“No! Hunter, no!”
There’s at least thirty feet between us, and I wonder when we got so separated. How?
“Holy shit,” I breathe, stumbling forward. Stumbling toward Ella as she bows her small body over a crumbled figure, keeping them both protected, shielded.
They’re hidden behind a car, but I can just make out her and my brother beneath the glow of a street lamp. Can just see the blood, so much blood. It’s covering her hands and face, but not nearly as badly as it’s covering his body, the ground under him.
“No,” I choke out, my head shaking. I force my feet to move as all the emotions, the fear and pain I’d pushed down, surges forward, making the world spin. “Hunter! Ella!”
Twenty-five feet.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Twenty.
He’s dead.
Fifteen.
My brother is dead.
Ten.
Is she hurt? There’s so much blood.
Then, a van pulls up, its tires screeching. I freeze, and it feels like everyone goes still, goes silent. I spin, my gun raised. The door slides open, and more men, more people, pour out. I barely have time to inventory their clothing before something sharp pierces the back of my thigh, once, twice, three times.
I drop to the ground, the world spinning, the chaos waning, my vision blurring. My head cracks against the ground just as I see Nyx fall. Then Gage. Then Maddox.
I grit my teeth, feeling the effects of whatever I just got injected with trying to pull me under and turn to find Ella. She’s screaming so loud, so hard, I’m surprised she hasn’t passed out.
“No,” I breathe, my words shaky and barely audible. “Let her go, you sick fuck.”
No one hears me. No one sees me. I watch helplessly as some big fucker picks my girl up and tosses her body over his shoulder like a rag doll. She beats against him as she continues to scream for help. For Hunter. For Maddox and Gage. For Nyx.
For me.
The last thing I see before the world goes black is one of the plastic-faced men stepping over my body. I blink rapidly, trying to stay awake as he reaches up, shoves the mask off, and smiles down at me.
“Boss wants a meeting,” he chuckles. “And he’s pissed.”
“Fuck!” I shout. Gus. We’re with Gus. He’s brutal at the best of times, but to go through all that just to get to us…
The door to my cell clanks loudly, like metal scraping against metal, and my heart thunders at the sound. My eyes fly to the door, the sound permeating the padded material separating us. My fingers clench around the cuff link, and I force my breathing to slow down before I lose my shit.
My gaze snaps to my hand, and I flip it over, opening my palm. I can’t see the little red dot, but I know it’s there. I know it’s transmitting, at least for now.
It’s our last hope, ouronlyhope.
Just as the door slowly begins to open, I make a choice I hope I won’t live to regret, knowing we don’t stand a chance without it. My mouth opens, and I roughly swallow the cuff link, praying to a God I’ve never believed in that someone,anyone, will search for us before it’s too late.
My throat works around the odd shape, and I nearly choke, but I clamp my lips shut and shove to my feet, refusing to be looked down upon by an unknown force.
“Well, well, well,” he drawls, grinning maniacally. “What do we have here?”
Chapter 16
“Who, dear?” Madeline asks,her green eyes wide and clouded with emotion.
