among which, Christopher has assured us, is the camouflaged rear exit to the stone cellar. And it’s through there that the team will bring Devlin and Brandy.
If I’m not going in, I intend to stay right here, not moving a muscle from this site.
Christopher comes over, his hands cable-tied behind his back. “So now we wait,” he says.
I lean against the front of the Land Rover. “Yeah,” I say, forcing myself to stay calm, “we wait.”
Fifteen minutes later, I’m not calm anymore. I’m starting to get frantic. The team’s out of sight, having infiltrated the house and, presumably, made it down to that stone basement. But I can see nothing. And I can hear nothing.
Christopher is pacing in front of me, and I spit out a curse, yelling at him to stop. “You’re driving me crazy,” I tell him. “They should be out by now, right? Why aren’t they out by now?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
I turn from him, returning my attention to those rocks and trees.
I hear his footsteps behind me, then spin around, suddenly afraid he’s about to send me tumbling down the cliffside.
But I don’t see an attack. I see remorse. Tears fill his eyes. “I really do love her,” he says. “They have to save her. They have to.”
I nod, tears pricking at my own eyes. Without thinking about it, I start to reach for him, wanting to cling to someone else who shares my grief. But I freeze at the last moment, noticing his face. At first, I’m confused. Then I realize that he’s looking over my shoulder.
I spin around, then gasp as I look down into the valley. I see a form, then another. The whole team emerging from the copse.
I see a flash of blonde and hear Christopher’s soft, joyous gasp. And then—
Well, then I’m gasping myself. Because Ronan’s carrying Brandy and Devlin’s beside them. He stops and looks up, and our eyes meet, and right then I think I’m the happiest I have ever been.
I want to cry out to him, but I know it’s not safe yet. Instead, I spin around, wanting to share the joy with Christopher—but I cry out in fear, instead.
Because there’s a dark haired, baby-faced man standing there—and he has a gun aimed right at my chest.
“You fucking little bitch,” he says. And then, as the world ceases to make sense, he fires.
Chapter Forty
Earlier…
It’s time to say your prayers. Because the next sound you hear is going to be the blast of my gun.
The vile words rang in Devlin’s head, and he heard the truth of them. He almost kicked out, wanting at least to inflict as much pain as possible.
But he fought the urge, because he knew damn well that all that would happen to him is that he’d have his head blown off. But Brandy…
Well, Brandy would be tortured.
Now—oh, God, now—she wasn’t feeling pain. Fear, yes. Discomfort, sure. But not pain.
If Devlin fought back, though, he knew that Manny would cut her down and torture her. Flay her. Rape her. Burn her.
And he’d make Devlin watch.
Manny might not have said as much, But Devlin knew. He knew, because that’s what his father would have done.
And so he held back. Because without backup, there was no point in fighting back.
Manny stepped in closer, the muzzle moving to Devlin’s temple. “You think you’re so damn smart. But you won’t be after I splatter your brains against the wall. Now,” he said, then laughed when—goddammit all—Devlin flinched.
“You’re a fucking pussy,” he cackled. He actually cackled. “The great Devlin Saint’s a goddamn fucking pussy. Oh, man, if only your father could—”
Kablam!
For a split second, Devlin thought Manny had fired. Then he realized the truth—and he lifted his knees and thrust out hard. Manny had already turned away, the gun moving with him, and Devlin shifted his head as he kicked, and was gratified when the fucker went down, the gun flying from his hand.
Manny leaped back to his feet, then scurried into a darkened corner as the team burst into the room. Nearby, in connecting rooms and above, Devlin heard the battle play out. In this room, Devlin saw Ronan burst inside, followed by Lamar.
“Brandy!” Devlin called. “She’s injured.”
Ronan raced toward her as Lamar spun around, landing a rock solid kick in the chest of one of the thugs who had helped tie Devlin down.
Then Lamar was racing across the cavernous room toward Devlin and cutting him free.
“Ellie?”
“Outside,” he said. “She’s fine.”
“How did you find us?”
“Christopher,” Lamar said. “The