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Chloe.
26
RILEY
“Oh fuck,”I gasp, digging my fingers into Dante’s shoulder as my gut twists.
My sister is standing on a small round pedestal about five feet above the edge of the dance floor, wearing nothing but a g-string and a smile that looks like she’s dead inside.
I’m vaguely aware that there are other pedestals around the place with similar dancers on them, but I only have eyes for Chloe.
And as if she can feel the weight of my gaze on her, she looks over at me.
Her eyes widen, hope, fear, relief, and shock all flashing through them before her expression settles on panic. Her gaze darts around like she’s looking for her captors, and she never stops moving, as if they’ve already made sure she knows better than to try.
Shit. I have to help her. I have to get her out of here.
It’s the only thought I have as I shove away from Dante and start pushing through the crowd in Chloe’s direction.
But I don’t get more than a step or two before a strong hand closes around my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
At first, I think it’s Dante, but as he yanks me backward against his body and his scent reaches my nostrils, I realize it’s Maddoc.
“Keep your shit together,” he says coolly into my ear, his grip around my waist like iron.
“That’s my sister,” I gasp. “They can’t—Maddoc, I need to… They… She—”
I can barely string my thoughts together, much less any words. Fear and anger churn inside me, an emotional whirlpool threatening to suck me under.
“I know,” he says, his voice low. “I know you’re pissed. But what do you think you’re going to do that will help her right now?”
Do? Save her. That’s what I need to do.
I struggle against him, trying to twist free so I can get to her. “Let me go. I—”
“Think, butterfly,” he says sharply, spinning me around to face him. “What can you do?”
The blunt question cuts through my chaotic emotions. He’s right, and I hate him for it.
There’s nothing I can do right now. This club is owned by the men who captured her. They must have security around. It’s not like they’re going to just let me walk out with Chloe, and by the panicked look on her face, my sister knows it too.
I can’t save her like this.
A helpless rage wells up inside me, so overwhelming that it feels like it’s going to break me. Like it could shake me apart and shatter me into a million pieces. My only anchor is Maddoc’s cool gaze, locked on to mine.
“Count to ten,” he says, his voice somehow all I can hear despite the blaring music.
“I can’t—”
“Yes, you can. Come on now, just take a breath and count for me.”
A shudder rips through me, a sob clawing its way up my throat. It feels like he’s asking for the impossible, but he’s so fuckingsolid, so immovable, that it doesn’t matter.
What Maddoc wants, Maddoc gets. He’ll make it happen with his will alone.
I take a breath.
“That’s it,” he says, surprisingly gently, still staring down at me with that unblinking gaze as he creates a bubble of space for us in the midst of the crowd. “Another one.”
