Hunter’s face forms in my mind, and I use it to anchor me. I picture him cupping my face, his breath against my lips. “Stay strong, trouble. I am coming for you.”
A tear breaks free and falls to the floor. Another horror for the room to soak in.
There’s a flurry of movement behind me, forcing the hood to drop to the floor. I glance over my shoulder, finding Jonathan pinned to the wall with a knife at his throat.
“We had an agreement. Not. Her.” James’s hand shakes with rage. “Never her.”
Agreement? The cogs in my brain click, the pieces of the puzzle coming together, and another sob catches in my throat. He stayed to protect me.Oh, James…
Jonathan spits blood onto the ground. “That was before she walked into my club like a lamb to the slaughter. All bets were off the moment she came sniffing around.”
“Let her go.”
“She’s going to be my next wife. We’ll finally be one big happy family.”
Let it happen. I’ll murder him in his sleep.
James punches the wall, and Jonathan leans forward, the knife nicking his skin. “Fucking do it, you coward.”
Do it.
Jonathan smirks as he glances down at me. “Your sister has more balls than you. If she was in this position, my blood would already be coating her chest.”
Loud banging echoes through the room, and James sighs, stepping away. What the actual fuck?Kill him.
“Enter,” Jonathan shouts.
The door opens, and one of the men that helped kidnap us walks in. He doesn’t even bat an eye at me. I guess bound women are a normality around here.
“Client is five minutes out.”
Jonathan kneels and unclips the chains, releasing me with an amused tilt of his lips. “We can leave the clamp on.” He winks as he hauls me to my feet. A groan rumbles in my chest as my muscles protest, and I curse myself for giving him the satisfaction of my pain. He unbuckles the gag. “No need for this. The cat is out of the bag now. Well, almost.”
He snaps his fingers, and a woman is pushed into the room. She is somewhere in her fifties, frail, and so weak she nearly collapses. But she’s strong enough to lift her identical gaze to mine.
A sob wrenches free, my knees slamming into the floor once more. “Mama?”
Chapter Fifty
Hunter
Chaos bathes in blood.
Iowe Fox everything. The pilot next to me didn’t bat an eye when I turned up as his co-pilot, and the passenger sitting behind us was too busy snarling instructions into his phone to pay attention. Does the person on the other end of the call know he’s minutes away from entertaining his sick desires? Maybe they do. Maybe it’s his wife,and she’s thankful it isn’t her. Not everyone can be a hero, and most people look after themselves first, even knowing others will suffer in their place. They reconcile it with excuses that they aren’t strong enough to stop it even if they wanted to, but in reality, they’re terrified of the consequences of failure.
Not my little hacker. She strides into danger like she’s born from fire. She expects to get burned, using it to fuel her resolve instead of destroying her strength. I just hope I’m not too late. I shake my head. I can’t be too late. I can’t imagine a world without her.
The pilot communicates with the boat in the distance, and my breathing slows as we approach our destination. Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I take in his strength and training. This isn’t his first time flying a bird.I’ve been reassured I can trust him, but in this world, you learn to not trust anyone. That’s how you stay alive. After going through the normal flight checks I would do before landing, my hand skims over the gun holstered at my ankle, as well as the knife strapped to my chest. The plan is to take this fat balding businessman to the ship, then we’ll wait while he picks a new victim. His visits are always scheduled for two hours. Apparently, he likes to take his time ensuring the toys meet his very specific criteria. All eyes will be on him. Us pilots won’t be paid more than a cursory glance so long as we stay put inside the helicopter.
Familiar ice washes over me, and I allow the numbness to take control, bringing my vision and mission into crystal clarity. We drift lower the closer we get to the boat, bloodlust tinging the edges of my vision. A storm brews in the distance—dark, menacing clouds rolling in as Mother Nature gathers her forces to witness the end of a reign of terror.
The boat is huge. Terrifyingly so. I expected a yacht with all the bells and whistles, but this one holds multiple shipping containers. It’s closer to military grade than pleasure cruising, and my jaw ticks. It’s both clever and diabolical. Jonathan has done an amazing job ensuring very few know of his operation out here. The more elite you make it, the more you can charge. My hands tighten into fists as the enormity of my task stretches out ahead of me. Many of these victims will have been born and raised in the cult Eleanor escaped. They’ve never known care, love, comfort, warmth, or freedom. They don’t know there is a whole world of possibility waiting for them. They don’t know most people aren’t out to hurt them.
Our passenger ends his call and chuckles, lounging back in his seat. “Happy wife, happy life. Right, boys?”
“Indeed,” I answer, my voice distorted through the headset. Will she be happy to receive the call her husband is at the bottom of the ocean? I’d be ecstatic.
He rubs his hands together as we touch down on the landing pad, nearly uncontainable glee radiating from him. “Ah, can’t wait to see what he’s got in stock for me.”
