But I barely registered any of that.
Because all I could see, all I could focus on, was what Lucio held in his arms.
Blake.
My baby girl. My newborn daughter. My tiny, helpless child who had done nothing wrong, who didn’t understand any of this, who just wanted to be fed and held and loved.
She was crying in terror, her tiny face red and scrunched, her little fists waving in distress. The sound of her wails tore at something deep inside me, a primal part of my soul that screamed at me to go to her, to hold her, to protect her.
And at her throat, pressed against that impossibly soft skin, were Lucio’s shifted claws. One wrong move and my daughter would be dead.
“One step,” Lucio said, his voice cold and steady, completely at odds with his battered appearance, “and I’m silencing your baby. Forever.”
The world tilted.
I couldn’t do anything except stare at those claws pressed against my daughter’s neck, my lungs frozen, my mind refusing to process what I was seeing.
Knox made a sound beside me. Something between a growl and a sob, torn from the deepest part of his chest. I had never heard him make a noise like that before. It was the sound of a father watching his child in mortal danger, helpless to save her. The sound of a man whose entire world was balanced on a claw’s edge.
“Please.” The word tore itself from my throat, raw and desperate. “Please, no. We’ll give you everything. Everything you want. It’s yours. Money, territory, whatever you need. Just please, please don’t hurt our baby.”
My voice broke on the last word. Tears were streaming down my face, hot and uncontrollable. I couldn’t stop them. Couldn’t stop any of this.
Blake cried harder, her wails echoing off the walls, filling the room with her terror. She was so scared. So small. So helpless.
And there was nothing I could do.
Lucio smiled. It was a cold smile. Empty. The polite mask he’d worn for weeks was completely gone now, replaced by something cruel and calculating. This was the real Lucio. The one who had been hiding behind friendly words and helpful gestures.
“You weren’t supposed to arrive so soon,” he said conversationally, as if we were discussing the weather and not the life of a newborn. “But it’s fine. We can improvise.”
“What do you want?” Knox’s voice was rough with barely contained rage. I could see him trembling with the effort of holding himself back. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to attack, to rip Lucio apart, to save his daughter. But he couldn’t. One wrong move and Blake would die.
“What I want is very simple.” Lucio tilted his head, studying us with those cold, empty eyes. “You, Luna. Pick up that rope.” He jerked his chin toward a coil of rope lying on the floor near the window. “Tie your mate up. Hands behind his back. Make sure it’s fucking tight.”
I looked at Knox. His gray eyes met mine, filled with anguish and fury and something else. Love. Trust. A silent message that I understood without words.
Do it. Do whatever he says. Keep our daughter alive.
I moved slowly, carefully, picking up the rope with shaking hands. Every step felt like walking through water, heavy and surreal. I walked to Knox and he turned around, presenting his wrists to me.
“Tight,” Lucio reminded me. “I’ll know if you’re trying to leave slack.”
I wrapped the rope around Knox’s wrists. My fingers were trembling so badly I could barely make the knots. I pulled them tight, wincing when I saw the rope dig into his skin, leaving red marks against his tanned flesh. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t make a sound.
“Good girl,” Lucio said mockingly. “Now you.” He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a zip tie, tossing it to Knox. “Put that around her wrists.”
Knox caught it with bound hands, his movements awkward but determined. I held out my wrists and he secured the zip tie, the plastic biting into my skin as he pulled it closed.
We were restrained now. Helpless. Completely at Lucio’s mercy.
Blake was still crying. The sound was like a knife in my heart, twisting with every sob.
“What now?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What happens now?”
Lucio’s smile widened.
“Time to go.”
