Page 65 of Unchained

“I need to get ready for our friend. Don’t worry, we’ll have time to chat before he gets here.” Leonetti stretched his lips into a waxy smile, turned on his heel, and left. The guard tapped his fingers against his weapon and eyed her curiously. The scalpel started to slip in her sweaty palms. If she wiggled her hands too much, he might notice. If she dropped it, she was screwed. Then the guard turned and disappeared through the door. His shadow remained just outside the tent.

Cam focused her attention on the knife. If she cut herself and bled to death, that would be better than waiting for Leonetti to play Operation with her. She brought the sharp edge of the scalpel to the loose part of the zip tie. The knife slid in her palm as she pressed against the restraint. She grunted as she contorted her wrists, trying to get another angle. Frick, it was no use.

She flicked her gaze to the hospital bed and her chest constricted.

I’m running out of time.

* * *

As soon as Dare screeched to a halt in front of the house, Brooks ejected himself from the vehicle. The only thing that made him more on edge than the fact that Cam was missing was knowing Leonetti had her. Hearing Leonetti hit Cam had made him see a blinding flash of red. He’d kill the sonofabitch.

In assault-rifle fashion, images stormed through his mind: Being strapped down and injected. His body fighting to combat the drugs. His brain moving at warp speed and his muscles so full they felt as if they were going to fucking split. Pain so intense he’d wished he could tear himself right out of his body. He tunneled his hand through his hair as he approached his sister, who sat on the front step, her head in her hands. He couldn’t let that happen to Cam. One experiment could be enough to kill her—one of Leonetti’s sick torture games could mutilate her body or mind-fuck her into oblivion.

Lexi looked up and stood. A woman with brown hair hovered near her side, then she bolted off the step and ran to Dare.

“I’m so sorry, god I’m sorry,” Lexi sobbed.

Part of him wanted to console her, but he couldn’t stop the pumping of his arms and legs—not until he found Cam. He yanked open the front door and went inside. His pulse ricocheted against his temples. Anger made his face hotter than a fuckin’ sunburn.

The front door opened and the brothers entered along with Lexi, her eyes rimmed with red, and the woman who had to be Tess, given the way she clung to Dare’s arm.

“How the hell did they find her here?” Brooks yelled. His demand reverberated off the walls. They’d done everything right, been so fucking careful.

Nash stepped forward. “We’ll find her.” His grim expression disputed his vow.

He yanked at the neckline of his shirt to stop himself from punching the wall. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the coordinates. “Finding her isn’t the problem.”

Nash stepped forward and took Brooks’s phone. “Just going to forward Leonetti’s message to myself so I have the location.” Nash pulled out his phone and grunted. “They’re about an hour out of the city.”

Brooks cursed. “I need to leave now. He’s given me an hour and a half to get there before he—” He chomped into his tongue. He couldn’t let his mind go to that dark corner or he’d never make it to Cam standing.

Nash nodded. “I’m coming.”

“Me too,” Cole said.

“I’ll drive.” Dare kissed Tess’s hair and turned for the door.

Lexi folded her arms across her chest. “Tess and I are coming too.”

Nash slashed his hand through the air. “No fucking way. Who knows how many men he has?”

Concern pulled Lexi’s brows together, and a pang of guilt hit Brooks. He stepped forward and cupped the back of his sister’s head. “It’s not your fault. I need you to stay here. I can’t lose you too.”

Tears swam in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Fine. I’ll stay for you, but I’m calling the cops. I need to do something, and talking with police is one thing I can handle.”

Dare grumbled, and Cole blew a breath through his lips.

“I know who to call,” she said defiantly. “There are people I trust.”

Nash nodded. “I agree. Let Lexi take the reins on that. We need the best of the authorities in our pocket.” He turned his attention to her. “I’ll send you the coordinates so you can get some squad cars there.”

Determination set Lexi’s face. Tess came up and wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulders.

Brooks jerked his head toward the door. Anticipation buzzed through him. He was wasting valuable seconds. He marched outside and the guys followed. Dare jumped back into the driver’s seat, Brooks took shotgun, and Nash and Cole hit the back seat.

Brooks bounced his knee, keeping his gaze on the dark road ahead as Dare peeled out of the driveway and down the street. Until now, he’d planned to get back at Leonetti for how he’d made him suffer. The drugs, the restraints, the torture, the studies inflicted on him, and, most of all, the people Brooks had been forced to kill. All to see how well he could perform, and how the drug could override his mind. After taking Cam, Leonetti had brought things to a new level. He needed to suffer.

The minutes ticked by and the energy in the vehicle was thick with angst. Everyone wanted out and wanted blood.

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