Page 66 of Deliverance

He studied me for a moment longer, then kissed me hard.

“Okay,” Izzy said. “You have five minutes left. It’s time.”

Sebastian knelt to slip the trackers into my shoes, one for each boot. Then he pulled me into him and kissed me so hard I forgot my own name for a moment. He pulled back and kissed the tip of my nose.

“Kick his ass.”

“I will.”

Dominic was next, kissing me deeply. “Use the knife if you need it,” he whispered. “Don’t hesitate.”

I nodded and turned to Marcus. His arms were folded over his chest still. “I don’t like this.”

“I know,”

He reached for me, and I stepped into his arms. I could feel the tremble in his muscles and knew it must be killing him to let me go alone.

“I’ll be okay,” I whispered to him.

“You better be. I’ll spank your ass if you’re not.”

I ignored the flash of heat that flew through me. “Got it.”

“I’ll help him,” Adrian said, cupping the back of my neck while Marcus kept his arms around me.

“If you think that’s a deterrent, we might need to work on your idea of punishment,” I teased them.

Adrian’s eyes darkened, and he pulled my head back to kiss me. His kiss left me breathless, and Marcus stole my lips next.

Finally, Alexander stood by the elevators. I walked to him. We didn’t say any words. We already had. He squeezed my hand tightly and pressed the button for the elevator. A moment later, the doors opened with a soft chime. He squeezed my hand tighter, then let me go.

I stepped into the elevator and turned to face them, taking in their faces like I was burning them into my memory. “See you soon.” I promised as the elevator doors closed.

Time to end this.

The ride down felt like it took forever. I glanced at my watch. One minute left. The doors opened in the lobby with a soft chime. I pushed open the lobby doors into the chilly night air. A black SUV idled outside at the curb. A man dressed in a black shirt and black jeans, looking every inch like a hired thug, pushed off the vehicle.

“You’re late,” he snarled at me.

“I’m not.” I pointedly checked my watch. I was exactly on time, actually.

“Arms up,” he said.

He patted me down roughly, spending more time on my hips than necessary. I glared at him but didn’t say anything.

“Get in,” he growled, opening the door.

I expected to see Drake in the SUV, but the back seat was empty. The driver, dressed similarly to the first guy, stared straight ahead.

“Put this on.” The first guy handed me a hood.

I looked at it skeptically, but when he thrust it at me again, I put it on. Wherever they were taking me, I had to trust that my team was following.

I put the hood on, and the black material cut off my vision. I breathed deeply through the rising panic at the loss of my vision. The hood reminded me too much of an enclosed space. I coachedmyself through breathing. I was in a car, not a tight space. It was like having my eyes closed.

The panic stayed at a low simmer as the vehicle twisted and turned through the city’s streets. I tried to keep track of the turns in my head, but we turned so many times I lost count. Was that intentional? Did we double back so I wouldn’t be able to tell where we were going? It was the type of thing I could imagine Drake ordering them to do.

After what must have been at least fifteen to twenty minutes, the SUV rolled to a stop. The door next to me opened.