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I stifled a cry when my shoulder slammed against unyielding concrete. A shockwave of agony reverberated through my body, and I hoped to God I’d imagined that small crunch of bone.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and fumbled behind me for the heel. I grazed it a few times, but I couldn’t quite get a hold of it. The bonds around my wrists were too tight, and I couldn’t twist my head far enough to see behind me.

Come on. Come on. Come—there.

My fingers closed around the heel right as a burst of noise outside shattered the silence, and I dropped it again.

“Fuck.” I couldn’t swallow a heated curse. I’d beenso close, but my frustration died when I finally registered what the noise was.

Gunshots. Dozens of them.

My stomach cramped. I’d heard gunshots before, during my shooting lessons with Vuk. However, there was a difference between hearing them when you were in control of the weapon and hearing them when you were tied up and starving with a potentially fractured shoulder.

But…the Brothers wouldn’t shoot at each other. The gunfire meant someone else was here. It meantVukmight be here.

He’ll think he’s onto something, but we’ll be ready.The memory ofWentworth’s taunts grabbed my momentary elation and snapped it in half.

Even if Vukwerehere, we weren’t out of the woods. They’d been expecting him. All those gunshots…What if he?—

No.I refused to think that way. I was going to be fucking delusional and imagine him shooting his way through the ambush, hopefully putting a bullet through Wentworth’s smug mouth along the way.

The prospect of a rescue filled me with a fresh burst of energy. I searched for the heel with renewed determination and tried my best to ignore the growing fire in my shoulder. This time, it took me less than a minute to snag the shoe.

I shifted my body so I could wedge the stiletto into the knot tying my wrists together. It wasn’t sharp enough to saw through rope, but it was thin enough to slip into the knot and hopefully loosen it if I leveraged it right.

It was a long shot, but it was all I had.

The sounds of gunfire abruptly ceased.Shit. I’d hoped the firefight would distract the Brothers long enough that they wouldn’t check on me before I escaped.

What did the sudden silence mean? Who won? If Vuk was here somewhere, was he injured or dead?

Spots danced in front of my eyes. The room spun, and my efforts to loosen the knot weakened as images of Vuk’s broken, bleeding body flashed through my head.

“Stop it,” I whispered fiercely. “Get it together, Ayana.” I couldn’t afford to spiral over hypothetical scenarios. I needed to free myselfnow.

They were coming. It was only a matter of time.

I resumed my efforts, but my earlier burst of energy had waned. I paused after a few seconds and tried to catch my breath. The fire in my shoulder had dulled, but I wasn’t sure if that was because it’dactuallyfaded or if my adrenaline was blocking out important pain receptors.

I pushed the stiletto a little deeper into the knot. If I?—

Footsteps. Two sets this time.

And they were close.

There was no way I’d free myself in time. If those footsteps belonged to my abductors, I was done. They’d know I was trying to escape and keep me under lock and key so I wouldn’t come close to succeeding again.

The footsteps stopped in front of me.

Angry tears sprang to my eyes. So close. I’d beenso closeto loosening the knot.

There was nothing I could do about it now. Time was up, and “close” didn’t count in situations like these.

My gut clenched. I blinked away my tears and forced my eyes up, up over black-clad legs and torsos until?—

“Vuk.” His name fell out on a breath of shock. My body buzzed. I blinked again, sure I was seeing things, but no. There he stood, tall and strong andalive.

An instinctive wave of relief slammed into me. I almost asked him to untie me before I realized I would never have to ask Vuk to do that. Under normal circumstances, I would already be in his arms, and he would’ve already come up with a plan to get us out of here.