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I had to find them.
“Dante,” someone shouted from the foyer. I recognized the voice from the other side of the house and moved toward it. Marquis stood there, a half dozen soldiers behind him. Oh, I could see the spitting fury in his eyes from my disregarding his demands. But he didn’t voice it. “Give me an order, boss.”
“Find Bria and Sienna,” I said. “Kill every goddamn person affiliated with Valentino. If you find that bastard,” I snarled, shaking my head to clear the rage-induced fog, “If you find him, keep him alive and bring him to me.”
33
Sienna
This time, I knew exactly what had happened.
I knew where I was, and I knew that Bria was here, too.
“Are you awake?” a small voice asked.
The pounding in the back of my head didn’t relent, and I solidified my resolve before cracking open a crusted eye. As I took in the harsh basement lights, I realized precisely how precarious this situation had become.
“I’m up,” I whispered through a sore throat. I strained to look over at her, stretching my stiff neck. “How long have I been out?”
“A long time,” she admitted. “Your hand is bleeding real bad. You wouldn’t wake up.”
I guessed I should add blood loss to the list of injuries now.
My entire left arm mercifully felt numb, but I knew it wasn’t as much mercy as a sign that I needed to get out of there and get medical attention.
I scanned Bria and found no obvious injuries. I also noticed that in Valentino’s apparent haste, he hadn’t bothered to restrain her. She sat in her chair, unbound and able to move around. He wasn’t stupid, but I imagined I looked worse than I felt. I’d been rattled in the car accident. I’d been tormented and further hurt here.
There was no way I could fight at my full capacity. I’d be lucky to take out one of Valentino’s cronies.
He knew it.
That was why he left Bria unbound. It had been a taunt to me. A way of showing that he had the upper hand.
“Bria, I need you to listen carefully. I need your help to get out of these handcuffs.”
She hopped from her seat and nodded, walking behind my back. I heard her heaving in a big breath before she squeaked.
“Do you want me to take out this knife?”
The scalpel still protruded from my wrist? Shit. “No, honey. Leave it there and try not to touch it. Is it still bleeding?”
“No, but doesn’t it hurt?”
“Not right now,” I told her honestly. “I’ll take it out when I can wrap it and stop the bleeding, but for now, I need you to beverycareful and not touch it. Can you do that?”
“Mhmm.”
“Okay, go over to the cart of tools and look around. I need something that is small enough to fit in the keyhole of the handcuffs.” I paused, considering the different tools I knew he’d have there. Valentino was nothing if not predictable.
“There’s nothing small,” she said. I heard her rustling around the cart. “Sienna, I don’t see anything.”
“What about a nail or a paperclip? Anything little will work.”
“There are only big tools,” she said, panic rising in her tone.
“Okay,” I said, stifling my own panic. “Okay, Bria. Do you have a pin in your hair?”
“Yes,” she said, and I exhaled a sigh of relief. “Good. Bring it here and put it in my hand. Which side is the lock on?”
