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The sound that came from Zach was a strangled choke. Mav knew how he felt. Well, not entirely. He’d never been gone over a woman the way Zach seemed to be over Toni, but he understood his feeling of impotence. The extreme frustration of watching this race car barrel toward the edge of a cliff and be helpless to do a damn thing.
Infuriating didn’t begin to describe it.
Please let Stephanie be okay.
“Hope you can stay on your feet,” Shark said as he removed the knife from Mav’s neck and released his hold on Mav’s body. Instantly, his legs Jello-ed and threatened to collapse. Just a few minutes, a short walk across the clearing, and then he’d be with his brothers and could let his body give out.
“Walk straight. No funny shit or she dies.”
By sheer will and stubbornness, he advanced one foot, then had to stop and suck in a few agonizing breaths. He was done, spent. There wasn’t anything left in his body to give. But behind him, Toni’s life depended on him making it to Zach. And back in the basement from hell, Stephanie was counting on him to survive long enough to send someone for her.
That’s what did it. Thoughts of Stephanie: her bravery, her compassion, her unselfish attempts to spare him. The tight body and sweet face helped, too. She was someone he wanted to get to know, and that wouldn’t happen if he gave up right then.
His wildcat.
So, he manned up more than he ever thought possible and took another step. Pain shot from his foot up through his trunk and seemed to settle in his ribs.
Do it, Maverick.
Another step that shouldn’t have been possible.
The sound of a gunshot that couldn’t have been more than five feet away had his body jerking with a painful clench of his muscles. For a second, he froze.
Was he hit?
The pain in his arm was so severe it was impossible to tell if there was a new injury, but he didn’t seem to be losing blood.
Shark made a sound like a dying animal, and then the world went crazy. A strong arm snagged Mav around the shoulders and swung him against the building. He didn’t hit hard, but his body was so battered any touch sent shockwaves of misery through him. “I got you, brother.”
Rocket’s voice.
Maverick sagged at the realization his brother had him. Dizziness swamped him, and his legs gave up the fight to keep him standing. Gunshots sounded around him along with the sound of boots pounding on the ground and a few pain-filled yells.
“Don’t worry, I got you. You can relax now. We’ll get you straight to a hospital, Mav,” Rocket said.
Safe for the first time in days, it was as though Maverick’s mind and body just up and quit. The world wavered, and his eyes rolled back as he seemed to lose control over his muscles.
“Stephanie,” he whispered as the last vestiges of his mind clung to consciousness.
“Shh, don’t try to talk brother. You look like complete shit.”
He grunted and tried once more, “Stephan—” The words died in his throat as everything faded to black.
CHAPTER SIX
HOW MUCH ISOLATION, immobility, and discomfort could a person withstand before insanity set in? The question had been circulating in and out of Stephanie’s head ever since she woke up alone in the quiet basement…some time ago.
Last thing she remembered was Mav’s fervent shout waking her from a nightmare-plagued sleep and informing her help had arrived. Then, before she’d even had time to process the news, Shark made his grand entrance and so lovingly bashed her skull against the metal table. It was lights out once again.
Now, she was in the dark both literally and figuratively.
How much time had passed?
Where the hell was Maverick?
Where was Shark, for that matter, or any of his goons?
The basement was so silent, the sound of her own breathing was thunderous. She’d been awake for what felt like hours but could have reasonably been only thirty minutes. Time crawled forward like a sloth when there wasn’t anything to do but stare into the darkness and be tortured by her own thoughts.
The back of her head ached and a tender goose egg the size of, well, a goose egg had erupted smack in the center of the base of her head. Every time she stared straight up at the ceiling, pain lanced through her scalp. She was stuck keeping her head pivoted to the side.
Was this it? Would she die, cuffed to a table, left to wither away and starve? Didn’t sound like the most pleasant way to go. Insanity was sure to kick in before she perished from lack of food.
No. Mav promised his MC would rescue them both.
Making promises in the heat of the moment was easy when desperation and hope warred for the dominant emotion. But when all was said and done and Maverick was safe with his brothers, would his assurances hold up?
