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“If that’s what you want, then it would be in your best interest to let me get on one of these boats and leave,” I said, the words tasting like ash.

We were twenty feet onto the pier now. The water looked black below us.

“You know what I’ll do to you if you hurt her?

” Mateo’s voice turned conversational as he followed us onto the pier.

“I’ll start with your knees. Kneecaps are fascinating—did you know they float?

Cut the tendons just right, and they slide up the thigh like marbles.

You’ll never walk again, but you’ll live. ”

We were thirty feet out now. Where the hell was my team?

“My beautiful Lauren,” Mateo continued, his tone shifting to something almost tender. “I think you will make a fine wife. Make strong, healthy sons. I will show my father how much you adore me. You will show him he was wrong.”

Lauren played her part, letting out a small whimper, but I could still feel her shuddering. “Please, Mateo. I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry. Once I deal with this piece of filth, we’ll be together.

” His footsteps echoed on the warped planking.

“I’ll peel his fingers off one by one for touching what’s mine.

Then his eyes—he doesn’t deserve to look at you.

But I’ll leave his ears. So he can hear our wedding vows while he bleeds. ”

Jesus. This asshole was unbelievable. The temptation to swing the gun from Lauren’s head and put a bullet between his eyes was almost more than I could bear. But if I did, his men would kill both of us instantly.

We were now halfway down the pier. It creaked ominously under so many men as they followed us.

“Boss,” one of Mateo’s lieutenants called out. “I hear an engine.”

“Fishermen getting an early start,” Mateo dismissed, but his eyes stayed locked on me. “Though it is strange timing, isn’t it? Dawn barely breaking and boats heading out in hurricane-damaged waters?”

Lauren tensed in my arms. I kept us moving backward, the end of the pier getting closer.

“Tell me something,” Mateo said, matching our pace. “How exactly did a man like you overpower my future bride? She’s not exactly delicate. Strong woman, strong will.”

“Drugs,” I lied quickly. “Sedative in her medical supplies.”

“Interesting.” His tone suggested he wasn’t buying it. “And she woke up just in time to profess her feelings for me? How convenient.”

“Maybe she’s playing you,” I said, trying to redirect his suspicion. “Ever think of that? Using you to get away from me?”

Mateo’s laugh was cold. “No one plays me.”

My mind raced through tactical options. We were running out of pier, running out of lies to sell, and Mateo’s suspicion was crystallizing into certainty.

Soon, I’d have to spin Lauren behind me, shield her with my body while I tried to take down as many as I could.

Fifteen rounds, twenty men. The math still sucked, but it was better than letting him have her.

I could hear the boat engines in the distance. I prayed to God it was Jace and Ty. We were running out of pier fast.

Then—the distinct whine of an approaching outboard motor, high-powered, fast. Different from the other engines.

It was them.

“Get ready,” I breathed against Lauren’s ear.

The boat came out of nowhere, spotlight blazing through the dawn dimness, engine roaring. I glanced back for a split second. Jace stood behind a mounted gun, Ty at the wheel. The spotlight hit Mateo’s men full in the face, and then Jace opened fire.

“Run!” I shoved Lauren toward the boat as bullets sparked off the pier around us.

Mateo’s men scattered, some diving flat, others jumping into the water. Lauren and I sprinted the last twenty feet as Ty brought the boat alongside, never quite stopping. I grabbed Lauren around the waist and threw her bodily into the boat, then vaulted the rail myself.

“Move, move, move!”

Jace kept firing, his machine gun sending a stream of lead toward the shore as Ty gunned the engine.

We pulled away fast, the boat’s engine screaming as Ty pushed it to its limits. Behind us, muzzle flashes lit up the pier as Mateo’s men fired wildly at our wake. But we were already out of effective range, the distance growing with every second.

“Everyone okay?” Jace called out, still manning the gun but no longer firing.

“We’re good,” I said, helping Lauren find a stable position as the boat bounced over swells. Her face was pale and lips tight, but she nodded.

For a few minutes, it seemed like we’d made it. Puerto Esperanza shrank behind us, the pier becoming just another shadow against the dark coastline. I let myself breathe, feeling Lauren solid and alive beside me.

Holy shit. We’d actually made it.

“Shit,” Ty said, looking back. “We’ve got company.”

A single spotlight cut through the darkness behind us, maybe half a mile back but closing. Not multiple boats—just one. They must have found something still functional after the storm, gotten it running.

“How the hell did they—” Jace started.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, watching the spotlight gain on us. “They’re faster.”

Through the distance, I could make out the boat’s outline. Bigger than ours. Twin engines. And standing at the bow, white suit visible even at this distance as dawn broke—Mateo.

I moved toward where Jace still stood behind the mounted gun. “Good thing you brought heavier firepower this time.”

Ty called out from behind the wheel, “Didn’t much care for the local hospitality last time, so it seemed fitting to bring a machine gun as a party favor.”

“Mind if I play with your toy?”

“Yes, but since I know you’ll just pull rank…”

He stepped aside, and I took position behind the weapon, detaching the nearly empty drum and snapping a fresh one into place. The weight of it felt reassuring—plenty of rounds for what needed to be done.

I sighted down the barrel, tracking the pursuing boat. The range was still long, but closing fast. Through the gun’s sights, I could make out more details now. Twin engines churning white foam. Armed men at the rails.

The first muzzle flashes appeared from their boat, bullets slapping into the water twenty yards behind us. Still out of effective range, but not for long. Mateo’s boat was much more powerful.

The pursuing boat gained steadily. Their next burst of bullets was closer, one round sparking off our stern. Lauren wrapped her arms around her head.

Enough. I had fucking had enough.

I knew enough to know that if Mateo Silva survived this day, he would never let Lauren go. He would use every resource he had to hunt her down. He’d come for her. Chicago wouldn’t be far enough. Nowhere would be.

I was ending this today. I may have fucked up every other thing when it came to Lauren Valentino, but this , I knew how to do.

I shifted my aim lower, toward the boat’s stern, where the fuel tanks would be.

I squeezed the trigger. The machine gun bucked against my shoulder, sending a stream of bullets into Mateo’s boat’s hull.

For a moment, nothing. Then a spark, a flash.

The dawn exploded.

The fireball of the boat rose thirty feet. The concussion hit us a second later, hot wind that smelled of gasoline and worse. Debris rained down, splashing into the water around us.

I released the weapon and turned. Lauren stood gripping the rail, watching the flames spread across the water where Mateo’s boat had been. No judgment in her eyes, no fear. Just understanding of what had needed to be done.

“It’s over,” I said. “He can’t hurt you now.”

She nodded slowly, then surprised me by taking my hand. Her fingers interlaced with mine, warm and alive. And that was the only thing that mattered.