Page 15 of Caught in the Crossfire

“Wait,” I said as I tried to clamor to my feet. “Don’t.”

My hands balled into a fist, and my thumb pressed against my engagement ring. Rough hands pushed me down to the cold metal floor. A weight settled over my body, digging into my back, as my eyes locked on the redhead.

I couldn’t let this be my fault.

“Fucking bitch,”one man spit as they dragged us back up to our cell. I groaned in pain. Tears wet my cheeks. My mouth was bloody and raw from my teeth gnashing the tender skin.

I felt outside myself.

Like none of this was really happening, and I’d wake up in the penthouse after a horrible dream, pressed warmly against the bodies of my men.

But the blood in my mouth betrayed the reality.

My brain tried to latch onto the truth I could control.

I had to get out, but I was about to fall apart. I couldn’t get out if I imploded.

The only way for me to survive this was to separate the pain and shove it away. I squeezed my eyes shut for just a moment, burying everything that had just happened. It was over. I could let it be over.

“Leona.” Max had been trying to get my attention ever since they’d dragged us out of the cargo hold. I glanced in his direction. A gun trained on the back of his head while they pulled open our cell door and shoved him in first.

My vision caught on the flashing red dot of the camera watching our cell. I squinted, trying to make out the device mounted on the wall right next to it.

A box with sticks coming out of one end.

I blinked, trying to understand how I recognized what it was, but my brain felt like a scrambled mess. My thin grip on reality was tenuous at best, and I was still trying to bottle up the images of that cargo hold so I could file them away and pretend it never happened.

They pushed me inside the cell. I tripped over my own feet, falling directly into Max’s outstretched arms. The touch sent a lightning bolt of fear rushing through my body. I shrieked,pulling away from him while the Albanians locked the cell door behind us.

“Quiet,” one commanded, slamming the barrels of their guns on the metal bars of our cell. The sound reverberated through my bones. When neither of us said anything, both men left. And then we were alone.

I choked on the fear. Max reached for me again, but I bolted backwards, slamming my back against the metal side of our cell. My breaths were so quick, I went dizzy.

“Leona.Piccola,” he whispered, reaching for me. “I’m here. It’s going to be okay. Talk to me. That was?—”

“Stop,” I hissed, squeezing my eyes shut. “Don’t say it.”

“You… what happened?—”

“No.” I shook my head, eyes still closed, while I slid down the metal until my butt hit the ground. “It’s over. Let it be over. Please.”

He didn’t respond, but I felt him sit next to me. My body leaned into his, our shoulders pressing together. He was warm.

Bury it.

Lock it down.

Control it.

I had to, or else I’d never get out of here.

6

OBI

Iwas wrath incarnate.

As furious as a raging storm. As destructive as a wildfire.