Page 55 of Twisted Tate

Fox: Target is five minutes out. Everyone in position.

I relay the message to our driver and feel the SUV accelerate. Reese’s grip on my hand tightens until her nails dig into my skin. I don’t pull away. I want her marks on me. My next tattoo will be of the bite mark she left on my shoulder so she can always see it there.

“Almost there, baby girl.”

The intercept point comes into view. Fox’s SUV is already positioned across the narrow road, blocking the path. Dad’s vehicle idles in the shadows behind us, ready to box in the target from behind.

We wait.

The minutes stretch like hours. Reese’s breathing gets more shallow beside me, and I run my thumb across her knuckles in slow circles. I am trying to keep her calm, but my own heart is pounding. Not from fear, but anticipation. I have been waiting for this moment since she told me what her father did to her, and now it is finally fucking here.

Headlights appear around the bend.

“That is him.” I squeeze Reese’s hand once and then release it. “Stay in the car until I come for you.”

“Tate—”

“I mean it.” I cup her face and force her to look at me. “I need to know you are safe while I handle this. Can you do that for me?”

She nods, and I kiss her hard and fast before throwing open my door.

Jenson’s Mercedes rounds the bend, and the driver slams the brakes when he sees the roadblock. Dad’s vehicle screeches into position behind him, cutting off any escape. I am out of our SUV with my Glock drawn before Jenson’s car has fully stopped.

Fox reaches the driver’s side first. We weren’t expecting a driver, but it’s only a minor inconvenience for my brother. He smashes the window with the butt of his gun and drags the driver out by his collar. The man tries to fight back, but Fox knocks him out and zip ties him quickly.

I go for Jenson.

He is scrambling for the passenger door when I yank it open and grab him by the throat. The sound he makes is satisfying—a wet, terrified gurgle that tells me he knows exactly how fucked he is.

“Hello, you sick fuck.” I drag him out of the car and throw him onto the gravel. “I think we need to have a conversation.”

He hits the ground hard, and I am on top of him before he can get his bearings. My knee presses into his chest. My hand closes around his throat. Up close, I can see the broken blood vessels in his nose from years of drinking.

This is the man who sold my girl. This is the man who watched while other men used her body and broke her spirit. This is the man who brainwashed her into thinking that she was worth nothing more than what someone would pay for her.

I want to crush his windpipe right here in the dirt.

“Tate.” My father’s voice cuts through the red haze. “We need him alive. For now.”

I force myself to ease my grip. Jenson sucks in a ragged breath, and I lean down until my face is inches from his.

“Are you going to tell me the combination to your secret safe? Or do you want to do it the hard way?”

“I don’t—” He coughs, wheezes. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Wrong answer.”

I grab his left hand and snap his pinky finger like a twig.

His scream echoes through the trees. Somewhere behind me, I hear Thorne laughing. Jenson is crying now, snot and tears mixing with the dirt on his face.

“Are you ready to give me what I want?”

“Fuck you.” He spits the words through gritted teeth. “You have no idea who you are dealing with. I have insurance. I have leverage on half the Council. If anything happens to me—”

“No one gives a fuck what happens to you.” I grab his ring finger. “Last chance.”

“Seven-four-two-nine-one-eight.” The numbers come out in a rush. “That is it. That is the combination. Please, just—”