Page 62 of Unchained

In fifteen minutes or so, he’d be home. And one step closer to never leaving Cam’s side.

Whatever the hell that meant.

* * *

“Where is he?” The rough voice ground against Cam’s ear. Spit hit her cheek.

Crashes sounded from upstairs. The other men were kicking open doors. Her heart raced. She had to get rid of them—had to alert Lexi before they got here. She couldn’t let Brooks’s sister get hurt. Fear made her limbs tingle. The man holding her pressed her back to his front. The scents of garlic and onions hung on his breath. His arm locked across her chest and one hand lay on her mouth, loose enough that she could speak, but firmly enough that he could cut off her scream if she tried. She jerked her gaze toward the kitchen. It wasn’t far. Twenty feet or so. If she could get free, she might make it to the back door.

The cold end of a gun tapped her cheekbone. “Where is Brooks? Tell me now and I won’t shoot you.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Her muffled answer came from underneath the man’s palm.

His brusque laugh sent a shiver down her arms. “Bullshit.”

Sweat collected on her hairline, cooling her scorching skin. She had to fight. She drew her knee up as far as she could and stomped on his foot with all her strength. Pain shot through her heel. The man grunted but didn’t loosen his hold. Ducking her head, she bit the exposed skin on his arm between his latex glove and the cuff of his shirt. He howled as the metallic taste of blood hit her tongue.

The man yanked his hand away and Cam swung her elbow backward, catching him in the nose. He stumbled and clutched his face. “Fucking whore!”

Cam tore through the kitchen. She ran past the island, grabbed her phone, and skidded to a stop at the back door. As she unlocked the dead bolt, footsteps stormed across the hardwood floors. Panic hiccupped in the back of her throat. Her fingers fumbled on the lock.

Click

Yes! She shoved open the door. Cool air blasted her face. She opened her mouth, a scream rolling up her throat.

A hand snagged her hair, tearing her head backward and cutting off her cry. Her hip smacked onto the hardwood floor. Something cold hit her neck.

Zap!

The scent of burning flesh rushed into her nostrils. Her body went limp as electric currents rushed through her nervous system. A dark curtain flickered in front of her vision before snapping everything into darkness.

Brooks.

* * *

Relief brought Brooks’ heart rate to a normal rhythm; the pumping of his blood was slower than it’d been in months. Knowing Conrad was gone, that he’d paid for his crimes and would continue to pay for them in hell, gave Brooks an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

For so long he’d craved justice. Even before he remembered everything that had happened that fateful night he raced to his parents’ house to find it up in flames, his fate had been sealed. He’d been meant to carry out the deed. And now he had only one more to do and he’d be free forever.

“Well?” Dare barked. “It’s done?”

“He’s dead,” Brooks confirmed.

Dare blew a breath through his teeth. “Damn. I never thought I’d see the day.” He glanced over his shoulder then brought his focus back to the road. “You okay, Nash?”

Pity opened up in Brooks’s gut. Conrad had deserved to die. But that didn’t change the fact that it was a fucked-up situation for Nash. Brooks swiveled in his seat to look Nash in the eyes. The streetlights whipping by the window cast a glow over Nash’s face. “I’m sorry, bro.”

Nash lifted a shoulder. “It’s okay. It feels weird though, you know? He had it coming for what he did to you and Lexi’s parents. Hell, for what he did to all the kids he sold into slavery. Fuck.” Nash scrubbed his hands over his face and lowered his elbows to his knees. “It’s hard to explain. I’ve wanted him to pay for so long. I thought prison would be enough, but this is different. It’s over. He’s gone.”

“But he was a dad to you,” Dare said stoically, turning into the subdivision of Nash’s safe house.

Nash snorted. “And he had a hit on my fucking head.” Lifting his chin, he met Brooks’s gaze. “Don’t feel bad about it. You did the right thing. We all did.”

Brooks nodded. His phone vibrated in his coat pocket. He retrieved it and read the number on the screen: Lexi. He swiped to answer. “Hey, we’re almost home. What’s—”

“Cam is gone. She’s—she’s not at the house.” Lexi’s words rushed out, her voice damn-near hysterical.

Brooks lurched forward, grabbing the dash for support. “What do you mean she’s not there?”

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