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I climbed back off the bike, and headed back to the house.

Chapter 39

Gabriella

Now

What seemed like hours passed with no contact from Nico or any of his men.

I hadn’t even noticed the passage of time, not really. I had been too lost in my memories. Too consumed with reliving the past.

Not only had I lost my baby, but I’d also been to blame for all that had followed. Even though my dad had never attacked Vienna, he’d still taken my information on board. He’d played with Laura’s mind, ambushing her whenever she was alone. When she rode away that night, the night she’d died, it had been after yet another taunting phone call from him.

He’d contacted Macbeth, and informed him of the plan to make Dante vice. And though he’d played it cool for a few years, beneath the surface, Macbeth was simmering.

When Rachel came along, my dad had her background checked within days. With one gentle nudge from him, he had Macbeth plotting the demise of the entire club.

It had ended in so much death, poor Bee badly burned, and in the end, both Macbeth and my dad had lost their lives to these foolish schemes.

And it had all been my fault.

Vienna would never forgive me if he knew just how much devastation I’d truly caused.

As the hours passed, it was becoming painfully obvious that we would not be getting any food or water, and that they had no intention of coming down here untiltheyneeded something from us.

I felt sick at the thought of what that “something” might be.

“Gabby,” my mum croaked from the pathetic strip of material that counted as a mattress down here.

“What is it?” I asked, crouching down low next to her.

She looked awful. Yes, her face and body bore the evidence of Nico’s latest rampage, but it was more than that. Her eyes were sunken, her lips were dry and cracked beneath the dried blood, her cheeks hollow and gaunt. Her skin looked grey and tired, with new wrinkles I had never seen before.

Her body was thin—far too fucking thin, and it just seemed as though her spirit was fading faster than her body was willing to allow her to give up.

She was becoming a shell of herself.

“You need to get out of here,” she rasped.

“Mum—”

“Gabby, we willbothdie tonight if you don’t at least try. If you leave, one of us has a fighting chance. It’s a mother’s duty to protect her children. And who knows, maybe with your escape, it might give me one last shot, too. But that can never happen if you don’tmove,” she used the last of her strength to hiss the final word at me, leaning forward to grab hold of my shirt, bringing her face close to mine, imploring me to listen.

And once she was done, she flopped back, all energy spent.

I knew then what I had to do. What was painfully obvious. She was right. I needed to go. I needed to leave whilst I had the chance. We both risked dying down here if I did nothing.

“I’ll be back for you, Mum. I promise.”

“I know you will, baby.”

I rushed towards her, kissing her forehead with a small sob, and went towards the basement door without looking back.

Because I knew that if I looked back, I’d change my mind. We both knew I’d have to be insanely lucky to escape here. Luckier still to not only escape but stage her rescue mission.

But I had to at least try.

The door creaked when I eased it open, and I froze instantly, my hand tightening around the handle as I waited for someone to shout, for boots to start pounding down the hallway, for the attempt to be over before it had even begun. But nothing came. No voice. No movement. No sign that anyone had heard me at all.