“I’ll kill him,” said Bella, full of confidence. “And if I don’t, Gage will. That man could shoot the stink off a skunk at five hundred yards.”
Victor came back in sight, his aristocratic features grim. “I was able to pick up a few segments of conversation from Riley, though it was more static than anything.”
“What did you hear?” asked Sloane.
“Sophie’s bleeding. She must have been shot.”
Gina covered her mouth with her hand as tears pooled in her pale eyes. “Oh, God. Is she okay?”
“She’s still alive,” said Victor. “I think it will take them a bit longer to reach us than we originally estimated.”
“She’s pregnant,” whispered Gina.
Sloane’s head whipped around in shock. “Sophie?”
Gina nodded. “Lorenzo seduced her. Like he did me.”
Lucas’s eyes traveled down Gina’s body. “You’re not . . .”
“No,” Gina hurried to say. “I’m not. But poor Sophie.”
Sloane looked to Victor. “How long do you think it will take for them to get within communications range?”
“It depends on how slowly they move. It could be a few minutes, or it could be a couple of hours.”
Lucas put his hand on Sloane’s shoulder, and until that moment, she hadn’t realized how badly she’d needed the comfort of his touch. “We should take Gina now.”
“I’m not leaving without Sophie,” said Gina. “She doesn’t know any of you. I’m sure she’s scared out of her mind.”
Sloane hated waiting, but she knew better than to try to force Gina to do something against her will. She’d find a way to do it anyway and end up getting herself hurt. “Fine. But you need to get back in the Rover and stay there. It’s armored. You’ll be safe in there.”
Gina poked her finger at Lucas’s chest. “I can see those wheels in your head spinning. Don’t bother wasting your time. I’m staying until Sophie’s out.”
“Heya, Vic?” said Bella.
“Victor.”
“Whatever. How about you and me go see if we can lend a hand, or at least get close enough to find out what’s going on with the girl.”
“Stay in radio contact with us,” ordered Lucas.
Victor nodded and motioned for Bella to precede him into the trees. “After you.”
Jeremy spotted the bright red blood splatters in the beam of his flashlight. There was a nice, neat trail, like bread crumbs for him to follow.
If anyone had hurt Sophie, he was going to rip them apart as slowly as he knew how.
She was his. And he was going to take his pretty new woman home. Not to Soma’s. But his real home in the United States, where she’d be happy.
He was sure that once she got used to the idea of being with him, she’d settle into the relationship as if she’d been born to it.
The kid was still a problem, but he could deal with that. If she wanted to keep it, he’d find a way to get both of them away from Soma. Even if he had to kill the man to do it.
He owed Soma his life, but he’d paid that debt. He’d saved Soma more times than he could count. It was time he had his own life. A real life. With Sophie. After all he’d done, it wasn’t too much to ask.
She was so fucking pretty. So sweet. When he looked at her he felt something. Something warm and exciting. He just knew she was the perfect woman for him.
Jeremy followed the trail quietly, keeping the beam of his light low so it would be less visible through the trees. His Glock rested comfortably in his hand, ready for use. All he had to do was take out the men with her and he’d be home free.
If he got Gina back, too, that would be a bonus, but Sophie was his priority.
He heard voices ahead. One deep and low, one high and frightened. He recognized Sophie’s voice instantly.
The assholes that took her were scaring her. They were so dead.
Sophie knew she was going to get them all killed. She was slowing them down, possibly leaving a trail of blood.
“Put me down,” she said.
Riley’s face was grim as he glanced down at her. “It’s only a little farther.”
“You said that almost an hour ago. You’ve got to be exhausted.”
“Nope. Not even close.”
“I can walk.”
“We move faster this way.”
The cramps had eased, but she knew they’d probably be back in a few minutes.
Sadness weighed down on her, but she shoved it away, refusing to think about that now. She was already a liability. If she broke down it would only make things worse.
And she would break down eventually. She was fighting hard against it now, trying desperately not to think of what she’d lost.
She’d grown attached to the idea of having a child. Even Lorenzo’s child. It wasn’t what she’d planned for her life, but plans could change. Hers certainly had.
It was best not to dwell on it. The last few months of her life had been a roller coaster from hell. She’d been through too much to process. She’d thought she loved Lorenzo. It turned out that he wasn’t the man she thought he was at all. She’d lost her freedom when he locked her up. She’d been gone so long she was sure she’d lost her job. The few friends she’d made had probably written her off by now. She’d spent the past few weeks fearing that she’d lose her life once the baby was born, and now she was losing her child, too.
“Hang in there,” said Riley. His deep voice was quiet—barely loud enough for her to hear. She felt it in her skin, though, as the rumble of sound sank into her. His voice was soothing, as was his matter-of-factness.
He seemed to deal with things as they came without judging or making her feel bad. He’d never asked her how she could have been stupid enough to get knocked up by a psychopath, or what she’d done to cause the miscarriage. He hadn’t scolded her for being unable to walk or for the tears she couldn’t seem to keep from falling.
He just did what needed to be done and moved on.
Sophie really needed to learn how he did it if she was going to have any hope of moving on, herself. Right now that seemed like an insurmountable task—one she couldn’t even stand to think about.
Suddenly, Riley stopped in his tracks and eased her feet to the ground. He held his finger to his mouth for silence, then reached for his weapon. He pushed her back against a tree and he was at her front, blocking out her view.
He was breathing hard, his wide shoulders moving with each breath. He acted like he’d heard something, but Sophie hadn’t. All she heard was the sounds of the jungle.
There was a sudden rustle of leaves to her left; then Jeremy stepped out, his big black gun aimed right for Riley’s head. They were only five feet apart. The chances of Jeremy missing were slim.
Riley froze.
“Move away from my woman,” said Jeremy.
My woman? Sophie didn’t even know what to do with that comment, so she let it slide by, unexamined. “Don’t, Jeremy. Please don’t hurt him.”
“He stole you.”
“No, he helped me escape. You know I didn’t want to be there.”
Jeremy’s face twisted in anger, but he kept his eyes on Riley. “Let go of the weapon and move away.”
Riley’s voice was strong and solid, ringing out into the night. “I can’t do that, man. I can’t let you hurt her.”
“I’m not going to hurt her,” said Jeremy, disgusted. He took a threatening step forward.
Sophie could see this ending badly. Before it could, she slipped out from behind Riley and took a step toward Jeremy, blocking his line of fire.
Immediately, Jeremy shifted the gun up so it was no longer aimed at her. His eyes moved down her body until he saw the blood. “What the fuck did he do to you?” he snarled.
“He didn’t do anything. I”—she swallowed hard, praying she could get the words out—“lost the baby.”
That news didn’t even cause a flicker of grief to cross Jeremy’s face. Not even a blink. “That m
akes things simpler.”
She was raw inside, hollowed out and weeping from her soul with every breath and he thought it made things simpler? Sophie hadn’t seen it before, but she did now. Jeremy was a monster. He wasn’t just some guy who was too dumb to realize what he was doing. He didn’t secretly regret his choices. He simply didn’t care. Not about her and not about her lost baby.
Sophie reached behind her, feeling the hard heat of Riley’s thigh. She found that wicked-looking knife and slid it from its sheath.
“Sophie, no,” said Riley.
“Don’t you fucking tell her what to do,” warned Jeremy. “She’s coming with me and there’s not a thing you can do to stop her. She doesn’t want you. She wants me.”
“I don’t want either of you,” said Sophie. An unexpected sob ripped from her chest and she leveled the knife, pointing it at Jeremy’s throat. “I want my baby.”
One second Sophie was standing there, ready to shove that knife in to Jeremy’s throat; the next, Riley shoved her aside, and trees were zooming past her vision as she flew out from between the men. A ferocious blast lit the leaves and bashed her eardrums as a gun went off. Then another. From the corner of her eye, she saw Riley stumble back and fall to the ground.
Shock pinned her in place as she struggled to figure out what had happened. She was lying on her side on the ground. Smoke curled through the beam of a discarded flashlight. She smelled fireworks and heard a wet gurgling noise.
Riley. He’d been shot.
Sophie scrambled to her hands and knees, ignoring the painful spasm in her belly the sudden movement caused. She crawled over the ground, her movements hampered by the skirt of her nightgown.
She reached Riley’s side, but he was already sitting up. He seemed fine.
Relief fell over her, making her sag. Then she heard the noise again—that wet, sucking noise.
She turned and saw Jeremy lying on the ground. His face was a bloody mess. Part of his cheek was missing. His mouth had filled with blood and he was struggling to breathe. He weakly spit out blood and bits of broken teeth or bone, but it didn’t seem to make that noise go away.
She stared, trying to make sense of what had happened. Before she could, strong hands grabbed her by the arms and hauled her to her feet.
“We have to move. Now. That gunfire is going to bring them down on us.”
Riley pulled her by the arm, urging her forward. She went, staring over her shoulder until Jeremy was out of sight.
“Gage. If you can hear me, head toward the shots. We’re going to need backup.”
Sophie didn’t hear if Gage answered or not. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other as fast as she could without falling over.
“You were shot,” she said.
“Armored vest. I’m fine.”
Fine. But it had been so close. Riley could have easily been the one bleeding on the ground rather than Jeremy. And she’d been stupid enough to think that knife would actually make a difference.
“I lost your knife,” she said.
“I’ll get another. Don’t talk. Just run.”
Their speed was nowhere close to a run, but she was swiftly running out of breath anyway. And the cramps were coming back.
Somehow, the sight of Jeremy bleeding to death made her numb enough to push though the pain and keep moving. There was no way she was going to risk Riley’s life by stopping again.
Gage heard his friend’s call for help and broke into a run, heading toward the sound of gunfire. There were at least another two men out here that he knew of, assuming they hadn’t headed back to Soma’s villa. The other four wouldn’t go anywhere until someone carried their bodies out.
He truly hated killing. It made him feel brittle and angry—like he was being used against his will. Which was stupid. He’d signed up for this job. He’d volunteered to come here. He knew what he’d be facing when dealing with drug lords on their own turf.
That didn’t mean he had to like it. It was a damn shame he was so good at it.
Gage found the location where the gunfight had happened. Not that three bullets was much of a fight.
He didn’t get close enough to see if the man lying on the ground was alive or not. There was so much blood it was only a matter of time until he died if he hadn’t already.
Gage veered to the south, making a straight line for the bunker. A few seconds later, he nearly ran right into the woman’s back.
Riley’s weapon was pointed right at Gage until he saw who it was. He lowered the barrel and his shoulders sagged with relief. “How many?” he asked.
“Ten.”
Sophie was hunched over, holding her middle. Her breathing was too fast and her skin was too pale. “How much farther?” she asked.
“We’ll stop here for a minute,” said Riley.
“No,” panted Sophie. “No more stopping. Let’s just get where we’re going so I can rest.”
“Another half mile,” said Gage, answering her earlier question.
“I can do that.” She didn’t sound like she could do it, but Gage gave her points for positive thinking.
Riley looped his arm around her waist and they started moving. Gage hung back, giving them a few yards’ lead. The bad guys would likely be coming up from behind, and those few yards were enough of a buffer to give Riley time to get his hands off the woman and on his weapon where they belonged.
With any luck, Lorenzo’s men had grown tired of the chase, or were too busy dealing with their own casualties to bother following them this far.
Then again, Gage wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who believed in luck.
Chapter 24
Lorenzo heard the heavy beat of a helicopter’s blades even through the reinforced walls of his safe room. He checked the exterior cameras, and sure enough, a helicopter was closing in. The fire in the guardhouse was still raging. There were broken windows on all levels of the house—likely as many shot out by his men as shot in by their attackers. His front gates were in ruins and smoke drifted up from where they’d once stood.
His entire domain had been destroyed, and someone was going to pay for it.
The helicopter stopped, hovering above the tree line several hundred yards to the north. Lorenzo’s private phone rang. He answered it, already knowing who it was. Mr. Brink.
“I have everything under control,” he assured the American.
“It doesn’t look like it from here.”
“Cosmetic damage. Nothing more.”
“And the woman?”
“My men are retrieving her now. Land and I’ll see to your comfort while we wait.”
There was a long pause before Mr. Brink spoke again. “I already gave you a second chance. There will be no third. Our arrangement is at an end.”
Panic shot through Lorenzo, squeezing his lungs. It was all he could to keep his voice calm and remember to speak English. “You do not mean that.”
“I do. I’ll find someone else to fill your shoes. It won’t be hard.”
Without Brink’s connections, Lorenzo stood to lose millions. His inheritance was already shrinking. He didn’t have his father’s knack for this business, and without Brink, he knew his empire would crumble. His respect would be gone. He’d lose everything.
“I’ll get her back,” vowed Lorenzo.
“No. You won’t. She obviously has powerful friends. Let her go. I have.”
“Come inside and we’ll talk. I’m sure we can reach some kind of arrangement.”
Brink’s voice was cold. “Good-bye, Lorenzo.”
The video screen in front of Lorenzo showed the helicopter maneuver away, going back the way it came.
Rage poured through his veins until his vision began to go black. He took several deep breaths, trying to control himself enough to think.
He needed a plan—some way to undo what had just happened.
Gina. Maybe if he delivered her to Brink himself the man would forgive him. And if not, he’d still have the woman. He’d
vent his frustrations upon her for causing so much trouble.
Either option was better than what he had now, which was a burning home and crumbling power.
Gina Delaney was going to pay, and if he could manage it, so would everyone who dared to help take her from him.
Sloane checked on Gina. She’d fallen asleep in the Rover, but seemed okay. A few minutes ago, Riley and Gage had emerged from the jungle with Sophie in tow.
She didn’t look good. She was covered in blood, pale and shaking.
Sloane rummaged in the back of her vehicle for a spare change of clothes and helped Sophie get cleaned up.
“I’m sorry about the mess,” she said, her voice wavering.
Sloane waved it off, trying to be as matter-of-fact as she could about the whole thing. “It’s not your fault.”
Sloane stripped her naked in the shelter of some trees and used a wet cloth to wipe away as much of the blood as she could.
“I don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe it was the stress or something I ate. The food here was so different from what I’m used do.” Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Or maybe it was because of what I did. This is my punishment.”
Sloane’s heart clenched as she saw the woman’s pain lingering in her pale eyes. She’d meant to say that the mess wasn’t anything Sophie could have helped and instead Sophie had thought she was talking about the miscarriage.
Sloane took the woman’s hand in hers. “None of this was your fault. Lorenzo did this. All of this was his doing.”
Sophie swallowed, staring off into space as she fell silent.
The woman was in shock—likely both physical and mental. The best thing Sloane could do was get her in dry clothes, give her something to drink, and get her home.
Once Sophie was dressed in a spare set of Sloane’s clothes, she guided her back to the group.
She didn’t get far. Riley intercepted her, his grimace of anxiety driving the blood from his lips. He handed Sophie a canteen. “Here. I threw a bunch of drink mix in there so it’ll taste better.”
Sophie looked at it like she wasn’t sure what to do. She was weaving on her feet.
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