“My forever girl,” I breathe, pain lancing my chest that I so quickly have to keep a promise I made the night I told her I’d sacrifice myself for them without hesitation. I just wanted more time.
“Where he always belonged, you grubby man-stealing whore. He’s where he should be,” Samantha shouts over me.
The line is silent. “You don’t listen very well, Samantha, do you?” Emma’s voice is subarctic. “I warned you on the first day of school. Do you remember?”
Samantha’s face drains of all color before she snatches my cell phone, but before she throws it out the window, Emma’s lethal tone slices through the air. “I’m coming for you.”
EMMA
“We need to get Rowan back now,” I mutter, pulling up my cargo pants because fuck them if they think they can leave me behind.
“He’s coming home, Ry,” Shay says, trying to comfort me as I yank my black thermal over my head.
Pausing, I glance at her before I bend to zip up my boots. “He has no choice. Any other outcome, and I’ll kill him.” Then, I throw my hair into a bun.
When Liam walked in here with Zoey and Aidan, part of my heart started beating again. However, a large piece is still missing, and I intend to get him back. I wanted to kiss him and punch him. But the truth is, if it were me, I would’ve done the very same.
How do you fault someone for protecting their family?
“You can’t,” I grumble to myself as I stomp down the stairs. “Stupid idiot, going off half-cocked, trying to be heroic.”
Tonight was supposed to go differently. Guliana finally gave me the green light to set up the meeting with the guys. I was planning on telling them everything tonight.
“We already know where he is,” Liam announces as I walk into the room. Now that Zoey and Aidan are safely tucked in their beds with more guards than the President, and my grandmother is downstairs being treated, I get to kill a thirsty bitch.
I clench my fists at the reminder that my grandmother is downstairs fighting for her life, and my kids are upstairs with scrapes and bruises because of the cunt rag with a plastic face.
Samantha Davenport Baker, or whoever the fuck she is, will die with my hands wrapped around her throat as I gleefully watch her life be snuffed out.
“Where is he?” I demand, securing the hair sticks in my messy bun before I check my arm and thigh holsters to ensure I have all my blades before loading the magazine of my Walther PDP F-series 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Then I make my way over to the weapons table, perusing the other weapons before picking up a gun, pepper spray, and a cable saw.
“There’s a tracker in his arm,” Liam begins, bringing up an image on the screen. “He’s at the part of our warehouse still under construction.”
Twisting to face them, I cross my arms and arch my brow at this revelation. “You guys have a warehouse?” I ask.
Karl steps behind me, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck before he bends to slide his hunting knife into my other thigh holster. “We didn’t want to bring work home,” he explains.
Deciding now isn’t the time to discuss this issue. I focus my attention on Thomas as he starts giving out orders.
“The building schematics show there are many points of entry, and based on where the signal from the chip is coming, Rowan is being held near the loading dock.” Thomas aims a laser pointer at the rear left corner of the warehouse.
Liam steps forward to speak next. “This part of the property sits four miles south of our new building.” Then, he points to three different spots. “These are the best spots to enter so we can pin her down.”
Thomas cuts back in, “We don’t know how many people Samantha has with her, but she’s far from sane. This means I don’t think she’ll hesitate to risk all our lives to win.”
“That being said, no one puts Rowan’s life in danger,” I command, and all the eyes in the room turn to me.
“You heard the woman. Now move,” Thomas barks, and people begin to file out.
An arm wraps around my waist, holding me in place. “I want to make myself perfectly clear. I will handcuff you to me if you move too far out of our line of sight, Love.” August demands.
“The same goes for all of you. I know more than three dozen ways to disarm and incapacitate a full-grown man,” I retort.
We climb into the back of the armored truck, none of us speaking more than a few words the entire ride.
My leg bounces as I try not to let my thoughts suck me in. A hand rests on my knee, holding my thigh in place. “Rowan’s coming home with us tonight, Ry. We’re going to make sure of it,” Sebastian promises. I nod, letting his reassurance wash over me, fortifying my resolve.
“The drones are coming up with at least fifty heat signatures. The bulk of them are guarding the entire route to the warehouse,” Liam announces as we draw nearer.
Shouting comes through the comms as the truck comes to a stop. Gunshots ring out moments later and we jump into action. I’m adding another knife to my ankle holster when a hand comes into view.
“Remember what I said, Ry,” August reminds me, helping me stand. Then, he pulls his skull mask down over his face and heads for the back door.
I roll my eyes and follow, hopping out of the truck.
Fernando and Elias step into view. “Follow this way. Thomas and Reign are leading the Bravo and Gamma teams for the front assault. We’re sneaking in through the side.”
“Lead the way,” Sebastian requests, and then the seven of us are running hidden under the dark of night.
We’ve been running for five minutes when the warehouse comes into view, and we stop. “At least a dozen men stayed behind to guard the building,” Elias announces. “Thomas and the two teams are working their way to us, but they think they’ll be at least another twenty minutes.”
“No,” I blurt. “Rowan may not have twenty minutes. We need another pl??”
“Down,” Liam yells, covering my body and spinning as we hit the ground with a thud seconds before shards of bark fly as bullets slam into it.
I roll out from his hold onto my stomach, pulling out my gun and returning fire. Two bodies drop before I shift my aim. Sebastian and Elias are battling four men while Karl and Fernando work as a team to handle the five men moving in. Liam unloads four rounds in quick succession, dropping a body with each shot.
A man slips from the darkness, and I fire without hesitation. He drops before he gets a chance to raise his weapon.
Popping up from my position, I reach for a knife and jump on the back of one of the men circling Fernando and Karl. He shouts, but I’m yanking his head back and slicing the blade across his throat.
I release him, stepping back before he drops to the ground while the last of our attackers are killed. Then, we move the last few hundred feet, taking out guards until our path inside is clear.
“He’s down this way,” Liam says, pointing to our left as we enter the building.
Nodding, Fernando takes the lead position, making signals to stay quiet and get into formation. We barely make it to the end of the hallway when at least a handful of men step into the path with their guns drawn, but we’re ready.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.