Page 95 of Her Passionate Hero

There was silence. Then she heard a muffled roar and the unmistakable sound of someone being slapped.

“Bitch,” Mark roared.

“Aliana, is that you?” Lottie asked, panting.

“Why did he slap you?” Aliana cried.

“Don’t do anything he says,” Lottie was crying so hard, she could barely understand her.

She heard a muffled scream. “There you talked to Lottie. As you can see, she’s not making friends. It will be my pleasure to kill her if you don’t trade places with her.”

“Cut the crap, Mark. You’ll just kill us both,” Aliana said derisively.

Fuck. Her brain started to work. Hell, if she didn’t start sounding like she was giving in, then Lottie would be killed for sure. Way to outsmart the situation.

“Fine. I’ll kill her and find another way to get you. I’m sorry to have―”

“No, no, no. Tell me what to do. Don’t hurt her.”

“Tell me where you are,” he demanded.

“I’m being guarded,” she lied. “I don’t want there to be a bloodbath with people I care about. Let me sneak away. Tell me where I need to meet you, and I’ll go there.” She walked over to the hotel desk and wrote down the address he provided.

“A car will be waiting for you. You better come alone.”

“I will. I promise.”

He hung up and she called Hunter and got his voicemail.

***

Lottie’s house was ten minutes from the school, right in the heart of Los Demonios territory. Aiden and Zed were already inside when Hunter and Dalton both pulled up on his motorcycle. They both hightailed it inside. Hunter stopped short when he saw the look on Zed’s face.

“What happened?”

“There was quite a struggle in the bedroom. Lottie’s gone. Based on his ID, Ernie Robinson is dead.”

“Fuck.” Hunter had really liked the guy. “Any idea how long ago this happened?”

“We’re in luck. There was a kitschy alarm clock broken in her bedroom. Happened at ten forty-five,” Aiden said.

Dalton, Zed, and Hunter all stared at Aiden.

“What?”

“Just looking at the man who correctly used kitschy in a sentence is all.” Aiden flipped Dalton the bird. At least the tension was eased, and they could think again.

“Fuck!” Hunter jammed his hand into his jacket pocket. “San Marcos is going to go straight to Aliana to make a trade.” When he pulled out his phone, he saw four voicemails and seven missed calls, all from his Alia. The last one was seven minutes ago. Please God, say he wasn’t too late. He dialed and waited. He got her voicemail.

“Aliana, don’t go. Wherever he’s having you meet him, don’t do it. We know where to find him. We’ll get Lottie. Don’t go, I’m begging you.”

He motioned for Dalton to fill in Zed and Aiden on what they’d found out from Rafael. He turned on the locator app he’d installed on Aliana’s phone the first night. Goddammit, she wasn’t in the hotel where he’d left her. What was she doing near Bertrum High School? His phone rang. It was her.

“Aliana, what’s going on?”

“You didn’t listen to my voicemails, did you?”

“I just saw them. Why are you near the high school? Is that where the meet is going down with San Marcos?”