Page 97 of Extracted

“Exactly. Now pull yourself the fuck together so I can think.”

Dallas leaned forward and massaged his temples. There had to be a way to trace them. Silas used an encrypted phone. That left zero options when it came to his device. Images of the night carouseled through his brain. He forced them to slow so he could analyze each event and discussion. “There could be something in his office at the club—something to tie him to another property or house. But dammit, we don’t have time.”

Cole shook his head. “Did he mention anything? Where he’s staying or where he’s holding the money for the deal?”

Dallas balled his hand into a fist. “Nah. We didn’t use cash. He sent a wire from his laptop once we finalized things.”

His brother smacked his arm. “He did that in front of you?”

He frowned. “Yeah, so?”

“So if we have a record of the wire, we—or Dare, if the fucker is awake—can track the IP address.”

“And we can trace that like a cell phone?”

“Hell yeah.” Cole pulled out his phone from the cupholder. Bluetooth kicked on over the speaker and the line rang and rang.

Dallas stared at the familiar number lighting the screen on the dash. If Dare didn’t answer he’d beat the shit out of him when he got home.

* * *

At least they used tape this time. Gemma stared at the silver duct tape wrapped around her wrists. The same material covered her mouth, preventing her from biting through the restraint. Not that this would do her any good right now.

The SUV bumped around a corner and onto a roughly paved road. Saliva swarmed her mouth. She forced it down. Hyperventilating wouldn’t do her any good.

Her skull ached from where Silas had grabbed her hair and dragged her out of the closet, but that paled in comparison to the throbbing pain that pulsed on her cheekbone.

She sat ramrod straight on the SUV’s bench seat facing Silas. One of his men sat next to her, a gun pointed lazily at her side. Another man drove. She wasn’t a mathematician, but Silas had had a heck of a lot more men at the club. At least a few more. Had some been shot?

The CIA hadn’t succeeded in killing Silas, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t tried—nor would they quit. They were either recalibrating or there was a drone following overhead.

Probably a drone with a bomb, Gemma. ’Cause that’d be your luck.

Her purse sat next to Silas. Everything she needed to defend herself and escape, inches from his thigh. Except it was three against one. Getting away would be next to impossible.

Especially in a moving vehicle.

She inhaled through her nose. Searing heat on her face, like that of a laser beam, made her lift her focus to Silas.

She hadn’t had a good look at him until now. A bandage covered part of his face. It looked dirty. Even with the lack of consistent light in the car, she could make out the hard line of his mouth. His dark-brown eyebrows were pulled down over his eyes, and disgust twisted his features.

“These people you work for, have they told you what I do to people who fuck with me?”

Her throat cinched. With the tape on her mouth, she couldn’t reply.

He leaned forward and a spark lit his eyes, as if he enjoyed that he could say what he wanted without her rebuttal.

“The last man who tried to kill me got his tongue cut out.” He sat back, shrugging matter-of-factly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and metallic. “I thought I’d let him live. But filleting flesh is a lot more fun.” He flicked out a blade.

Each breath came through her nose long and wheezy. Showing fear would only make things worse, but sheer terror prevented her from controlling her body’s responses.

Silas grinned. “You’re a little too pretty to cut out your tongue. I could think of a lot of other things to do with it.”

The man next to her, Ash, burst out laughing.

Silas nudged him and he stopped. Silas kept his gaze tethered to hers. “I can’t promise I won’t do a little filleting, but I’ve got something better planned for you. Something that will make you wish I’d peel your skin from your face.”

All the blood drained from her cheeks, and her brain flickered. Her consciousness threatened to leave her body, to escape what Silas intended to do to her.

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