Page 91 of Deceit

Sofia gasped from beside me, grabbing her seat belt as I abruptly swervedout from behind the burning vehicle, hitting the gas to pass it at the same time as hitting a button on the dashboard.

The SOS alarm was fitted in every one of our cars, and the instant it waspressed, it would send an alert with the coordinates of where we were to Kai’s phone, along with the phone of every man who worked for us.

I only hoped they reached us in time, because with the weapons the bikershad, I was pretty damn certain we’d be lucky to escape with our lives.

Cleared of the burning wreck, and with adrenaline pumping through myveins, I glanced in the mirrorjustin time to see the rear SUV flip. It rolled twice before disappearing off the side of the hill, plummeting to the rocks below, and no doubt killing everyone inside.

We were well and truly on our own, and despite her stillness, I could feel theterror coming from Sofia.

It was taking all my effort to not let my own fear show.

“We’re okay, Sofe. Help will be on their way.”

She didn’t reply, but her silence spoke a thousand words.

She didn’t believe me.

And I didn’t blame her.

Not when I rounded the corner, to be met with two more bikes, parkedalongside a stationary car. The bikers instantly fired at us. They didn’t aim for the windshield, nor the engine, but aimed for our tires, telling me two things: they knew the car was bulletproof, and they weren’t trying to kill us.

Not yet, at least.

Despite my attempt, it was impossible to avoid the barrage of bullets, and itdidn’t take long for them to find their targets. The front tires burst, and I gripped the steering wheel with all my might when the car began to fishtail, desperately trying to keep it upright.

But when the stationary car suddenly lurched forward and slammed into theside of us, our car flipped. My head slammed against the steering wheel, and the last thing I heard before darkness consumed me was Sofia’s terrified cries over the crunching of metal.

Chapter 29

Miles

Asharp pain in my jaw—undoubtedly from a punch—dragged me out of thedarkness. It took several seconds for my eyes to focus, and confusion swept through me as I took in the scene.

Why the fuck were we at the docks?

And how did we get here?

But all questions went out the window when my gaze landed on Sofia, andmurderous rage consumed every fiber of my body.

She was standing at the end of the stone jetty, easily 200 feet away fromwhere I was, and behind her, waves rolled until they crashed against the concrete.Her cheeks were stained with streaks of black makeup, and her bottom lip wobbled as she tried to hold back more tears. Dried blood crusted her forehead from a cut, and the beautiful white dress she’d chosen to wear to dinner was covered in red splodges and black grime.

Sofia’s eyes were fixed on me, her gorgeous blue orbs filled with fear, andmy heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I saw why. Her hands were behind her back, and her feet were tied together, a thick rope binding them. The other end of the rope was attached to a concrete slab.

Ifthatwasn’t terrifying enough, the knife pressed to her throat, held by asmartly dressed man I’d never seen before, would have scared anyone.

I started to get up from where I was on my knees, desperate to get to her,only to be held down by an iron-clad grip. I struggled against it, my head whipping from one side to the other, and finding I was being held by two men in leathers. Surrounding them were another four bikers, no doubt the ones who wiped out our security. Something pressed against the back of my head, and a trigger cocked, telling methatthere was another person behind me.

It wasn’t the first time I’d had a gun pressed to my head, and if I survivedthis, it probably wouldn’t be the last; the perks of the life I led. Death had never bothered me,evenmore so when I was convinced I’d be joining Theo.

But rightthen, I didn’t want to die.

I couldn’t help Sofia if my brain was splattered over the docks.

I stiffened, letting the men holding me think I was complying, whenreally, Iwas buying myself time to think of a way to get my wife out of this situation.

My initial instinct wasthatthe men were part of Herrera. We’d beenworking with Rafe and had made progress over the last few days to get a meeting with them under the radar; the last thing we wanted was Georgio finding out we wanted to offer a better deal to the cartel than what he had.

But maybe our efforts had pissed them off, and they’d intended to strike allalong.