"Openup!”Matiasyelledas he pounded on Cristian’s closed door.
“Go away, Matias!” he grunted and rolled on the bed, gripping his head in his hands.
“Bastian sent a message.”
He jumped to his feet and snatched open the door. His brother stood leaned against the wall watching him. “What did he say?”
“He sent their location. We have to move fast; Darby sold her again and is waiting on the money. We have two days to get her out before she is gone again.”
“Not on my life!” he swore under his breath.
“I know… but we have to go in with a solid plan.” Matias advised.
“Well, I had a plan before you and Bastian ruined it.”
Before Matias could say anything in his defense, Cristian grabbed the phone and ran his eyes over his brother’s message. From the look of it, it was a place in Chile, but they needed to leave early in order to get there in time.
The thought of Everly serving anyone else in bed infuriated him. He simply couldn’t wait to rip Darby’s heart out for making him look like the bad guy in front of Everly. He was going to pay for that, and for trying to tear the family apart.
“We have two days… we won’t let this slip through our fingers,” Matias said.
“You’re right, but we cannot fight alone. We need more men. We can’t trust the few who survived and we’re down in numbers.” Cristian began to pace around even more while rubbing his chin. They needed more people that pledged their loyalty to the Silva family to step forward and fight alongside them. “I’ll send word to some families that we’ve worked with and supported for years. It’s time to receive payback.”
“Fine.”
“Can you get out now?” Cristian grunted at his brother as he started to close his door.
“You can’t keep treating me this way. I didn’t do it to hurt you,” Matias protested.
“You should have thought about that before you left me out of the plan. The plan that cost me the woman I love,” Christian replied before shutting the door in his brother’s face. He rushed towards his phone and decided to put a call through the families that could lend them a man or two.
Three families had donated five men each for the cause, giving them fifteen men altogether. They were ready to strike Darby down.
That night, he kept tossing and turning in bed, knowing that this was the longest time he’d been separated from her since he released her. He couldn’t wait to set eyes on her again. Even if she failed to forgive him, he was ready to love her from a distance. But he wanted to see her face. She was a queen and needed to be treated as such.
That night, Everly found it difficult to sleep. The next morning would make it two days since Bastian had sent word to the others about their location—and two days since she had been bought again. Today would seal her fate. If Cristian wasn’t there on time to save her and the other women, they would be lost forever.
Darby was quite proud of his decision to be rid of her. Everly wished that she’d never lost her job and come on that vacation. But another thought crossed her mind. She would never have met Cristian. It was clear that he wasn’t a saint, but she loved him just the same. If she made it out of here, she would do everything she could to gain his forgiveness.
She vividly recalled his blood-stained shirt and hands. He’d killed people before. Alessandro had been eliminated to save her. She knew he may never understand why she had chosen to follow Darby, and probably would never forgive her, but she didn’t care. She had done it to save him, and that was what mattered. She was proud that within his hard exterior, he still had an amazing heart to do what was right for those he loved. His brothers were kind-hearted as well. They all cared about these women who they knew next to nothing about.
Everly crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. Darby had no idea what was coming for him. She couldn’t help but smile thinking about his surprised face when everything around him exploded.
She hoped that Bastian would help them get the hell out of this place. Darby had about twenty men here, and they had managed to send word to Cristian. She prayed Cristian would come with enough backup. Her heart stuttered when she thought of Matias. In her heart she prayed he had worn the vest like he promised. If he hadn’t—then it was true, and he was dead. Everly smirked at the thought of the bloodshed when Cristian arrived. If his brother had died, he wouldn’t stop until every last man was dead. Everly realized that Darby would use everything in his arsenal to protect himself—including her. She had no doubt he would take her as a hostage to save his own neck.
Everly knew it was her duty to be safe. She rose from the bed and began to search the room. She needed to find a place to hide. Whatever happened, she knew everything she did was for Cristian. She knew that the other women would be saved because they weren’t as valuable as she was to Darby. Before closing her eyes, she imagined Cristian’s face one more time.
“I’ll see you again…” she smiled.
The night seemed shorter than ever. When morning came, the entire place bustled with activity. As she peered down from her window, she hoped that Darby hadn’t discovered the plot against him, yet it seemed that Darby was moving them. She sucked in a deep breath and continued to stare down at the men below. There was nothing she could do but pray. If Cristian didn’t arrive in time, their plan would be ruined.
"Whyareweleavingnow?” Luis was confused by Darby’s sudden decision. Darby’s lips wrapped around the burning cigarette he carried between his chubby fingers as he inhaled. He had no explanation for his reason to leave, other than a gut feeling that something bad was on the horizon.
“I don’t feel right. Something is wrong, I can feel it.”
Luis scoffed, “You can’t just leave. What about the sale of the girls? What happens to their goods?”
“We can make other arrangements. Gather the women, we don’t have much time.” Luis wasn’t ready to argue with him, so he left.
