“Star?”
I move to get to my feet, but he pushes me back over again.
“Tut tut. Not so fast. I haven’t finished speaking.”
“What the fuck did you do to my daughter?”
“She’s just sleeping for now. Your compliance determines what comes next.”
I swallow my retort, bracing myself. If this asshole thought I would make an easy target, he thought wrong. Messing with me is one thing, but messing with my kid is a whole other thing entirely. He has no idea what I’m willing to do for her, what I’ve already done. One way or another, Star will be getting out of this cave if I have to kill Michael with my bare hands to do it.
“Why me? My ties to the MC are weak at best.”
“I think you underestimate your importance to them. Your sister and boyfriend—your pseudo-brother-in-law. You matter to all of them. I’ll admit I didn’t know that when I picked you as my in. That was pure convenience.”
I frown, not knowing how I was more convenient than the others. I always have someone with me.
He grins as if knowing exactly what I’m thinking. “I didn’t need to come to you, not since poor, broken, little Citi walkedherself through my door. I found out lots of tidbits you thought you were safe saying. I mean, it would have helped if you had given me something juicy I could have used, but you’re far too loyal for that.”
“So you pumped me for information, and when that didn’t work, you what? Kept me coming because this is nothing more than a game to you?”
“Oh, it’s so much more than that, sweet Citi. All I wanted was my wife back. She doesn’t belong to the Raven Souls. She belongs to me, and they took her from me. I warned them, told them exactly what would happen if they didn’t return her, but they refused to listen. And now, I’m afraid it’s you who will pay the price. Perhaps now they’ll listen. They took my woman. Now I’ve taken one of theirs. I’m offering a straightforward trade. You for Lilac. If they don’t bring her to me, then I’ll keep you instead.”
“And Star?”
“Her, I’ll send back. Piece by piece.”
I bite my tongue so hard it splits, blood pooling in my mouth.
When his cell rings, he walks away, putting a little distance between us, but not enough for me to get to Star before he does. And as much as I want to pull her into my arms and hold her tight, I know she’s safe away from me right now.
“What did you say?” I turn to watch Michael when his anger starts to suck the life out of the cave. “Which news stations?”
“All of them? Fuck. I’m on my way.” He’s quiet for a second before he snarls, “Well, you’d better hurry then.”
He hangs up and turns toward me. I flinch at the palpable anger radiating off him. “Seems your MC has been busy. Now I need to make sure my contingency plans are in place.”
He bends down and grabs my jaw tightly, making me cry out. “It didn’t have to be this way. This is all on them.”
He lets go of me with a shove before he pulls a gun from his back and points it at Star.
“No! No-no-no,” I scream and throw myself at him, but not before he fires off two shots. He stumbles as I fall into him, but he throws me to the ground without a second thought and strolls out of the cave like he didn’t blow my whole world apart. I crawl to my baby, sobbing so hard I can hardly get a breath in. It isn’t until I’m almost to her that I realize she isn’t alone. Someone has curled themselves around her as best they can with their arm shackled to the wall.
I move my hands over them, feeling the cool leather of the cut, and roll them backward, not surprised to see Capone’s pain-ridden eyes staring up at me.
“Is she okay?” he chokes out.
I pull a still unconscious Star from his grip and check her over. Apart from being out cold, she seems fine. At least until I see the blood on her arm. I run my hands up and down it frantically, spotting what looks like two burn marks, but I don’t find any wounds. I swallow when I see her small wrist is shackled to Capone’s, which is also bloody.
But it’s not Star’s blood.
I turn to Capone, who is pale as fuck, and roll him further onto his back. His groan of pain alerts me to the problem before I spot the torn fabric of his black T-shirt. The black hid the blood, but not the torn fabric of the bullet wounds in his upper chest and one in his stomach where they’ve torn their way out of his body.
“Oh my god.” I shrug out of my hoodie and press it to him, making him hiss. “I don’t know what to do,” I cry.
He reaches up and cups my cheek. “You have to go before he comes back.”
“I’m not leaving you and I’m not leaving Star.”
