Lance lifts his hand to hold over his mouth. Instead of glaring at the guy who hit him, he glares at me, spitting blood out onto the floor between us.
The leader runs his hands over his buzzcut, cracking his neck as he turns back to me. “Before this gets too far, baby girl, you’re going to have to give me the location of whatever you have hidden.”
Since I don’t have a better plan yet, everything in me tells me to deny, deny, deny. “I don’t have anything hidden.”
The same dark eyes that just turned on Lance freeze me in place. My heart pumps wildly, but I move my chin into the air in defiance. The information in that safe is all my family has. It’s our legacy. I can’t just give it to anyone.
“My interest in you only goes so far. You should remember that. But since you want to play this game, I’ll play.” He nods toward one of his friends who wastes no time kicking Lucas in the shin, dropping him to his knees. He reaches over and grabs Lucas’s brown hair, shoving his face into the sand before holding the gun to his head. A shot goes off, and I scream. Blood-curdling fear rips through me. I step toward Lucas, but the leader grabs me by the waist, hauling me back into his arms. “That was a warning shot,” he growls. “Don’t play me, Dakota. Not many live to tell about it.”
My heart jumpstarts back to life when Lucas moves, grabbing his ear and hissing in a breath. I close my eyes, my breath coming in shallow gasps. Tears prick my eyes.
“Tell my friends where to dig.”
My mind races. Am I willing to let us all die to keep my family’s secrets? My father was. He told me he didn’t care if we died, at least the information was only left for a Wilder.
Fuck.
“I get it,” the guy purrs in my ear, still caging me to him. The vein in Stone’s forehead looks like it’s going to burst as he stands there, watching the guy manhandle me. “You’re wondering if we’re serious.” He releases one arm around my middle, using it to reach behind him. He’s so close I can feel his lips tug up, but I just stare at Stone. “I think you know someone named Dickie.”
He thrusts his hand in front of me. I peer down at what’s in his grasp. I gasp when a photo of a bloodied Dickie stares back at me. “What did you do to him?” I cry, sobs racking me now.
I reach for it, but he removes the picture before I can even trace over the outline of Dickie’s bloodied body. I can’t tell if he’s dead or if he’s just beat to shit.
“Apparently, your father told him he had something more. Something he never shared with him. I hoped he had so we wouldn’t have to make this about you, but you can thank Lance Jacobs that you got pulled into this.” He moves even closer, his hot breath hitting my ear as he whispers. “He’s a piece of scum, but he’s good for some things.”
“He’s vile,” I growl.
“And unfortunately, I don’t even think you know the half of it, baby girl.”
Goosebumps spread over my arms at his nickname. It makes me feel cheap, but even then, it’s not as worse as Stone’s betrayal. To think I’d begun to trust him.
“Get your hands off her,” Stone demands, gritting the words through his teeth while he just stands there.
The leader smirks again, the movement plastered against my cheek. I can feel the prick of his earrings pressing into my skin and the scruff of his facial hair against my cheek. “You sound jealous, Baby Jacobs, but aren’t you her stepbrother? That’s some kinky shit right there.” He chuckles like he doesn’t not approve.
“Where’s my mother?” Stone demands, ignoring the leader’s jab.
“How should I know?” the guy answers, but even I don’t believe the tone of his voice. It sounds like the punchline of a joke no one asked him to tell. “Pick up that shovel,” he directs Stone. “Dakota here is going to tell you where to dig.”
Stone crosses his arms over his chest. “No, she’s not.”
I glare at him, looking him up and down as he just stands there even though his words are defiant. His gray blue eyes are sharp as he glares at the guy holding me, but he’s also quick to