The terrible sounds can be heard from across the hall.
Still, I move closer, sliding open the door when I know I shouldn’t be in here.
Mommy told me never to come here at night.
But I want to know why I can hear my brother yelp.
I swallow as I see the two figures in bed, one on the bottom, arms flailing to the side, tears welling up in his eyes. I blink away mine and open my mouth, but when I try to scream, nothing comes out.
My hands shake violently.
And my eyes lower to look at them.
But my fingers have been replaced by bullets and my heart with death.
So I point my finger at the person lying on top.
BANG!
My eyes open wide, sweat drops rolling down my back and neck as I try to adjust to my surroundings. Blinking a couple of times, I focus on the sights and sounds. I’m in my own bed, in my own room, and the sun is shining. But that smell … it’s musky and tropical, and unlike any perfumes I own.
Then I feel the hand creeping around my waist.
With widened eyes, I turn to come face-to-face with Kai, still lying in my bed, still cuddling me. And for a moment, I just simply stop existing.
“Good morning, kitty,” he mumbles.
I can barely breathe when he’s this close, his lips still as hot as I remember them being.
I thought he’d disappear in the middle of the night as he did before, but he’s still here. Still holding me tight. Still invading every inch of my thoughts.
“You were groaning in your sleep,” he murmurs.
“Oh …” I lower my eyes.
He cups my face to make me look at him. “Did you have a bad dream?”
Oh fuck. He noticed.
“Tell me what it was,” he says.
“I-I…” I’m never one to stammer, but I really don’t know what to say. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to speak the words out loud.
His brows twitch. “Is this something that happens often?”
I nod and sit up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He leans up on his elbow, and the blanket that kept us warm slowly drops off both of us, revealing his naked tattooed body, and fuck me, my eyes can’t stop perusing his thick slabs of muscle and that nine-inch dick like I’m shopping for a boy toy.
What is wrong with me?
I shake my head, but the smug grin on his face immediately makes me look down at my own chest. I forgot I was naked too. And he’s definitely ogling my perky breasts, nipples peaking at the thought.
“Oh, I will never get used to the sight of those,” he mumbles.
Grinding my teeth, I get up and march to my cabinet, fishing out some new panties, a fresh pair of jeans, and a short black top.
Kai licks his lips. “Cute. Matches your black soul.”
“Are you getting up?” I ask, trying my best to put on the jeans under his scrutinizing gaze.
“I’d much rather watch you stumble around.”
“Stop looking at me like that,” I say as I put on the top.
“Like what?”
“Like you want to pounce on me,” I reply.
Big mistake, because the shit-eating grin that follows makes my heart throb in a way I never asked for it to throb.
“Maybe I do.”
Suddenly, his phone buzzes, and it breaks the spell between us as he picks it up. The look on his face darkens with every passing second.
“What’s wrong?”
He jumps out of bed and immediately dials a number. “Nathan? Where is he?”
I have never heard his voice this unhinged.
Kai
“Who is it?” Lana asks, walking closer so she can hear.
“In the clinic? Okay, I’ll be right there,” I say, and I close the conversation and snatch my pants and underwear off the floor.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, but I’m far too busy getting dressed as quickly as possible.
“Milo’s been attacked while he was out with Rory.”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
I can’t explain this right now. “He’s in the local clinic, Nathan’s with him, waiting until he gets out of surgery. I have to go.”
As I march past her, she latches onto my hand. “Let me come with you.” Our eyes connect. “Please.”
My Adam’s apple moves up and down, the weight of her words not to be taken lightly.
Goddamn, that please nearly kills me.
I swallow again and nod. “C’mon.”
She nods, and we bolt down the stairs, headed straight for the door. Several girls exit their bedrooms and look at me like they’ve seen a ghost walking, but I don’t care or feel the need to explain. We’ll deal with any fallout later. Right now, we need to get to Milo and Nathan.
He left so many messages and called me a million times, but my phone was on silent because I didn’t want anyone to disturb my precious time with Lana.
But fuck, I wish I’d at least kept it on buzz now.
I throw open the door and say, “My car’s back at the society house. We gotta run.”
“No,” Lana says, and she picks up a helmet from a box in the yard in front of the house. “We’ll take my bike. It’s faster.”
I frown as she hands the helmet to me. “I can’t drive that thing.”
She smirks as she puts on her own helmet. “No, but I can.”
I watch her jump on the bike and rev the engine before she coaxes me with those claws of hers. “Jump on.”
Gripping the helmet tight, I hesitate for a moment.
It’s just a bike. Jesus. How hard can it be?
Clearing my throat, I jump on behind her and put on the helmet.
“Hold on tight,” she says.
I’m surprised she knows where to go, but I guess that comes with the territory of being a Rivera. This clinic is only accessible to those on the criminal path.
When she races off, I’m not prepared for the speed, Jesus fucking Christ, the way she whizzes across the streets, zigzagging from left to right as if it’s child’s play to her. I hold on tight, her body tensing when my fingers splay against her belly, and I grumble into the helmet from how good it feels. Her delicious scent wafts into my nose, and I take in a breath to get high on her smell.
It doesn’t even register with me when we finally arrive at the clinic. That’s how obsessed I’ve become with being close to her.
She parks the bike, and I get off so I can hand her my helmet, but she throws them to the side and grabs my hand, dragging me along. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
When I see Nathan in the hallway, I run over to him. “Is he alive?”
“He’s in the recovery room,” Nathan says, his eyes red and his face twisted with emotions. “He’s alive, but no thanks to you.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, shaking my head.
“You weren’t fucking there! I was the one who found him!” Nathan yells, shoving me away. “I called you, and you didn’t fucking pick up!”
“That’s my fault. He was with me,” Lana says.
Nathan aims his ire at her. “Five fucking gunshots. FIVE!”
Despite his flaming rage, she pulls him in for a hug, tightening her grip around him while he fights her every step of the way until he finally caves in and grieves against her, wrapping his arms around her.
“I almost lost him,” he mutters. “I almost lost Milo.”
She blinks and glances my way before patting Nathan on the back. “It’s going to be okay. He’s strong. He can survive this.”
“God, I wish I could’ve been there,” Nathan says.
“What happened?” she asks.
“He tried to give me time off and took Rory to the playground when some fuckers ambushed him,” he says, leaning away to look at me. “They took Rory.”
My eyes widen. “Fuck.”
Suddenly, a doctor comes into the waiting area. “Nathan Reed?”
“Yes!” Nathan turns around, all frazzled and running his fingers through his hair. “Is he awake?”
“Yes, you’re free to visit him if you want. He’s in room 15.”
Nathan shoots past the doctor, racing up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, and we follow suit. He bursts into Milo’s room, but the beeping machine immediately stops him.
“Milo …” Nathan mutters as he sinks into his bed and grips his hand. “I’m here.”
Milo’s eyes flutter open, and he coughs. “Hi …” His voice is all crackled from the tubes.
Lana approaches his bed too from the other side and grabs his hand to squeeze. “Hi, Milo.”
“Am I dreaming?” Milo muses. “Or am I seeing angels now?”
She grins. “Still got your charms, I see.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“Well, for someone who just got shot five times … pretty good.”
Both Lana and I snort from his comment. Always the jokester, even when he’s on the brink of death.
“They sutured me up?” he asks, looking at the bandages.
“The doc said you were quite a mess to fix,” Nathan says, pushing some of the bloodied hairs off Milo’s face. “But he did a good job.”
“I’m sorry, Nathan,” Milo mutters. “I’m sorry, Rory—”
Nathan plants a finger on his lips. “No more. It’s not your fault. I just wish I could’ve gotten there sooner.”
“Did you see what they looked like?” I ask.
“I don’t know. They were wearing long coats and skull-shaped masks.” Milo points at his chest. “There was an emblem, there. I could only vaguely catch a word before the guy shot me … Bones.”
A shiver runs up and down my spine.
“Fuck.” Nathan looks up at me and immediately fishes his phone from his pocket.
“What is it?” Lana asks.
“Bones can only mean one thing,” I say.
“Bones Brotherhood,” Nathan grits as he types into his phone. “And they’ve obviously been hired by someone to take care of my parents’ debt, no matter the cost.”
“Bones Brotherhood?” Lana chimes. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“They work under the radar. Notorious for accepting only the dirtiest jobs for the richest among us. They do anything for money, and they operate in several cities. Our parents would never work with scum like that.”
“So like assassins?”
“Not just that,” Nathan says through gritted teeth, still holding Milo’s hand for dear life. “Trafficking.”
I swallow as I watch Lana’s face go as white as snow.
“Fuck! No wonder I couldn’t get rid of these fuckers,” Nathan says.
“They don’t play by the book,” I say.
Nathan’s messages land on deaf ears, so he opts to call the guy who extorted him instead. When he picks up, Nathan puts the phone on speaker and yells, “You son of a motherfucking bitch, give me back my sister!”
The guy on the other end laughs. “And you think that’s going to work?”
Nathan clutches the phone so tight I can hear it crack. “Listen, you little bitch, I paid off my parents’ debt. I gave you the money. Our deal is finished!”
“No, I don’t think so. You see, we only got the money owed to our contractor,” the voice mumbles, clearly amused. “But you failed to provide the added interest.”
Nathan’s pupils dilate. “Interest?”
“Yes …” The voice on the phone is downright malicious. “But don’t worry, we’ll take care of it. You get to live. Your parents get to enjoy prison. And your sister? Well … you’ll never see her again.”
“Oh God,” Lana mutters, covering her mouth with her hand. “They intend to sell her.”
Nathan’s patience breaks. “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”
But the conversation is cut off before he can finish his tirade, and Nathan throws his phone.
I catch it just before it hits the wall. We need the information more than he needs an outlet for his rage.
“FUCK!” Nathan yells, almost ripping his hair out of his head. “Rory, I can’t leave her there. They’re going to hurt her. Sell her off to God knows what kind of pervert. Oh God.”
Lana fishes her phone from her pocket and texts someone.
“I’m sorry,” Milo says, coughing again. “I wish I could go out there and fight them.”
“What are you doing?” I ask Lana.
“Shh,” she mutters, still texting.
“You’re staying here. You need to rest,” Nathan tells Milo.
“Do you even know their location?” I ask.
Nathan shakes his head. “All I had was a phone number. That’s it.”
“I do.” Lana holds up her phone, showing an address.
“How’d you get that?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Penelope’s parents are notorious for hunting criminal groups like these. I just asked her if she knew anything about it, and she gave me one of their hideouts in the city.” A smug smile forms on her face. “Along with a warning of course, which I intend to ignore.”
She walks to the door.
Milo asks with a raspy voice, “Where are you going?”
“To save Rory,” she says, her face cold-hearted, vindictive. “And to kill those sons of bitches.” Then she focuses on both me and Nathan. “Now are you two coming with me or not?”
Nathan’s eyes grow big as if he can’t believe his own damn ears.
A girl we extorted, used for our own pleasure … offering us her help.
“Wait,” Milo says, and he tries to lean up from the bed. “Don’t go alone. If I can’t come with you … call Blaine. He’s a friend. He’ll help you out.”
“Blaine?” Nathan furrows his brows at him. “You still talk with him—”
“Please don’t worry about it. Not now.” Milo coughs a few more times and groans with pain from his wounds.
“We don’t have time for talking if we’re gonna save your sister,” Lana says, and she grasps Nathan’s hand and drags him out the door. “Let’s go.”
