by Anna Blakely
“A monster with more money than God.” They passed through the open gate and Hector pointed to an almost undetectable clearing in the trees. “Turn there.”
“Gabriella, it’s Gabe. We lost com connection when you left, but we’ve got it back now. Matt and Fletch are coming to find you, but we lost your GPS signal.”
She schooled her expression, having forgotten the other men could still hear her.
“Honey, can you try to describe your surroundings? Give us as much detail as you can while you drive.”
Gabby tried to get her eyes to focus on what he was pointing to. It was completely dark, now, and all she could see were trees.
“There isn’t a road here. Only trees.”
Andino smiled. “Trust me.”
She snorted. “Never going to happen.”
He looked back at his goon and tipped his chin. The man sitting behind her shoved his gun against the back of her head. “He said to turn. Now.”
Grimacing, Gabby gritted her teeth and did as she was told. She stopped before entering the wooded area, nearly gasping when the vehicle’s headlights made it possible to see what she’d missed before.
There, intertwined with what appeared to be the thick foliage was another gate. It was well-hidden by the natural-looking greenery surrounding. Andino got out and went to a tree near the gate’s edge.
“There’s a gate in the trees?” She pretended to be talking to the man with the gun on her. “I didn’t notice it when we first drove here. Of course, I was sitting on the passenger side, so I wouldn’t have seen it. This is the west side of the property line, right?”
“Shut up.” He pushed against her head.
“Good girl,” Gabe commended her. “Turner, you catch that?”
“Affirmative. Headed that way, now.”
Gabby wanted to ask about Zade and Kole, but couldn’t without alerting Andino to her ability to communicate with the others.
Pushing some leaves to the side, he revealed an electronic keypad much like the one outside his office door. After entering the code, the gate slowly opened, foliage and all.
When he returned to the car, Andino instructed her to move forward. As she pressed her foot on the gas pedal and headed down another dark, tree-lined road, she gave Gabe and the others another little tidbit of useful information.
“Electronic gate with a hidden keypad. Color me impressed.”
“What can I say?” The man’s lips curled into a smug smirk. “I’m an impressive man.”
And a dense one.
“Got you loud and clear, Gabby,” Matt assured her. “Hang in there, you’re doing great.”
Wanting to help as much as she possibly could, she asked Andino, “Where does this road take us?”
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Damn. She was hoping he’d tell her where it ended so when they got there, Matt and the others would be waiting for them.
Since she knew better than to keep pushing for too much information at once, Gabby asked another question.
“How did you know?”
“Know what, mi amor ?”
He really needed to stop calling her that. “How did you figure out who I was?”
“Your sister told me. She told me everything about you. Like the fact that you aren’t actually sisters.”
Gabby shot him a narrowed glare. “You’re lying. Sam would never give me up.”
“Not intentionally, no. It was pure luck on my part, really. My men were bringing her upstairs to take her place on the stage when she caught sight of you on one of my security monitors. The poor girl was so excited to see you, she practically shouted out your name. Of course, I had to find out how she knew you, though she refused to tell me, at first. It didn’t take long for Eduardo to make her talk.”
Oh, Sam. I’m so, so sorry.
“It wasn’t her fault, really.” Andino continued on. “Seeing a family member at the very event meant to seal her fate? For a young woman who’s already been traumatized, I would imagine it would be nearly impossible to hide her reaction to that. Even harder to resist Eduardo’s prompting to share all she knew about you.” He looked back at the man behind her and smiled. “You’re so good at what you do.”
“Gracias.”
Angrier than she’d ever been in her life, Gabby practically spit out the words when she told Andino, “You and Eduardo can both go straight to Hell.”
He laughed. The bastard laughed. “Even Hell isn’t big enough for a man as powerful as me, Gabriella.” Andino looked out his window and muttered, “We’re almost there.”
She had no idea where they were going, but the windy, twisty road made it feel as though they were going in one, big circle. Five minutes later, she realized that was exactly what they’d done.
Though it was hard to see through the night sky, Gabby could make out the shape of Andino’s home. The same home they’d just escaped from.
“That’s your house up ahead. Why are we going back there? Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”
“You’ll see why, and no. Those men who came running to your rescue saw us drive away. The last place they’ll think to look for me is on the property.”
Wanna bet?
“Arrogant son of a bitch,” Gabe growled in her ear.
Gabby had to work hard at not smiling.
More than ready for the nightmare be over, she pushed the gas harder and got them to their destination quickly. The road they were on ended in front of what looked to be a tiny shed-like structure that sat several yards back from the house.
“You brought me to a shed?”
“It’s more than a simple shed, Gabriella. Like I said before. Trust me.”
Not even when Hell freezes over.
Andino got out. On his instructions, Gabby opened her door slowly and stepped outside, Eduardo keeping his gun trained on her as he exited the vehicle.
“Shed on the backside of the property. Copy that, Gabby. Nate picked you up with his drone. We know exactly where you are, and I’ve got men on their way to you, now.”
“Be careful,” she responded without thinking.
“That’s sweet, Gabriella,” Andino smiled over at her. “Are you worried about me?”
Feeling much more confident about the situation, Gabby dropped what was left of her refined act. “I was talking to myself, dumbass. It’s dark as hell out here, and I’d hate to break a heel. They are designer, after all.”
Eduardo prodded her in the back with the gun, forcing her to walk over to where Andino was waiting by the shed door.
Making a clicking sound with his tongue, Andino said, “Such unattractive language coming from an otherwise flawless beauty.”
“Go fuck yourself, Hector.” She stared him straight in the eye. “Better yet, why don’t you and Eddie, here, go at each other. Or has that already been done?”
Eduardo grabbed the hair on the back of her head and jerked, his lips whispering against her ear. “Shut up.”
Gabby cried out because, shit, that hurt. But she kept talking. The more she talked, the more flustered Andino became.
In her experience, flustered men were distracted men. And distracted men were easier to take down.
“What’s the matter, Eddie? Don’t want anyone to know your secret?”
This time, the big man growled. “You’ve got a smart mouth for a woman in your position. I suggest you keep it shut.”
“Speaking of positions,” she kept talking as if he hadn’t said a word, “which one do you prefer with Hector? Of course, you are his right-hand man. Or do you use your left?”
Gabby went flying as Eduardo threw her to the ground. She grunted when her knees and palms made contact with the hard dirt.
“Easy, Gabby,” Gabe warned. “I get what you’re trying to do, and I appreciate it. But don’t push these guys too far.”
“I’m good,” she whispered low enough the other two men couldn’t hear. “Just hurry.”
“Get up!”
> Eduardo yanked on her arm with a slightly painful grip, forcefully bringing her back to her feet.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, Eduardo has a bit of a temper.”
Gabby ignored the stinging in her knees and palms. “Sorry, Eddie. I didn’t realize your relationship with Hector was such a touchy subject. My bad.”
Andino grabbed her chin and squeezed, his grip so tight she thought he was going to crush her jawbone. “He told you to keep your mouth shut. I suggest you do as you’re told.”
Hector pushed her chin away.
“Sorry to disappoint, Hector.” She blew out a breath. “But as you’ve probably gathered, I’m not very good at taking orders.”
Just ask Zade.
God, please let him be okay.
Even under the night sky, she could see the anger darkening the browns of his eyes. “You will learn to follow my orders, Gabriella. One way or another.”
With a tip of his chin, Andino gave Eduardo a signal and stepped aside. She heard a low sigh expelling from the man behind her right before a sharp, explosive pain struck the back of her head.
And then…total darkness.
“Fuck it.”
Giving up on the lock—because yeah, they needed to get the hell out of there and find his team—Zade pulled his gun from his waistband and told Gabby’s sister, “Get back.”
Eyes wide, she pressed herself against the far wall as best she could.
“You might want to cover your ears.”
With his hand on the trigger, Zade aimed before squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head away for protection against possible ricochet. He pulled the trigger.
Sparks flew as the deafening bullet destroyed the mechanism keeping the door in place. Sam immediately uncovered her ears and ran to the bars. Zade was already opening them for her.
“Ohmygod!” Her excited words rushed together. “It worked! Thank you!”
Before Zade could react, Sam leapt into his arms, her tight grip nearly choking him.
“You’re welcome,” Zade breathed out.
“Oh, sorry.” She dropped her arms.
“Nothing to be sorry for, honey. I’m happy as hell you’re out of there.”
“Not as happy as I am.”
“Won’t argue with you there. Come on.” He put a hand on the small of her back. “Let’s get you upstairs and to your sister.”
“I can’t believe I’m really going to see her!”
“Believe it.” He looked down at her and winked. Zade couldn’t wait to see Gabby, either. He needed to see with his own eyes that she was okay. “Hopefully that shot didn’t draw the wrong kind of attention to us.”
“It won’t,” Sam told him with utter certainty. “This place is soundproof. From the intake room all the way to that door at the end by the stairs. No noise created down hear will reach the outside or the rest of the house.”
He didn’t even want to think of why she knew that. He also figured she was right. If the place was secure enough to knock out his state-of-the-art coms, it pretty much had to be soundproof to the rest of the house.
They’d taken two steps toward the other end of the hall when Zade heard something coming from behind the other door. The one leading to what Sam referred to as the intake room.
Another door slammed shut and Sam’s eyes flew to his. Sound may not travel upward from inside here, but they’d sure as hell heard that.
“Oh, God.” She paled with fear. “He’s back.”
Zade didn’t think it was Andino. More likely, someone from his team had found the second entrance. Still he wasn’t taking any chances. “Samantha, I hate to ask this.” He glanced at the open cell behind her. “But I don’t suppose you’d—”
“The only way I’m going back into that cage is if I’m dead. And since you’re with my sister, I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to risk pissing her off by killing me.”
He couldn’t help but smirk. “You sure you and Gabby aren’t blood related?”
“Sometimes choice is stronger than blood.”
Zade thought of his teammates. He loved each of them as if they were his blood brothers, and their wives were like his sisters.
“Point taken. All right, stay alert. And no matter what happens, stay behind me.”
“Trust me, I’m not getting this close to freedom only to screw it up by doing something stupid.”
“Good.”
Zade gripped his pistol between his tightened fist and began walking toward the ominous door. The closer he got, he realized there were voices coming from the other side of it.
“Thought you said this place was soundproof.”
“To the rest of the house, it is. Down here...” Sam shuddered behind him. “Down here, you can hear everything that happens.”
They covered several more inches, the voices becoming more and more clear.
“Make sure those are secured before she comes to. This one is quite the fighter.”
What the fuck?
Andino had come back, and he’d brought another girl into this hell hole.
“She’s a mouthy bitch who needs to learn her place.”
“That’s Eduardo,” Sam whispered softly. “He’s never far away when Hector’s around.”
“She will learn her place,” Hector told the other man. “We just need to keep her secure until the property clears.”
“That will take days, Hector. And what if authorities find this place?”
“Have you forgotten? I own the authorities.”
“Not the Americans. That’s who stormed in here tonight. They’re the ones who’ve taken out nearly all of our men.”
“Let me worry about that. In the meantime, Gabriella’s stay down here will help teach her who is in charge.”
Zade’s entire system filled with ice, and he could physically feel the color draining from his face.
No. He’d heard the man wrong. He had to have heard fucking wrong.
Gabby wasn’t in there with that monster. She was with Kole, safe inside the SUV. Right?
“We will do as we’ve done in the past when things got too close. Leave her here, come back a couple times a day to provide food and water. Once the dust settles, we will move her and her sister to the secondary location where they will join the others and await the next event.”
Samantha gasped from behind him. “Oh, God. Did he say he has Gabby in there?”
“If anyone shows at the next one,” Eduardo spat pessimistically. “After tonight, our business may be ruined.”
“Nonsense,” Hector assured him. “Our customers’ needs are far too great to let one tiny hiccup keep them from acquiring what they crave.”
“I hope you’re right, Hector. We’ve worked much too hard to have it end like this.”
“Look.” Hector sounded excited. “She is stirring.”
Zade was so close to the door, now, he damn near pressed his ear against it. A feminine groan reached his ear and then…
“W-where am I?”
His heart dropped because, yes, that was Gabby’s voice. He’d recognize it anywhere, even strained and groggy the way it was now.
God, had the fucker drugged her again?
“Welcome back, mi amor . I apologize for Eduardo’s rough behavior toward you. However, I did warn you. You must learn to behave yourself. Otherwise I will have no choice but to let him hurt you again.”
Again?
Zade’s spine stiffened, as a dark, murderous rage caught flames deep inside his soul. In that instant, the icy fear that had been threatening to take over melted.
All other emotions went into a total lockdown as he became the calculated warrior he’d trained to be. Ready to put an end to the evil force threatening to destroy the best thing that had ever happened to him.
No one takes what’s mine.
“Zade?” Sam whispered his name, no doubt sensing the change within him.
Turning to face her, he forced himself to use a gentle touch when he took her elbow an
d moved them away from the door.
Towering over her, he kept his voice low. “You need to get back in the cell.”
“What?” Her light brown brows arched high, the ends of her hair flying out to the side as she shook her head vehemently. “No. I already told you—”
“I know what you said, but those men in there will start shooting the second I open that door.”
“I-I don’t care. I’d rather be shot than go back in there.”
Zade understood her not wanting to go back inside her own personal prison, but damn it…
“Gabby does not have time for us to stand out here and argue. Honey, listen to me.” He softened his voice and rested his hands gently onto her bare shoulders. “I’m not going to tell you I understand how you’re feeling, because that would be total bullshit. But I do know your sister will be devastated if something happens to you while I’m trying to get her out of there.”
Sam’s eyes shone with fear, but she was also considering what he’d just said. “She’d blame herself.”
“Yes,” he answered bluntly. “She would.” After a few more seconds—seconds Gabby didn’t have—Zade added a persistent, “Please, Sam. Just until I can take Hector and Eduardo out. It’s for your safety, as well as Gabby’s.”
The young woman licked her trembling lips. “Are you going to kill Hector?”
“Yes.” Another blunt answer. One that may traumatize the poor girl even more than she already was.
“Promise?”
Or not. He looked her square in the eyes. “I promise.”
“O-okay.” Sam nodded, straightened her shoulders, and lifted her chin.
He watched as she bravely walked over to where he’d first found her, slid through the open bars, and pulled to make it appear as though the door was still locked.
“Thank you.”
“Please…save my sister.”
Staring back at her, Zade felt the need to make sure she understood. “Samantha, there are two things you should know about me. The first is I plan to be in your sister’s life for the foreseeable future. That means I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“What’s the second thing?”
With a deadly tone in his voice, he told her, “I always keep my promises.”
