I don’t understand how this happened. How did they get into the house? Where the hell was the extra security that Brekker promised?
The fire alarm in my house goes off. It’s loud and disorienting. I don’t process what’s happening until I smell smoke.
Then I know, Liam and Theo are here for revenge.
“YOU’LL NEVER GET AWAYwith this,” I hiss as I fight against the ropes binding me to one of our kitchen chairs. My ankles and wrists are pinned in place. I can’t move, no matter how much I squirm and struggle.
“Doesn’t matter. You’ll be dead before anyone can save you,” Liam announces.
Theo is holding a long, serrated knife. The kind that you hunt with and is intended to slaughter an animal.
I’m the fucking animal.
“How did you find me?” It shouldn’t be possible. WIT SEC has security measures in place.
Liam laughs. “All we had to do was keep an eye on our big brother.”
“We knew Gage would look for you as soon as he got out of prison.”
They followed him.Shit.Didn’t Gage think about that?
The smell of smoke grows stronger, and my body prickles with awareness. I’m tied to a chair, unable to move, and my house is going to burn down. . . with me in it.
There’s a soft cry coming from the living room. I blink, trying to imagine who it is, when Liam grins at Theo and leaves us. He’s quick to return, dragging my mom with him.
She’s bleeding from the side of her head. The bastards hurt her! “Mom!”
Mom doesn’t answer. She’s not quite awake yet. They must have hit her with the bat like they did Gage. Fuck!
My gaze shifts outside, where I can see him still sprawled on the deck. They hit him hard. I’m scared that he’s going to bleed out or have permanent damage to his brain.
“Gage!” I scream, hoping he hears my voice and it helps him wake up. “Help!”
A look of disgust appears on Liam’s face, and he lifts his hand, slapping me so hard that my teeth nearly rattle. I taste the metallic tang of blood and hold back a moan. My skin tingles.
That hurt.
“Shut the fuck up! If you scream again, I’ll gut you with my fucking knife,” Theo warns.
I know he’ll do it. “Okay.”
They tie my mom to a chair and shove her beside me. We’re both away from the sliding glass doors, so anyone looking at our house will see Gage on the deck but not us tied up inside.
My gaze shifts back to the deck. There’s no one there.
Gage is gone!
Hope blossoms in my chest. He won’t let me die in here or burn to death. I bet he’s finding a weapon. I’m positive he carries a gun with him. I’m pretty sure it’s stashed in the saddlebags on his Harley.
Please help me, I beg silently,before it’s too late.
Mom needs medical attention. She’s not waking up. Her head slumps over as she breathes, but blood is trickling from her head, dripping onto her white pants.
“You don’t need to hold my mom. Let her go. We all know I’m the one you want.”
Liam shakes his head. “You’ve always been a stupid cunt.”
“Worthless,” Theo agrees, “except for that prize between your legs. Maybe we should see if that pussy is worth all the trouble.”
