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Eric

“You’re never gonna make it,” she snarled from the back seat, and I stole a hasty glance at her pissy face in the rearview mirror. I needed to concentrate on the washed-out road in front of me and knew I didn’t have much time. Normally, I’d be thrilled the rain had returned to cool off this Godforsaken country, but the thought of who I had in the back had me in more of a sweat than I cared to think about. I needed to get behind the protected gates of my house. The wipers beat across the windshield, and I squinted at the quickly forming river ahead of me. My phone rang, and I stuck it between my shoulder and my chin as I quickly put the car in reverse.

“Stick to the opposite shoulder, gun it, and get the fuck out of there,” a voice screamed at me. One of Castillo’s men, I assumed. I tossed the phone on the passenger seat, lined up my wheels on the shoulder, and gunned it. Water started to seep around my boots as my passenger shrieked, and I could feel the pressure of her feet as she propped them up out of the water.

“You’re crazy!” she yelped.

She had no idea.

I shifted into four-wheel drive. A plume of water flew out behind me as I plowed along the edge of the steadily rising water. Finally, all four wheels were clear, but I never slowed down until I hit the city limits. I took the turns hard as I wove up the hill and finally took a deep breath as I drove through the wrought iron gates to my house.

I reached for my phone as my men approached the car, but I hopped out and held up a hand to stop them.

“I got her.” I opened the door. “How do you wanna do this?” I immediately saw fight flicker in her eyes as she took me in. “You’re highly outnumbered, so we can get you inside, cleaned up, and settled, or you can make a scene. Believe me, lady, you’ll be the one who’ll end up getting hurt. Your ass’ll be inside one way or another. It’s up to you how.” I watched her weigh the odds. If I’d learned anything over the years about the kind of woman Blackstone attracted, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. These women were a tough lot, and if I gave her an inch, I knew she’d take advantage of it. I had to set the ground rules now.

When she didn’t move, I reached for her hand. She’d been waiting for that and tried to headbutt me. I wasn’t stupid and was ready for her. She wouldn’t be the first woman who’d tried that one on me. What I didn’t expect was as she fell, she twisted hard and caught me with her shoulder. I stepped back quickly and let her fall to the ground hard. Her knees hit first and then her hands. She spat like a cat and screamed obscenities. I was impressed by her repertoire, but I was done with her, and I was pissed when I heard a snicker from one of my soldiers.

“Done yet?” She tried to kick out, but I carefully stepped out of the way. Her feet were still tied, so she could only do so much. Rain beat down on her as she looked up at me in fury and her hair hung in strings over her face. I’d had enough, so I grabbed her and threw her over my shoulder and carried her kicking and screaming toward the house.

“Get your asses back inside,” I yelled at the men as I went by them.

Alejandro gave a quick, low whistle as I entered the house and I glanced at him. He moved his gaze to a few men I hadn’t met before. I wasn’t a newbie in this business and immediately understood what I was up against. They sat at a table pretending not to notice me. Smoke from their cigarettes swirled thick above them as they played a card game.

I glared at them as I hauled the woman through the room and down the stairs. I dumped her on the bed in the cage and held her still with my foot. Leo, one of my men, had left the needle on the small table ready for me, and I grabbed it and gave it a flick.

“No, no!” She started to panic, but I grabbed her arm and injected the drug under her skin. Within seconds, she went limp, and I sat beside her on the bed to catch my breath.

“Little wildcat,” Leo chuckled, “hope this cage holds up.”

“Take off her shoes,” I ordered as I ignored his comments about what she might look like underneath her clothes. “Socks too.” I cut the ropes and examined the raw marks on her wrists and ankles. I rubbed cream into the red areas, then, satisfied, I decided to give her a second shot that contained pain meds. I knew the journey wouldn’t have been easy, and the bruises on her arms and cheek told me she she’d put up a fight.

I didn’t know who grabbed these women from the streets, and I didn’t need to know, but it pissed me off when they were marked up. Time was money, and it took time to get them ready for sale. This particular woman concerned me more than usual, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to be blamed if she was scarred up.

“What about her shirt?” He grinned at me.

“No.” I shook my head. When she woke, I didn’t want her to find herself undressed and think I was some kind of creep who did shit to her while she was drugged.

“Whatever. I’ll just watch the reruns.” He chuckled, and as I shot him a questioning look, he pointed at a camera in the corner of the room. I didn’t react but swept my eyes around the room. I could see a few cameras had been installed while I was away.

Fucking Castillo.

I stood, about to rip them out of the wall, but stopped myself. Who was to say there weren’t any more? Maybe this was a test, and if there were cameras, maybe there were mics around too.

Castillo: I need a proof of life.

Eric: I said no cameras.

Castillo: It’s merely a precaution.

Eric: Bullshit.

I thought for a moment then took out my switchblade and carved an oval on the wall then cut in my recently designed signature tag. I stepped back and snapped a quick photo of her with my mark in the background.

“Why’d you do that?” Leo came up behind me.

“Proof of life, amigo, and I feel like playin’ the game this time."

“The game?” He looked puzzled.

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