Page 49 of Surrendering to the Obsession

He crouched low, his face inches from James's.

“Tell me, Sinclair… if you were given the same choice, would you have chosen survival or stupidity?”

James’s jaw flexed, teeth grinding. He didn’t answer—but his glare was murderous.

The kidnapper threw his head back and barked out a laugh.

That laugh carried him straight into Mia’s trap.

She moved like lightning.

The moment his guard dropped, she grabbed the suitcase—both hands gripping the handle—and swung it with all her strength.

The metal edge smashed into the back of his skull.

He lurched forward with a furious grunt.

Then the room erupted.

The gun slipped from his hand, clattering across the floor.

Mia dove—knees scraping concrete—fingers stretching toward the gun’s handle—

—but three men jumped at her instantly.

One twisted her arm until she gasped. Another kicked the gun far across the room. The third grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked hard, dragging her backward.

Her cry broke out—

And then a slap. A brutal, bone-rattling slap.

Her head snapped to the side, and she crashed onto the floor, cheek burning, vision blurring.

Chapter 9 Russian Roulette

“Mia!” James’s scream tore out of him, raw and violent. He jerked against the ropes so hard his wrists started bleeding. “What are you doing? You should’ve just left! Leave me here—just go!”

She lifted her head, a thin line of blood trailing from her lip. The men held her arms down, their grips punishing.

James’s voice cracked as he roared again. “Why did you do that?! You need to get out. I won’t blame you—just leave! This has nothing to do with you. They came for me, not you. Just go, damn it—GO!”

Then his eyes locked onto the man who hit her.

James’s entire body changed.

He froze. Then something dark and lethal blazed across his face.

“How dare you touch her,” he growled, voice shaking with rage. “You want me? Come for me. Touch her again—”

He leaned forward so hard the ropes dug into his skin.

“and I’ll kill every one of you!”

The kidnapper, now wiping blood from his own head where she hit him, turned toward Mia slowly.

His smile was gone. His amusement was gone.

“You were given a chance,” he said, voice dropping into a deadly calm. “And you wasted it.”