“Look at me,” I command her.
She does as she’s told, lifting her head. She looks physically unharmed, but I have no idea the kind of shit Maverick’s put in her head. “Have they hurt you?”
She shakes her head. “No, sir.”
“Good.” I nod as Maverick moves the camera back onto himself. “What do you want, Maverick?”
He shrugs. “I’m prepared to negotiate your wife’s release.”
I glare at him since we both know our previous attempt at negotiation led nowhere. “Are you now?”
He nods. “Your wife, for, let’s say, fifty women.”
I laugh. “Get fucked, Stetson.”
I see Gentry shake his head disapprovingly out of the corner of my eye, but Maverick presses on undeterred. “Forty women, then.”
“You’re wasting my time,” I warn, even as Gentry mouthskeep him talking.
“How many women are worth your wife’s life, Gabriel?” Maverick asks, sounding just as impatient as me.
The high lords in the room silently confer, before they all hold up one hand. “Five,” I offer.
“Ten,” Maverick counters.
I look to my brothers, then to Gentry. They all nod their approval. “Deal.”
My former best friend looks pleased as our tech guys arrive and discreetly plug my phone into their computer, trying to acquire Maverick’s location.
“When and where?” he asks.
“Friday. Our old spot at the northern border.”
I can see the wheels turning in his head as he considers the time and location. “How do I know you won’t just kill me once you have her back?”
The tech guy gives me a nod, letting me know they’ve locked onto Maverick’s location. Gentry immediately jumps into action, calling our military contact. “I give you my word. As long as Delilah is unharmed, you and the women will walk away unscathed.”
Everyone—even Maverick—knows the Brotherhood pride ourselves on being men of our word, so it’s as good a reassurance as any.
“Fine,” he agrees.
“Excellent. And Maverick?” I stare at him through the screen, hoping he can see the severity in my face.
“What?” he asks, his own tone matching the darkness in mine.
“If you so much asthinkabout touching my wife, I’ll ensure that she suffers the consequences for your actions. Understood?”
His jaw ticks. “Understood.”
The call disconnects abruptly, and I turn to Gentry. “Where are they?”
“On another uninhabited island off the Sound.” Gentry points to the IT guy’s laptop screen, which shows a blinking red dot seemingly in the middle of the ocean.
I pull at my necktie, hoping to alleviate some of the suffocating pressure that’s built there. “What did the military say?”
He offers a sympathetic shrug. “They’ll probably be gone by the time we could get to them.”
“Or that could be their entire base of operations,” I reply, barely keeping myimpatience at bay.
