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Before he can react, I jab my pointed nail into his eye, and he screams out in pain.

“You fucking bitch!”

Before I let go of his tie, I slam my fist into his nose, hard enough to hear it crunch under my knuckles. Only then do I let him go, and he stumbles back.

“Run along and go get the person in charge, Tomasso.” I wave him off.

I’m more horrified at the sight of my broken nail. This asshole was not worth that manicure.

His face reddens, his jaw tight. “You’ll regret this,” he spits, stomping off towards the door, slamming it behind him.

My body sags the second it’s safe again. I’ll never be the girl in here again who doesn’t fight back.

“You throw one hell of a punch,” Tate says.

Running my hands through my hair, I try to calm my racing heart. “Tate, we need a plan. Whoever Tomasso is working for, I don’t think they just want LA. I don’t even think it’s about me. I think they’re after Enzo.”

He frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I’m bait. They know taking us will drag Enzo’s army here. My father was trying to use me to take out Sterling Ranch. I think whoever is trying to take my father's place is going one step further. If this was revenge for killing my dad, they’d have shot me already.”

Tate looks at me for a few seconds before saying, “We need to get out of here. Think, G. You know these tunnels, these prisons. How do we do this?”

My stomach sinks. They’re designed down to every last detail so the prisoner doesn’t escape. I need to be clever.

“The only way we do it is by fighting, or playing their game, Tate. How far are you prepared to go to protect your family?” I ask.

“I’ll do anything.”

I swallow; this is now trial by fire to make Tate an ally. “Okay. Then let me take the lead. You might not know me that well yet, but I love Colten, Tate. I will never betray him. And I love your family.”

“And what’s waiting for us out there?” he asks, nodding to the door.

“There’s one security room. There aren’t any cameras in here because my father didn’t trust any technology. And there will be guards there to stop us from leaving. But these tunnels are all connected. We can find another way out.”

He nods, his face stern as he calculates our options. “You know Colten is going to be on his way, don’t you?”

I fight back the tears. “What if we don’t have that long? What if they didn’t make it out of the blast?” I whisper.

I’ve been refusing to even consider that option. There might not be anyone coming for us because they’re all dead.

Tate swallows. “They’re alive, G. I know it.”

I have to get out of here. And if they hurt my husband, I’ll spend the rest of my life hunting down every last one of the people involved and let them bleed for this.

CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

Colten

We set up in a penthouse Dom owns on the outskirts of town. Not that it seems much of a living space and more of a sex dungeon. I don’t have time to question that. With each second that passes, the sicker I feel. Thinking about where Gianna is. What they’re doing to her.

I promised I’d never let anyone hurt her again, and I’ve fucked it up already. I’d do anything to switch places with her. I’d let them torture me for days and kill me if it meant she was here, in this penthouse with her brother.

I’ve got Mikhail on the phone; they were first on the ground here, and we’ve sent them to the last location for the helicopter Gianna and Tate were in. Dom can’t find anything on who took the chopper as they’ve kept the records clean.

“It’s the middle of nowhere, Colten,” Mikhail's deep Russian voice cuts through the silence in the room.

“Nowhere near anywhere that would have cameras? No houses? No businesses?”