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“I know all about what he did to you boys.”

“And you didn’t do anything to stop him?”

“Why would I? You were all trash anyway.”

The sheriff lets his gaze slither down my body. His smirk ignites explosive rage from deep within my soul, and I shake with uncontrollable fury. The impulse to put a bullet through his head rushes over me. My finger tightens on the trigger. Killing him would be the first real chance I’ve had at getting justice for my brothers and me. If they were here, they’d take the shot. But at the last second, my eyes meet Julia’s, and I can’t do it. I can’t take that risk. I need to find another way to get vengeance.

“A real man doesn’t hide behind a woman,” I say in a low, deadly tone. “Let her go, and I’ll take you to your son.”

“No.” Julia’s whisper is so faint I almost don’t hear it.

“She’s coming with us until I have my kid.” Curtis waves his gun at me. “Start walking. Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” I say, honestly. I have a guess as to where he might be, but I’m stalling, looking for an opening. And where the hell are Reaper and Talon? They should have been guarding Julia. Instead, she’s in the hands of a madman.

“Start looking,” Curtis says.

“I’m not turning my back on you,” I warn.

“I won’t kill you if you give me my kid. You have my word.”

“Bullshit,” I mutter.

“You know, we could have been partners. The Demon Riders have come in handy many times. I’ve used them to move shipments of things the media doesn’t need to know about.”

“Like the food you’ve stockpiled at Blackstone’s?” I can’t help myself. I’m not exactly trying to trigger him because that would be too dangerous for Julia. I’m attempting to shift his attention from her to himself. If I can get him talking long enough to lose focus on her, she might be able to get away. She’s no fainting violet. Her eyes haven’t left mine, and she’s looking for an opportunity to escape. I just need to give it to her.

“You know about that?” Curtis scowls.

“All about it.”

“How?”

“You aren’t the only one with eyes and ears in unexpected places.” I doubt he realizes we’ve had Blackstone’s mansion under surveillance for years. Matrix is a pro. I hope to God that he’s monitoring the cameras inside Nina’s and called upon every Underground Vengeance prospect in the state to get their asses over here. I don’t know how much longer I can keep Curtis talking.

“Well, that little secret will die with you.” Curtis shrugs before jamming his gun against Julia’s temple. “Now, move!”

I can’t do anything to stop him yet, so I slowly circle past him through the living room toward the hall. I’m sure Max is in the safe room, but I’m tempted to keep stalling by searching every room. Either it will piss Curtis off enough that he’ll finally fuck up and give us the opening we need, or he’ll shoot Julia, then turn the gun on me. If Julia’s life weren’t on the line, I’d risk mine to save Max’s, but I can’t fuck around while he’s got that gun trained on her.

As I back down the hall, I keep my gun pointed at his head. Julia’s still blocking the shot, so I can’t take it. The fear in her eyes kills me. I should never have left her alone. She’s never going to forgive me for this.

When I get to the room with the secret door, I stop just inside the threshold, faced with an impossible choice. There’s no way in hell I’m turning Max over to his psychopathic father, but if I don’t, Curtis will kill Julia. I’m fucked either way.

“The room’s empty,” Curtis snaps.

“No. There’s a secret door to a safe room on that wall.” I point, hoping he’ll walk over to it.

“Open it.”

“He can’t,” Julia whispers. One of her eyes is swollen shut now, while the other is turning black. Every time she moves her mouth, tears trickle down her face. I don’t know what he did to her, but she’s in a ton of pain. I can’t help her until he’s dead, so this motherfucker needs to die soon.

“He can’t what?” Curtis demands.

“Panic button,” she moans.

“Fuck!” I run my free hand through my hair. “Even if I wanted to open it, I can’t.”

“Why the hell not?” Curtis asks.