from his pack. I have no idea what I’m doing anymore. No idea where I belong.
Except with Adri. Being with her is the only thing that’s felt right in a very long time. If I’m honest, since Mom died.
And she’s here. In danger. My heart pounds harder at the realization that if I lose her, I lose the best part of myself. I have to get back to her.
Despite my desperation to get to Adri, I take the indirect route back to the Bienville. If I’m followed, we’re both dead. When I get there, I race through the lobby and up the elevator. At her room, I hesitate, trying to sort my thoughts before I knock.
When no answer comes right away, I know she’s probably gone. I didn’t expect the visit from Savoca and I’m late. It’s been over an hour.
I fish her keycard out of my pocket, not sure why, except a little piece of me is desperate to catch any linger scent of her. But just as I scan it, the door swings open.
And what I see freezes my blood.
Chapter 26
Rob
Adri’s eyes are wide with terror. She’s in sitting the middle of the room with her torso duct-taped to the back of the dining room chair, her wrists bound in her lap, ankles taped to the chair legs. Her cries are muffled by the man standing behind her, one hand over her mouth and the other holding a serrated hunting blade to her throat.
I recognize the knife. My uncle Dean gave me one just like it when I came of age. Said they’re great for gutting things. Or people.
There’s a gun pointed at my head, in the hand of a second guy who materializes from behind the door when it closes.
The guy next to me takes advantage of my momentary lapse as I stare at Adri. The sharp crack of the butt of his gun into the side of my head leaves me reeling. The Glock flies from my hand and skitters across the floor. Stars flash in my eyes as I drop to my knees. My vision blurs around the edges, but Adri’s muffled scream pulls me off the edge of unconsciousness.
Love makes you vulnerable.
I hear Pop’s words as the room spins. He was right. In my single-minded need for Adri, I let down my guard and put both of us in danger.
“We’d been waiting in that goddamn lobby forever and you never came down,” the guy holding Adri says, “and then I stumble on your little friend here totally by dumb luck. We were just getting ready to persuade her to tell us where your family is, and lo and behold, here you are. Your timing is impeccable, Delgado.”
I look closer at him, force my eyes to focus. A dark buzz cut sits atop an enormous head. The rest of him is far less impressive. His cheap suit and scuffed black shoes give him away as some wiseguy wannabe. The problem is, I’ve never seen him before. I don’t know which side he belongs to. “How did you know I was here?”
He scowls at me and barks, “None of your fucking business.”
“Does this mean we don’t get to have our fun with her?” the guy next to me asks, and if I didn’t think it’d get Adri killed, I’d rip his fucking tongue out.
“That all depends on Delgado,” the wannabe answers with a jut of his chin at me. “Get him up and let’s see what he’s willing to share to save her hide.”
My head’s still ringing when the guy jerks me to my feet. I decide not to help. It takes him several tries to get me up. The wannabe holds the knife under Adri’s chin as he pulls a chair around from the table to face hers. I’m dropped into it, and our knees bump.
I’ve known all along this might be a suicide mission. I’m prepared to die if that’s what it takes. But I really don’t want to do it in front of Adri. I also don’t want to take her with me, so I won’t make a move as long as the knife’s at her throat.
She’s so close I could touch her. Every instinct I have is screaming through my nerves to pull her close and protect her. But if I play it that way, she’s dead.
“Who are you?” I ask, tossing a hand at her as the guy tries to tape my wrists together. He’s having trouble negotiating both the gun