Page 104 of Power & Punishment

“Fuck,” I curse.

This isn’t a route. It’s a trap.

At some point, I stupidly stopped keeping a distance—too enthralled in my chase. So, when the Escalade comes to an abrupt stop, all I have time to do is swerve.

The passenger door swings open, and a very large man steps out dressed in black with a ski mask covering his face.

“Shit,” I say, yanking the wheel at the last second to avoid him.

My tires screech against the pavement, and before I even realize what’s happening, the front end of my vehicle clips a concrete wall hard enough to rattle my entire body.

And then the airbags detonate, hitting my face with enough brutal force to snap my head back against the seat.

Everything goes white.

Other than the loud whistling noise in my ear, everything is muffled.

For a second, I’m too shocked to feel anything.

The next thing I know, I’m in so much blinding pain I feel like I’m about to throw up.

I quickly shove the deflated airbag away with my uninjured arm, blinking rapidly to clear the cloudiness of my vision.

My head snaps up to search for my perpetrator, but all I see is the back end of the Escalade I’m now regretting following.

They obviously weren’t trying to kill me, so what is this? A warning?

I scramble for my phone, trying to ignore the mind-numbing headache ripping through my skull. My fingers finally wrap around the rectangular object, slipping from the sweat or blood.

My jaw tightens as I press back against the seat, forcing myself to breathe through the pain.

The phone only rings once before Michael picks up. “What the fuck, Leo. What happened?”

“Come get me, Michael. I’ll explain later,” I manage to sputter out. My throat is hoarse, and every movement is another shot of agonizing pain up my side.

“And tell Mia her tantrum is over.”

I close my eyes briefly, picturing her face.

“I need her.”

30

MIA

My eyes are barely closed when I hear the door swing open and crash against the kitchen wall.

I shoot up from my position on the couch, feeling the dull strain on my lower back.

“What the hell?” I ask groggily, adjusting to the overhead lighting my brother rudely flipped on.

“Mia, I need your help,” he responds, stalking toward the bathroom and returning a few minutes later. “You remember how to stitch up a wound, right?”

I nod my head, pulling on my boots quickly and following him out the door. “What’s going on?”

Dante stops abruptly, almost causing me to crash into his back. He turns around and there’s a disturbingly solemn look on his face.

“You’re not going to like this, but Leo is downstairs, and he won’t let anyone touch him unless it’s you. I mean I know the guy can be a prick, but this is⁠—”