Nothing. There had to be a way out—a lever or even a button. As she began to feel her way around, she thought of Alex. He thought she was at home watching shows and planning for Thanksgiving. He didn’t know that Reyn had called and asked her to come over. She didn’t even want to go, so why did she? Because I’m weak and can’t say no. Reyn wanted to talk about Buck, but then Buck decided to come home for lunch, and since they couldn’t exactly talk about him while he was in the room, they’d discussed the salon instead. Then Montana showed up with Reyn’s heels that she’d left at The Cave the night of the wedding. Montana joined in the discussion, and salon talk went from plumbing the back rooms to changing the entire floor plan. This led to the two of them wanting to see the place, but then Reyn felt sick, so it ended up being Sage and Montana. Sage let out a huff. What was I thinking? She knew better than to leave the house without calling Alex or at least texting to tell him where she was. Hopefully, Montana would call him when she realized Sage was missing. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. No, she thought, I will not cry. But she really, really wanted to.
Failing to find a lever or button, she decided to kick her way out. Pulling her knees to her chest, she was poised to strike when the car came to a sudden stop. Shit!
She heard doors slam, followed by shoes crunching on pavement. Someone’s coming. The trunk opened. Fresh air hit her face, and she greedily inhaled it into her lungs. Bright lights illuminated the darkness, making her squint.
A familiar face appeared above her. “Hello, Sage. Did you have a nice nap?”
“Fuck you!” Her legs shot out, hitting him square in the chest.
A loud curse flew from his mouth as he rocked back on his heels and nearly lost his balance.
In a burst of adrenaline, she sprang from the trunk. Her hands were on the rim, her leg over the side, when she felt the gun press against the back of her head.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Carlos warned.
Teeth gritted, she lifted her eyes to the man she hated more than anything in the world. “Do it.”
He smiled. “Now, what would be the fun in that? I have plans for us, my sweet Sage. Wonderful, exciting plans.” His eyes flicked behind her, his smile turning hard. “Cuff her,” he ordered before walking away.
The next thing she knew, her hands were behind her back, and her wrists were trapped in immovable plastic ties. Helpless rage scored through her, and she screamed, “I hate you!”
“Come, Jorje. Raul, bring her once the plane has landed,” he called over his shoulder.
Her breath caught in her lungs. Plane? She’d been so mired in her hatred for Carlos that she’d failed to take in her surroundings. Her eyes dropped to her feet, her stomach pitching at the realization that she was standing on a tarmac. Carlos was taking her back to Mexico. She knew it would come to this, that he would never let her go. Her heart lodged in her throat as she thought of Petal—her precious girl—and Alex—God, how she loved him. He would want her to fight, but she was so damn tired—tired of worrying, of looking over her shoulder and wondering when the other shoe was going to drop. She’d done what she set out to do. Petal was with Alex, and he would keep her safe. As for Carlos, he was going to have to kill her because she wasn’t getting on that plane.
When Raul—who’d been leaning against the side of the car and glaring at her—made a gurgling noise and dropped to the ground, she didn’t think, she reacted.
She took off running.
_______________
As luck had it, they’d beaten Carlos to the airfield. There’d been just enough time to get into position before his car pulled onto the tarmac. Ax hid with Steele, Buck, and Arson—who’d decided to join them at the last minute—in an empty hanger. Sledge, Taz, and Ink crouched across from them behind a couple of fuel tankers.
When Carlos popped the trunk and Sage emerged, Ax barely held onto his cool. When the fucker behind her pointed a gun at her head, he’d almost blown their cover. He was going to kill Carlos. He was going to kill them all.
Sage’s, I hate