still a wallet."
"Still a death sentence!"
They locked eyes, both breathing hard, both furious. But fear crept in beneath the anger. A silent truth neither wanted to voice: they were already in too deep.
Justin yanked out his phone, scanned something quickly, then shoved it back in his pocket. "We're out of time."
Kalisa stared at the wallet in Justin's hands like it was a ticking bomb.
"What are you doing with that?" she demanded, her voice sharp, breathless.
Justin didn't flinch. He turned the wallet over, examining it like a jeweller with stolen diamonds. "Relax," he muttered. "It's a dummy."
"A dummy?" Kalisa echoed, stepping forward, pain forgotten. "You told me we were dead for stealing some wallet. Now you're bringing a fake to exchange it with?"
Justin glanced up, his eyes gleaming with something between calculation and madness. "Not fake, sweetheart. Could have swapped it with the original, but now I've got nothing."
He opened the wallet slowly, almost ceremoniously. Empty. Just a few crisp bills, some expired cards, and a fake ID.
Kalisa blinked. "What the hell, Justin?"
"I needed time," he said, snapping the wallet shut. "Time to swap it with the real one. Extract what matters. Accounts. Contacts. Routes. Then replace it with this, and hand it over like nothing happened."
"You were going to double-cross the one who gave you the job?" Her voice cracked, laced with disbelief. "Are you insane?"
Justin's jaw clenched. "I wasn't going to give him everything. I needed leverage. Insurance."
Kalisa stared at him, her hands curling into fists. "So you used me as bait. Sent me in blind. Don't tell me who your boss is. Now I am shot and stuck in between a Don and a Detective, then you wait to see what I came out with?"
"You weren't supposed to get shot," he snapped. "You were supposed to grab Detective Caleb's wallet and walk."
"Oh, well, excuse me for bleeding all over your brilliant plan!" Kalisa exhaled.
"What I want to know is why Don Khan would dress like Detective Caleb, why would he go through all that length to disguise himself as the Detective?"
Justin exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I didn't plan for this to go sideways. But now that we have the Don's wallet—"
"Had," she cut in. " I do not know where it is, now."
Justin's eyes darkened. "I thought you said it was safe and that you hid it."
Kalisa's chest heaved. "Not really sure, you know, I was shot?" Kalisa lied. She couldn't just trust Justin.
He looked at her, and for a split second, there was something raw behind his smirk. Something tired. "Then I hope you run fast."
A cold silence fell between them.
Then her phone buzzed. It was a message.
Unknown number: Return the wallet..
"Justin!" Kalisa called, showing him the text.
Outside, a car engine revved and then shut off.
Justin's head snapped toward the window.
Kalisa's phone buzzed again. One notification.
Unknown number: You have something of mine.
Justin turned to her slowly. "Kalisa…"
She didn't move. Didn't breathe.
He took a step back from the window.
"They've found us."