Page 34 of Stolen

Hawk tried to focus again. Knowing Gunn was on the way should have made him feel better, but he just felt worse—thoughts and images churning around his brain like the edges of some kind of hallucination.

And he’d left Ariana alone too long.

Hawk left Boomer in charge of the defenses and headed back to the feed store, that churning sensation in his gut growing. Something was wrong.

His stomach unclenched a tiny bit when he saw the men outside, shooting the breeze. “Everything okay?” he asked as he approached them.

“So far. Any idea how long we’ve got?”

“Another half-hour to an hour. Is Ariana all right?”

The man shrugged. “I guess. She hasn’t come out.”

Hawk banged open the door, calling as he went inside. “Ariana? Ari?”

Silence. The inside of the store was empty, except for her phone lying on the counter—and a note. I’m sorry. I went to meet Ricardo. It’s the only way.

And the scent of the old alpha hung in the air.

Hawk’s whole body went hot, then cold.

She couldn’t have.

But she had. Somehow, that bastard Gregor had convinced her to go and turn herself in. And even after the horrific images her brother had threatened her with, last night, she still didn’t really believe he would hurt her.

She still, deep down, believed he could be reasoned with.

He couldn’t.

Hawk knew what had really happened the night Ricardo had taken revenge on his fiancée and her family. He hadn’t just beaten Marcella. He’d dragged her before them, naked, cutting off her hair to shame her.

Then he’d given her to his men—the worst of his mercenaries. They’d raped her, one after the other, while her family was forced to watch.

And then he’d killed the family—and her—slowly and painfully, before burning the plantation.

Hawk hadn’t wanted to tell Ariana that, especially last night, when she was so terrified. Now he realized he should have.

Ricardo couldn’t stand being defied. Ariana’s escape, with Hawk, hadn’t just angered him. It had humiliated him.

He had to prove that he not only would always win, but that he’d destroy anything and anyone who stood in his way.

He’d do to Ariana what he’d done to Marcella, and then he’d march through the town and burn it to the ground, killing everyone he could find.

And then he’d head for the Ridge.

Hawk had to get to Ricardo before Ariana did.

Most of the vehicles in town had been commandeered for the evacuation. But behind the feed store he’d seen a couple of scrubby dirt bikes, that the owner rented out now and then.

They’d be better than a truck. He could cut off miles if he went cross-country.

The keys were hanging on a pegboard inside the back door of the store. You had to love small towns.

Hawk ran past the surprised guards outside, jumped on the nearest dirt bike, revved it up, and raced out to head off Ariana before she reached the convoy.