“You want your woman safe?” a man hissed as my head got jerked back. “Then, start talking.”
I knew my nose was broken, that much was for certain. I also knew that I’d be covered in bruises from head to toe if I made it out of this shit alive. I stared at the man snarling at me through my one good eye that hadn’t swollen shut yet, and all I could muster was a mouth full of spit before I peppered his face with it.
And the kick to my gut that ensued left me breathless.
“Dear God,” I choked out.
“Really let her have it in there!” one of the guys called out.
“No,” I tried to yell.
But it simply came out as a breathless plea.
“West!” Chloe yelped.
The sound of skin against skin enraged me. Chloe’s sobs echoed off the walls, taunting me and mocking me as I sat there, completely helpless to save her. Another punch landed against my jaw, and I swear to hell on high if I took any other shots, my jaw would shatter.
“Please, stop,” Chloe begged through her tears.
“Leave him be. Let’s go check on his bitch,” one of the guys murmured.
Yes, leave me alone so I can break out of these restraints and kill every last one of you fuckers.
They shoved me over onto my side before they went into the room that housed Chloe. Her sobs blurred together, becoming an endless backdrop of hopelessness and sheer panic as I struggled to contract my muscles enough to sit back up. We had to get out of this. No one was coming for us. No one knew what had happened or where we were, and they had no way of tracking us down otherwise. The only relief I had was the fact that I still felt my gun in its holster on my hip. They’d been so damn focused on plucking us off the street that they had ignored the first rule of abduction.
Always frisk the captive for weapons.
“West!” Chloe shrieked.
I grunted as I sat up. I leaned against the wall as I twisted my wrists, trying to find the leverage I needed to bust the zip tie from around my skin. But the more I moved, the deeper the plastic cut into my wrists. And if I wasn’t careful, I’d nick one of my major arteries and bleed out right there on the concrete floor.
“I have to get to her,” I whispered to myself.
“Tiffany! Nooooo!” I bellowed.
I charged into the room, landing bullets and piercing temples as Tiff’s lifeless body fell to the floor. Blood red dripped over my vision as I unloaded both of my weapons into the men that surrounded her before ejecting both of the magazines. I slammed the guns against my hips, loading them with yet another magazine full of bullets. And every time someone stepped into my purview, they went down just like their fucking friends.
“Tiff! Talk to me!” I exclaimed.
When my guns clicked on empty, I dropped them and dove for her body. Blood poured from every orifice, and her gorgeous brown eyes stared back at me without their light.
“Tiff, please. Talk to me,” I whispered.
I patted her cheek. I shook her body. I picked her up into my arms and buried my face into the crook of her neck. She was still warm. So, she had to be alive, right?
“West,” someone murmured.
Someone tugged at me and I shrugged them off. “We have to wake her up. Tiffany, talk to me.”
“West, we have to get out of here,” someone else said as they tried to take my hand.
“Get the fuck off me!” I croaked.
“I have to save her,” I growled to myself.
I lunged my aching body forward until I had enough momentum to perch onto my knees. I picked up one leg that felt as if it had practically been broken and I heaved myself upright. I kept my grumbles to myself. I swallowed down groans of pain as I stood on both of my wobbling legs. The metal of my gun cheered me on, reminding me that I had the upper hand the instant I broke free from my bonds.
And as I closed my eyes, I leaned my entire body forward and slammed my wrists against my ass.
