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Blackness danced around the edges of his vision. He had to get out of this choke hold or he’d never get to her.
Tucking his chin into the crook of the goon’s arm, Devin raised his shoulders and jerked his chin into his attacker’s forearm. The pressure loosened. Air whooshed into his lungs. He dropped enough for his feet to touch the ground. Immediately, he delivered a chop punch to the asshole’s groin and twisted. He burst from the thug’s deadly hold.
In that single moment of clarity, he fell back to his MMA mantra: focus, finesse, fight.
Eight guys on their feet, two on the ground, and one too busy holding his smashed nut sack to be of much trouble. A glimmer caught his eye. Sarah stood behind one of the thugs.
Understanding whacked him in the face.
Cut off the head and kill the snake.
Using reserves he didn’t realize he had, Devin pivoted away from Ryder and plowed through a freckle-faced goon like a three-hundred-pounder versus a bag of chips. Grabbing Sarah’s arm, he pulled her close so she stood between him and the pack of enforcers. He slid his other arm around her throat, ready to snap it clean in half.
“Long time no see, Sarah.”
Taken by surprise, she didn’t even try to break free. “I suppose you think this is the optimum solution?”
“Returning the money is your best option.” He softened his tone, hoping to remind her of the easy working relationship they’d had for the past ten years. “You return the money, we leave. No authorities get involved. You don’t serve time.”
“Jail? Are you kidding? Did you know George and I met on Andol? My father told me he’d disown me if I left with George. I was young and did it
anyway. I gave George my undying loyalty and he repaid me by hiring a flighty nincompoop in a short skirt. I made him pay, and he’ll keep paying when the MultiCorp deal falls through. It’s past time for me to get my due, and no one’s taking it from me.”
One of the thugs grabbed Ryder. She was awake, but groggy.
Devin wanted to pluck out the guy’s eyeballs and grill them on a skewer. But action without the benefit of thinking first had never turned out well for him. That’s how James had ended up as he had. Devin couldn’t risk hurting Ryder any more than he already had by dragging her into this mess. He had to protect her.
She blinked unfocused eyes and feebly pushed away the guy’s arm, but it didn’t move an inch. A crowd of tourists watched from a safe distance while the locals, on the other hand, kept their gaze purposefully averted. There wasn’t a cop in sight. Naturally.
He had to play this just right or it would go sideways. That couldn’t happen.
“Tell your little army to let her go.”
“No.” Sarah sounded as bored as if he’d asked her about the weather.
He tightened his grip around her neck. “Let. Her. Go.”
“Oh, I would if it was just me, but my son is quite particular about his reputation.” She shrugged. “You two caught him flat-footed with the diamonds-in-the-tea-pots scheme. It would be bad form to let both of you go.”
There it was. The out he’d been looking for. “Fine. Leave her. Take me.”
Sarah tsk-tsked and shook her head. “Ah, self-sacrifice. I know that stage of love all too well. It’s not the most comfortable place, is it?”
His gut screamed for him to pull out all the stops and go full-on crazy, but he couldn’t. The only way he’d get Ryder out of here was if he used his brain instead of his brawn.
He released Sarah. “Let her go and I’ll go willingly. Maybe my father will pay a ransom.” He shrugged.
Sarah, well aware of the billions his father had in the bank, considered him for a moment. “But your father hates you.”
“He does, but he hates looking weak even more.” Letting kidnappers keep his first born would do just that.
“Get him in the van.” Sarah glanced at Ryder, who was still fighting weakly against her captor, then back at him. “Leave her.”
Relief seeped into his marrow. He had no fucking clue what would happen to him next, but he imagined it would be painful and prolonged. It didn’t matter, as long as Ryder was safe.
Two of the men grabbed his arms, shoved him into the vehicle, and tied him to one of the seats.
As the van doors slid closed, the last thing he saw was Ryder sinking to the ground.
