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I shook my head, feeling something deep in my chest tighten. I could feel the burn of tears in my eyes as I watched him raise his head. A wash of relief stole over me. He was here. He was whole. He was… alive.

“Morning Craig.” His deep baritone almost had me crying, and I shook my head, trying to shake it off.

“I had the wildest dream last night,” I said, entering the dining room. “Zero out of ten, would not recommend. Where’s Bunny?”

“Honestly, I was surprised it wasn’t her that you called up in your last moment. Didn’t figure you’d want to hang out with ghosts.” He said, tilting his head, his gaze softening just slightly. He looked tired now that I got closer.

“What?” I asked, brows furrowing. The need to back away and run from the room was creeping up my spine.

“Craig, you know what this is. You’ve been playing what happened in your head too much to really believe it was just a dream you had.” He spoke slowly as if he were explaining it to a child.

I took a step back, shaking my head. “No. That wasn’treal. I refuse to accept that was real.”

Rich didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stood slowly, his movements almost too careful as he approached me. When his hand landed on my shoulder, it was heavy but gentle, and the reality of the situation crashed into me. He gave me a sad smile, but it only made the inside of my chest worse.

“I’m gone, Craig.” He said softly. “The others,” one of his shoulders shrugged slightly, “I only know what you know. They could be alive.”

“How are you here?”

“Craig…” he sighed softly and pinched the bridge of his nose. The move made me want to cry. “I’m dead. You’re dreaming, man. And… you’re not doing well. Pay attention to yourself for a second… that pain you’re feeling? The shit they’re putting your body through? It’s killing you.”

I felt the room spin, and my legs nearly buckled beneath me. Everything started to blur around the edges. I began to feel the pain in my torso, my arms, my legs. My whole body hurt. And I was cold. So fucking cold.

“That fucking amateur.” I groaned.

“You’re dying because of what they’re doing to you, but you’re letting it happen.” Rich said, eyeing me expectantly.

“How the fuck am I supposed to get out of this?!” I snapped. Rich’s grip on my shoulder tightened like he wanted to shake me at the same time he was trying to steady me.

“You’ve always been smarter than this, Craig. You can figure it out. I can’t do it for you. But you have to wake up. Right now. Stop letting yourself fucking die. You’re all Victoria has left right now, man. I can’t be there, but you are. You know the game. You’ve played it most of your life. Now,figure it out. Don’t let yourself die. Wake up.”

“But–”

“No buts. You can’t keep her safe if you’re not alive to do it, Craig!”

“I don’t–”

“Wake up, Craig!” Rich bellowed, his arm cocking back before his palm cracked against the side of my face.

My eyes popped open to find myself nearly nose-to-nose with Mel.

“There you are. I thought we lost you for a sec.” She smiled, stepping back and revealing the Golden Devil’s doc standing just behind her in a white coat. “It seems we’ve hadquite the misunderstanding. Doc got you cleaned and patched up as best she could, but when you didn’t wake up at first, we thought you were a goner.”

I opened my mouth to retort, the pain in my body stopping me short. To my surprise, my arms moved when I shifted to wrap them around my now heavily bandaged torso.

“Yeah… I know. I’m supposed to take you to Helen now that you’re awake. Do you think you can walk or do you need a wheelchair?” Mel asked.

“Fuck you. I’d rather crawl there on my own than take shit from you. I’ll manage.” I snarled before spitting at her feet to drive home my point.

Chapter One

Victoria

I rolled over with a groan, squeezing my eyes shut tighter against the brutal ache in my head. My head throbbed in time with my heartbeat until I forced my eyes open to search for something to dull the pain. They landed on a sleek, black nightstand that held a glass of water and two small pills. The world threatened to tilt as I eased myself upright. Hastily, I snatched the pills up and tossed them in my mouth, washing them down with water despite knowing it might not have been the wisest decision.

I allowed myself to take in my surroundings as I waited to see whether the pills would ease my headache or do something horrible to me. I was sitting on a king-sized bed, surrounded by pale blue blankets. There was a dresser against the far wall, the same sleek black as the nightstand, and the walls matched the comforter pooling around my waist. Sheer ivory curtains covered the lone window that let the light of the dying sun filter gently into the room.

Everything that had happened came flooding back, stealing my breath as I fought to get my bearings. Tears pricked my eyes, and a scream pressed against my throat, threatening to tear free, but if I'd learned anything from my men, I couldn'tbreak down. Not yet. Not here. I needed to keep my wits about me if I had any chance of getting back to them.