Page 81 of Taking His Heart

“It’s been a while. Why?” he asks.

“Someone has been here.” I push to my feet. That’s fresh mud. I look around. “There has to be another way into this room.”

“There’s only one way in and out. You already went through it,” Gio tells me.

“Elias, help me move this.” Aunt Lailani points to the single-door refrigerator.

My cousin drags it out of its slot, and I curse when I see a huge gaping hole in the wall behind it. “What the fuck?”

“What?” Gio questions.

“It’s a tunnel.”

“Fuck, she’s moving. The GPS is now at the back house, behind ours,” Gio tells me.

I start jogging through the tunnel. It’s fucking dark, the little light from Elias’s jiggling flashlight as he runs behind me doing little to show the way through. There are various curves and bends, corner upon corner, before we reach a point where I can see a slither of light ahead. My feet hit the mud faster.

“How the fuck do you have a tunnel under your house and not know about it?” I grit out as I continue towards the light.

When I reach it, I look up. There’s a small ladder that leads to what looks like a grate. I pocket my phone as I reach for the first rung.

“Wait! I’m going first.” My aunt somehow manages to jump, swinging her body up above mine as she effortlessly climbs up the ladder. I follow her, and Elias follows me.

When I reach the top, I pull myself up. “We’re on a fucking street,” I mutter.

My aunt tugs on my arm, dragging me lower. “Shh!” she whispers and points ahead of us. That’s when I see her. Daniella.

Elias crawls to a stop next to me. “What the fuck?” he asks, looking at the same scene.

This fucking asshole has Daniella, holding her by her hair while facing the front of the house. Her hands are bound behind her back. He’s saying something to her and she’s shaking her head.

“Please, no. Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything. You don’t have to do this,” she pleads with the sick fuck.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I grunt.

“Not yet. This way.” My aunt gestures to the other side of the street. “Behind those cars. We come up from behind.” She starts across the road.

Fuck that! I stand and walk straight towards my wife.

“You have something that belongs to me,” I call out, catching the attention of that asshole. And Daniella.

“CJ, no! Turn around!” she screams at me.

Yeah, that’s not going to fucking happen. The fucker yanks on her hair, pulling her body back against his chest. My eyes flick to his other hand. Empty. He doesn’t have a weapon.

“You’re just in time for the show,” he tells me. “Although you were supposed to be in there.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my aunt and cousin creeping up behind him.

“Let her go,” I say, keeping my voice far calmer than I feel right now.

“She’s mine. Tell him, Daniella. Tell him you’re mine.” The fucker shakes her.

Daniella has tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “Please turn around, CJ. Get out of here. If I just go with him, no one will get hurt.”

I laugh. “I’ll turn around, walk right down that fucking street, when he lets you fucking go,” I growl.

I raise my arm, my gun aimed at Hernández’s forehead. I have no intention of pulling the trigger, not when she’s blocking three quarters of his body.