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The car wouldn’t let me see the livestream while I was driving, but the fact that it looked like it was coming from one of Miranda’s socials made my blood run cold. I pulled off the road so I could watch it and my heart plummeted to my stomach as I took in the sterile environment around her.
There was a masked man behind her. He moved in the shadows as tears streaked down Miranda’s dirty face, her body shuddering with sobs. My grip on the wheel tightened as I watched him hand her a phone, directing her to log into her social media accounts. I knew this wasn’t going to end well.
My eyes were fixated on the screen as she began to speak. She talked about being taken by the Blades, about being in the Everglades, and then the man snuck up behind her. Her face was riveting, but the glint of the knife was hard to miss. I couldn’t see him, the mask obscured his features, and he had spoken too quietly for me to be able to make anything out.
I knew who the man was without even seeing his face. It had to be the Viper.
And then it happened. The man behind Miranda sliced her throat, and my world went dark.
I quickly rewound the video, trying to catch any details that might tell me where they were. The lighting was terrible, but I could see enough to know that they were in an abandoned house somewhere. I saved the video to my phone before driving off again, determined to reach them as soon as possible.
This man was capable of anything, and Sofia was in his hands.
The adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I pressed harder on the gas pedal, the engine roaring in protest. Sweat coated my palms and a sick feeling twisted my stomach, but I couldn’t afford to let that slow me down. The thought of Sofia and Teo in the grips of the Viper made my skin crawl, with Sofia especially invading my thoughts.
Fuck this.
“Almost there...just a little further,” I muttered to myself, my heart pounding in my ears. Finally, the swamp came into view, its murky waters and tangled trees casting eerie shadows in the dimming light. As I slammed the brakes, the tires screeched in revolt. I leaped out of the car, my eyes scanning the area for any sign of them.
It was dark and I didn’t know if there were any men with guns still around.
I parked the car, killed the engine, and let myself be swallowed by the darkness.
I took a deep breath and focused on the GPS signal from Teo’s phone. It was nearby, but the signal was weak and almost impossible to follow in the dense foliage. I cursed under my breath as I forced my way through the undergrowth, my eyes darting around for any sign of movement.
My hand instinctively went to the gun in my holster as I made my way cautiously through the swamp. Every second felt like an eternity, every rustle of the leaves sending chills down my spine. The GPS on Teo’s phone indicated that they were close, but I couldn’t see them or hear any sounds that might give me a better clue of their presence.
As I got closer to the GPS signal, my heart started beating faster. I could feel a sense of relief wash over me as I spotted a flicker of light through the trees up ahead.
I could hear men--voices I didn’t recognize--shouting at each other. Not a good sign.
I crouched down low, my heart pounding in my chest as I crept closer to the light. Peering through the foliage I could see a group of men gathered around a fire, their faces obscured by shadows. They were armed and looked ready to take on anyone who came near them.
I didn’t know how I was going to be able to take on all of them, and then a branch cracked behind me, and I whipped around to confront the man who had spotted me.
It took me a second, after leveling my gun at my would-be attacker, to realize that it was Sofia.
Relief washed over me as I lowered my weapon, my heart pounding in my chest. She looked terrible, her hair was matted on her head, her face streaked with make-up, blood and sweat.
“What the hell are you doing here? You scared the crap out of me!” I said under my breath, trying to keep my voice down so we wouldn’t be heard.
“Jace,” she said. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”
I immediately felt like an asshole for shouting at her in the first place. I put my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. “I’m sorry,” I said in a whisper. “I just can’t face losing you. I wasn’t going to leave you behind.”
She sighed against my chest, and I could feel her trembling. “We have to get out of here,” she said, pulling away from me. “Teo is with the Viper. He’s holding him captive.”
I felt a wave of anger wash over me at the thought of Teo being held captive by that sadistic asshole. “We have to get him out of there,” I said firmly. “Do you know if he still has his phone on him?”
“He should,” Sofia replied. “I don’t think the Viper took it. Where’s everyone else? Is Victor okay?”
“He’s in good hands,” I said. “Let’s not worry about him for now. Right now, we need to get Teo.”
Sofia nodded in agreement, and we made our way through the swamp, trying our best to avoid detection. There were too many men around, and I knew we were outnumbered. I wasn’t going to let Sofia run back out into the swamp when there were bad men still looking for her. I knew I couldn’t give up, not when Teo was still in danger. We had come too far to let the Viper get his dirty hands on him.
We moved silently, stepping over rotting logs and slippery rocks, every second bringing us closer to Teo’s location. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, but it was hard to see in the almost black swamp.
We had to be careful; the swamp was full of creatures and people trying to get us.
