Her chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.They had him, and because of her, he was paying the price.A door creaked somewhere to her right.Hearing footsteps, Tessa’s whole body went rigid.
Two men entered the edge of the light.Both wore leather cuts with the unmistakable patch of the Iron Serpents.One was tall and thin, his face hard and sharp like it had been carved from stone.The other was broader, with a lazy, cruel smile that made her skin crawl.
“Well, look at that,” the taller one said.“Little social worker’s awake.”
Tessa lifted her chin.Her hands were shaking, but she forced them still.
“Where’s Dillon?”she asked.Her voice came out hoarse but steady.
The big one chuckled.“Still breathing.For now.That depends on how cooperative you feel like being.”
“I already told you,” she said.“I don’t know anything about the club.I don’t know their business.I don’t know their routes.I don’t know their weaknesses.”
“You know Brick,” the thinner one said smoothly.“That’s enough.”
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs.She stayed silent.The big one stepped closer, looming over her.
“You really gonna test us, sweetheart?You think your biker boyfriend’s gonna save you?”he asked.
She flinched before she could stop herself.
That was a mistake because he widened his smile.
“There it is,” he said softly.“You care.”
“I’m not telling you anything,” she whispered.
The thin one sighed like she’d disappointed him.“Then we’ll ask again later.After your fear grows some teeth.”
They left her alone again.The door slammed and silence rushed back in.
Tessa sagged against the chains, tears burning hot behind her eyes.She blinked hard, refusing to let them fall.Crying wouldn’t help Dillon or Brick, either.Brick.Her chest clenched at the thought of him.
She knew what the Iron Serpents had done.They hadn’t just taken her to punish her or scare the club.Tessa had a feeling they had taken her to bait him, and that terrified her more than anything else.
Brick would come.Of course he would, and that meant they’d be ready for him.Her breathing turned shaky.
Don’t come alone, she begged silently.Please don’t come alone.
Time dragged.Her arms ached, her fingers went numb and her shoulders burned.Every shift of her weight sent sharp flares of pain down her spine.
Tessa counted breaths to stay grounded and counted drips from the ceiling.She whispered Dillon’s name under her breath like a prayer.Every sound made her flinch.Boots in the hall, a distant door, muffled voices and laughter.
Then something different.A noise she couldn’t place at first.A dull, distant thud.She froze.Another sound followed.
A crash, followed by a shout.Her pulse spiked.She strained against the chains, ears straining.The sounds were faint through concrete and distance, but they were real.Too real.Too sudden.
A sharp crack echoed through the space.Was that gunfire?Her breath hitched violently.Another crack followed, then another.Chaos erupted outside the room.There was shouting and running.The unmistakable sounds of a fight breaking loose.Her heart leapt into her throat.
Brick.The realization slammed into her with breathtaking force.He was here.
Tears spilled free now, unchecked.Fear twisted with relief so sharp it hurt.He had come.Of course he had, and now she was terrified that she’d led him straight into hell.
“No, no, no,” she whispered.“Brick ...please...”
Heavy footsteps thundered past the door.A scream cut off abruptly, she thought a body hit the floor somewhere close.The building shook with violence.Then Tessa came to the realization that what was happening outside wasn’t a sloppy fight.It wasn’t panicked, but precise and ruthless.Efficient almost.
That was what frightened her most.Because that wasn’t the sound of a man trying to survive.That was the sound of a man hunting.The door to her room rattled as someone slammed into it from the other side.
