Page 47

Sarah spins and fires a shot into the guard closest to her. He is tossed back by the force but still comes at her.

I fire at the other two. One falls immediately. The other returns fire.

I throw myself out of the way when his shot is aimed at my chest. The wall behind me bursts when the bullet meets it. I pull the trigger, hitting my mark - center of the head - and the man falls to the ground.

“Rhys!” Sarah screams. The man she shot has his arm wrapped around her neck. The gun, pressing against her temple.

In the distance, there is shouting and the sound of gunfire.

We keep our weapons trained on each other. Sarah is struggling to get free of his hold.

“Let her fucking go,” I growl.

He spits at my feet. “I’m taking this bitch down with me.”

His finger moves toward the trigger.

Sarah jabs her elbow into his gut, loosening his grip. Grabbing one of his arms while he’s disoriented, she twists - forcing him to bend at the waist - and hammers her knee into his face. He roars in pain. Her elbow comes down on his spine with enough force he topples to the floor.

“That’s for calling me a bitch.” She stomps on his hand. “And that’s for thinking you could touch me without my consent.”

He groans in pain, twisting to lie in the fetal position. “Who’s the bitch now?” Sarah asks before spitting on the ground.

My strides are long and quick as I make my way toward her. Without missing a beat, I grip her hair in my fist and smash my lips against hers. She melts into me, our tongues stroking each other in a kiss filled with adrenaline, hunger, and relief.

“Holy shit,” she whispers when we break apart.

The man at our feet makes a noise.

“I forgot about him,” Sarah says, then puts a bullet in his skull. For a moment she silently watches as the blood pools around his head, then spins and faces the double doors she had mentioned. “I think they’re in there.”

Tension coils in my chest. I struggle to prepare myself for what we’re about to see. The state we found Emily and Paige in is forever burned into my brain.

I glance down at my hand when I feel Sarah’s fingers intertwine with mine. Meeting her eyes, the emotions I feel inside are staring back.

“We don’t know what’s on the other side.”

Her hand squeezes. “Let’s find out.” She lifts her pistol and a smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “We’re in our Bonnie and Clyde era, Rhys. Let’s fuck shit up.”

This fucking woman.

We whip around with our guns raised when the sound of boots running toward us echoes in the hallway. Liam and Declan come to a halt.

My shoulders relax.

“Thank fuck,” Declan breathes. He walks over and pulls me into a hug.

Declan and I have been family for as long as I can remember. Considering the life we’ve lived; I’m surprised our hearts are still pumping.

Releasing me, he takes Sarah into his arms, then steps back. His eyes glance behind us for a split second.

“The men have the others handled. Let’s go in and get them out.”

With our weapons raised, we push through the doors and my throat squeezes tight. Sarah sucks in a breath, and her hand shoots out and grips my forearm.

There are women and children of all ages huddled in small groups around the massive, empty room. Not one of them is wearing a dress or something that would indicate they were going to be auctioned tonight. Nausea curls in my stomach when they cower in our presence.

“This isn’t all of them,” Sarah whispers, tears rolling down her face.

No, it mostly certainly is not.

She steps further into the room. The captives watch her movements with wary eyes. “My name is Sarah.” Her voice is soft and warm. She kneels in front of a woman who holds a little girl, no older than 8, in her arms. “We’re here to help you.”

She gestures toward where Declan, Liam, and I stand.

We remain still, allowing Sarah to assure them we’re not here to cause harm in any way.

The woman curls herself protectively around the child. “We’ve been told that before.”

Sadness fills Sarah’s eyes and I watch as her lower lip quivers. “I promise. We’re here to get you out of here,” she croaks, scanning the room. “All of you.”

The faint sound of gunfire continues in the background, pulling the attention of a few of them.

Climbing out of her lap, the little girl moves to face Sarah completely.

“Isa, no.”

Ignoring the woman, she studies Sarah. “Where will you take us?”

My heart clenches at the defeat in her little voice. These people have been broken in so many ways. I only hope they’ll let us help them.

“You see that man in the middle?” Sarah points a finger at Declan. The little girl - Isa - nods. “He is my friend. Two people who are very important to me and him were in your situation almost two years ago.”

Declan’s hand clenches at his side.

“He has space for all of you to come with us. To escape this place and live a new life, if you want.”

The energy in the room thrums as we wait for Isa, or someone else, to say something. Isa throws her arms around Sarah, nearly causing her to topple over.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

* * *

We lead them down the hallway and out of the building. Multiple trucks, vans, and buses wait outside to transport them to the airstrip where Declan has multiple planes on standby.

Yes. He’s that loaded.

“Wait!” A young woman runs and grabs Sarah’s arm. “My sister.” She chokes out a sob. “They took her just before you came. Please, we need to find her.”

“What does she look like?” Sarah asks.

The woman describes her sister. Sarah meets my eyes and I nod. Sarah slips her feet into an extra pair of boots, then the two of us enter the building and begin our search.

There are bodies sprawled on the floor. The walls are riddled with bullet holes. Our men work to clear out our dead and wounded. The guests we apprehended fight to escape. Declan has ordered a few of the government officials to be transported back to the estate.

He plans to expose their despicable extracurricular activities to the public and bring them down brick by brick.

I follow Sarah down another set of stairs, separate from what we had taken. We come to a crossroads of hallways.

“Something is telling me to go left.” She strides in that direction, her red gown swishing with her determined steps. She stops abruptly. Her entire body is still as stone.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Something’s wrong.”

I follow her line of sight. We’re feet away from the end of the hallway. Sarah is in a frozen state. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I lean slightly forward, straining my ears.

I perk up at the sound of muffled voices. They grow louder and I can make out them speaking Spanish.

Sarah’s legs give out and she stumbles back. “No. No way.” Her voice is almost inaudible, it’s so quiet. Her face turns ashen, and her breaths become shallow.

“Sarah?” I turn her to face me.

She starts to shove at my chest. “We need to leave.”

Two silhouettes pull my attention. There is a lanky man with short hair. His eyes slither down Sarah’s body. Her back faces him.

His stare flashes to mine and he raises a brow at the growl I let out. My hackles raise as an arrogant smirk begins to curl at the corner of his mouth.

“Welcome. I was wondering when I’d come face to face with whoever decided to crash my party.” The guy’s voice is nasally and immediately grates at my nerves.

Sarah’s tense body presses as close to my chest as humanly possible. My protectiveness toward her reaches ungodly levels. This man is clearly someone she knows, and I’ve never seen her react this way, not to anyone or anything.

I maneuver Sarah behind me, shielding her from whoever this fucker is.

“Whoever the fuck you are, this is over.” I reach for my gun. The man at his side reaches for his at the same time.

We stare at each other in a stand-still. “Edgar, baja su arma,” he says smoothly.

Edgar lowers his gun, but not before shooting a glare in my direction.

My hand remains steady with my pistol aimed between the man’s eyes. He tilts his head, trying to see Sarah. I feel her shift.

A huge smile spreads over his face. “Ah, princesa . I’ve wondered when I’d see you again.”

My brow furrows. I glance over my shoulder. A fear I’ve never seen is burning in Sarah’s eyes.

“Who are you?” I snarl, returning to face him.

“His name is Eddie.”

Sarah steps around me. Her face is blank and emotionless.

“Me da mucho gusto verte.”

“How do you know him?” I whisper in Sarah’s ear.