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My next words are cut off by Liam’s shout. “Down!” He grabs my head and pushes me down to his lap, his upper body over mine, shielding me from the onslaught of gunshots that ring out through the night.
Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod. Did he plan this?
“I need you to stay down,” he says, his voice way too calm for my liking.
Alarm bells blare in my head.
How is he so cal—Oh my god.He betrayed us.
Body trembling, my mind is screaming at me to make a run for it. This isn’t the first time I’ve been this close to a shootout between the cartel and their enemies, but this time there’s no black SUV waiting to whisk me away to safety. There’s no Zain.
I’m on my own, and quite possibly with a traitor.
“Isadora,” Liam whispers as he cracks open the car door and points a gun through the gap. He fires once, twice, then again. Gunshots burst along with the sounds of falling bodies and shouts of pain.
“Wha—what’s going on?” I ask, my voice shaking.
“Isadora… they’re going to take us.” Liam raises his gun again and shoots through the now open window of the car.
They’re what?!… NO.
“Trust me when I tell you this, everything is going to be okay.” There’s a shout, then another, familiar thud. “Get ready,” he says.
“No. Nonono… don’t let—” The car door is yanked open, and a gust of cold wind hits my back. My body is pulled from the car by a pair of strong arms. I scream and kick and wail, desperate to escape the man’s clutches.
Liam stands, points his gun toward me, and fires just over my shoulder.
The heat of the bullet whizzes by my ear as a blood curdling scream escapes my lips. I fall to the ground when the hands around me turn slack. With heaving breaths, I crawl forward and crouch against the car.
“Stay down!” Liam shouts from the other side of the car. Another gunshot sends yet another man to the ground, and for a long moment there’s silence.
“Liam?” I call.
“Isadora…” a familiar voice calls back. “Come out, come out wherever you are.” Juan’s voice sends shivers down my spine, but I remain silent and still. Whatever Liam’s plan is, I hope to God it works.
“Let her go,” Liam says. “She’s useless to you.”
Juan laughs, and the sound of a fist hitting flesh causes me to wince.
“I’ll count to three, sweet Isadora, then I’m going to put a bullet in this man’s head. And when I’m done with him, it’ll be your turn.”
“Do what he says, Isadora,” Liam calls out, not a hint of concern in his tone.
“One,” Juan says. “Two.” He chuckles and shoots at the window of the diner. The alarm’s shrill ring cuts through the night.
Before Juan can say three, I get to my feet, shaking hands raised in the air. “I’ll come! I’ll come!”
Juan doesn’t let Liam go, and when three more of my father’s men appear, Liam’s weapons are taken, then we’re both stripped down to our underwear, bound, and shoved into the back of an SUV before we’re driven to the compound.
Chapter 19
Demon
Manuel Santos isn’t asleep. And he’s not in bed.
He stands behind two chairs. On the left, Liam sits in his briefs, bound and gagged, his eyes alight with something akin to amusement.Fuck.I always thought the guy was insane. Now I’m sure of it. And I fucking know he’s up to something.
On the right, Isadora is also bound and gagged and someone—who will die shortly—has removed her clothes as well, leaving her sitting in her bra and panties.
