AllFreeNovel
Share Us
PROLOGUE
KILLIAN
There’s a point in your life when you know everything is about to change. That moment for me is right now as I jump from the SUV and take off running. I’ve never been more livid or terrified. I can’t focus on those emotions right now, though. My mission is to save Scarlet and after that’s done, hell will rain down on the men who took her.
Boots pound behind me like horse hooves galloping on a racetrack as we run toward the concrete cell where she’s being held. There’s no telling what we’ll find when we get in there, which is why every second counts. Fury drives me faster. When I finally see it, my chest squeezes so tight, I want to vomit.
There are no windows. No vents. Only a door with a thick metal lock on it.
“Scarlet!” I shout.
Nothing.
Fuck.
She could be dead. The only air getting in and out of there comes from the half-inch space between the ground and bottom of the door.
“Boss, I have bolt cutters,” one of our men says.
We eye the lock. I don’t think a pair of manual cutters will get through the thick metal.
“Try it,” I command.
A dozen Irish Mafia soldiers surround us, watching and ready for any attention brought our way. I have a feeling my boss and his woman are keeping the Russians occupied at the moment.
“Fuck!” one of the men shouts as he tries to cut the metal.
“Stand back. I’m going to shoot it.” I point my forty-five at the lock. “Scarlet, if you can hear me, get as far away from the door as you can!”
I wait for any kind of response but hear nothing. The air is frozen in my lungs. I pray she’s alive and that the bullets will break the metal.
One shot.
Two.
On the third, the lock falls to the ground. I rush for the door and yank it open.
I barge into the pitch-black cell. My eyes take several seconds to adjust. As soon as they do, I see her. A small heap in the corner.
“Scarlet!” I roar.
She moves. Barely. Enough that the tightness in my chest eases a smidge.
As soon as I scoop her into my arms, I know she’s mine. I’ll do anything and everything in this world to protect her at all costs. This is the last time she’ll ever experience this kind of pain again.
“I got you, baby. Daddy’s got you,” I murmur as I carry her out of the darkness.
1
SCARLET
Warmth.
Light.
Voices.
One particular voice. Smooth as velvet and with a deep timbre.
