Page 31 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

“Is Emil even in danger?” she asked the man next to her, her voice tight. “Or was that just to get to me?”

The man didn’t bother looking at her. “He’s fine.” His response was smug and disinterested. “The kid was never in danger. He’s valuable. We don’t break the merchandise.”

Merchandise.

Juliette’s stomach turned. “He’s a child.”

“A very expensive one.”

She wanted to scream. To hurl her violin case at the man’s face or at the driver behind the glass divider. But the limo kept moving, and so did the sinking realization that she hadn’t saved Emil. She hadn’t stopped anything.

All she’d done was make herself the leverage. And now she’d also placed Theo, the man she was in love with, and all his brothers in danger.

They turned off the main road, tires crunching gravel. The country club’s lights had long since disappeared in the distance, swallowed by darkness. She pressed her face to the tinted window. A wide, empty parking lot stretched before them. Her pulse quickened.

The car slowed.

Juliette’s heart thundered. Her fingers fumbled for the violin case and she drew it across her chest, holding it like a shield. She’d been rehearsing how she’d be brave since the moment she got in this car. But bravery didn’t stop the fear coursing through her.

Juliette’s mind spun as fast as the tires beneath her. Every bump in the road felt like a countdown to the unknown, and no matter how tightly she gripped the violin case, it couldn’t protect her from what waited ahead.

The dark, tinted windows might as well have been walls. She couldn’t see where they were going, couldn’t track the route, couldn’t orient herself in the dark.

She didn’t know this area anyway. Her only landmarks were rising panic and the knowledge that she’d just handed herself over without a fight. Now she might not live long enough to make up for her mistakes.

A cold sweat broke across her neck. What if this wasn’t just a warning? These people were angry enough to upend her life, to scare her and the people she cared about.

What if the moment they reached their destination, she disappeared for good—shuffled into the dark corners of the same network they used to move children like Emil?

She wasn’t as valuable as them, but she had something else they wanted.

She’d already shown them she was willing to trade herself to keep a child safe. That made her useful.

But for how long?

She wasn’t a person to them—just a bargaining chip.

She closed her eyes and prayed Theo would find her in time. She didn’t want to lose him after everything they’d been through. Their time together might have been short, but every single moment was powerful to her.

The limo rolled to a stop, and her window rolled down.

And then she saw him.

Theo.

Her breath caught.

He stepped from a black SUV parked a good distance ahead. Backlit by his vehicle’s headlights, a soft halo of mist curled around his broad shoulders.

Juliette gulped at the sight of her bodyguard and lover in combat boots and tactical gear, his glare locked on the limo for a single heartbeat before he shifted it to the back seat as if he could see her through the tinted glass.

He looked terrifying. Beautiful. Powerful.

So damn hot.

How could she think of such things at a time like this?

And he was her special person, all hers. If he ever forgave her for what she did.

If they survived this.

The man beside her issued a short chuckle. “Time to say goodbye, sweetheart. Unless your man decides to play nice.”

Juliette didn’t answer—couldn’t. She could barely think.

Movement behind Theo drew her attention. More dark silhouettes poured out of the vehicle, rifles in hand. His brothers drifted forward to flank him.

It was her rescue team.

Something shifted in the air.

A vibration. A sense.

This exchange wasn’t happening. Not like she’d expected.

A sudden sharp pop! exploded behind the limo, and the world outside turned blinding white.

Juliette shrieked, ducking low as the limo shook. Her captor swore and scrambled for what she assumed was a weapon. Outside, more bangs cracked through the air, followed by shouted commands and heavy boots pounding the pavement.

The driver issued a bellow. Following that, several grunts and curses ripped through the limo.

Suddenly, the back door yanked open—and Juliette flinched before rough, familiar hands gripped her arms.

Theo.

With a rifle slung across his shoulder, his chest heaving and a storm in his eyes, he was everything she needed in that moment. His jaw clenched so tight that the angles looked painful. “You okay?”

Beyond words, she could only give him a jerky nod, the tears already falling. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I just wanted to save Emil. I didn’t know—”

He reached for her even as one of his brothers tore the man in the back with her out of the limo. The noise of hard fists striking flesh resonated like a note she never wanted to hear but was relieved by it at the same time.

Theo climbed into the limo beside her and slammed the door behind them. For a thumping heartbeat, he only raked his gaze over her.

“Theo—”

He caught her face between his palms. A growl left him, and he dropped his forehead to press against hers. “You’re not leaving my sight again. I mean it, Juliette.”

Her sob rattled loose. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve waited. Should’ve told you. I-I messed everything up.”

“You didn’t,” he said fiercely. “You saved that kid. We’ll get all of them. And what matters most to me is that we got you back.”

“But I should have known. I was stupid—”

“They lost,” he bit out, cutting her off. “You’re safe. The kids are safe. That’s all that matters.”

She buried her face in his shoulder, and his arms closed around her like steel bands. He smelled of musk and smoke and him .

Outside, the noise continued. Orders were barked, suspects subdued, the flashbang haze was clearing.

But Juliette stayed tucked in the quiet cocoon of Theo’s embrace. And there, in the back of the limo that almost carried her away forever, Juliette realized one truth stronger than fear.

She belonged to Theo Malone.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she whispered.

“You will.” His voice was grit. “Every. Damn. Day. For as long as you want me, honey.”

She let out a shaky breath. “You really came for me.”

“There was never a world where I wouldn’t.”