Page 44 of High Stakes

I snap my fingers to pull him back and he blinks at me. “Ready?”

He nods once and then disappears down the hall.

“I’m coming too,” Silas says, and before I can protest, he pulls a gun out of the bottom drawer and cocks it.

The bullet sliding into the chamber echoes through my mind as I stare down at him. I know I can’t keep him here because he wants retribution. “Fine. Let’s go.”

We climb into Declan’s Impala and the engine roars to life, the air practically vibrating with the horsepower. Silas pulls out his phone and brings up the tracker. “It doesn’t look like they’re moving her. We can be there in fifteen if you push it.”

“Let’s go to war, boys,” Declan says, and pulls out of the garage. The tires squeal as soon as they touch the blacktop as he guns the engine and takes off in the direction of the docks.

We make it to the warehouse parking lot in eleven minutes thanks to Declan running two red lights and going about fifty miles over the posted speed limit. I climb out and readjust the kevlar vest, pulling it down away from my chin. “I fucking hate this piece of shit,” I mutter, and jerk the material around.

“Better than being riddled with holes,” Declan chuckles, and claps me on the back.

I bite my tongue to stop myself from spitting a retort. Instead, I turn and size up the building. Its front entrance isilluminated by the street lamps glowing in the low evening light. “There’s not a lot of security detail out tonight.”

“Let’s go. The dot is on the far side. To the left,” Silas instructs, and pulls his own vest over his head.

We stalk forward in silence, our guns up and fingers on the trigger. I’m ready to send as many souls to the afterlife as it takes to get my angel back. Silas pockets his phone and points to the corridor on the left. I move first, checking to make sure it’s clear before motioning for them to follow.

The building is silent, eerily so. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and my skin crawls with unease as I push against the door. The knob stops mid turn. “It’s locked,” I whisper, and take a step back. I look over my shoulder to confirm that they are both ready. Once this door is open there’s going to be a storm of bullets flying from both directions.

They both raise their guns, their eyes flashing with murderous intent. I turn back to the door and kick hard. The sole of my boot hits the wood right beside the lock and it splinters with a loud crack. I repeat the motion a second time and send the whole door tumbling inward, ripping it clean off its hinges. I drop to my knees in preparation for an onslaught of bullets, but nothing happens.

The silence stretches on for so long that I’m afraid I actually died from a boobytrap and this is now my Hell. Declan clicks on a flashlight and creeps into the room. Silas and I follow closely behind. My eyes search through the darkness, but I can’t make anything out that’s not in the direct beam of the light. “Angel?” I call softly, but there’s no response.

“There,” Silas whispers, and points to a metal door with a small window on the far wall. He darts to the door and yanks on the handle. It opens with a loud screech. I wince and look over my shoulder, expecting to see someone barreling down thehallway, but the coast is still clear. “Emelia?” his voice is soft as he disappears into the darkness.

Declan and I follow with the light. The room is larger than I thought it would be. There’s a rectangular table in the center with two chairs on either side. A metal ring is protruding from the tabletop, like someone was chained to the table at some point. “This is an interrogation room,” I say as my eyes drift over the counter situated on the back wall. Metal instruments reflect the light as Declan shines it around the dark room.

My stomach churns and my skin grows hot with rage. If they so much as damaged a single hair on her head I will lose what is left of my mind. I holster my gun and my fists clench and unclench at my sides. I can feel myself slipping as I turn in a slow circle, looking for something that will let me know that she’s been here.

Silas coughs and wrinkles his nose. “Do you smell that?”

I inhale sharply but the only thing I can smell is something faint and acidic, probably whatever they use to clean the room once they’re finished with their victims. The door slams behind me, echoing through the darkness.

Declan surges forward and pushes on the handle, but it won’t budge. The light comes up and reveals a face behind the glass. “You piece of shit,” Declan roars, and slams his palm against the metal.

My chest tightens and my eyes burn as I stare into Hector’s dark eyes. I snarl and take a step forward, but stumble over my feet. He stares into the room impassively and I want nothing more than to punch him right in his attractive face. “Damn you,” I hiss, but my words are slurred.

Silas drops to his knees beside me, grabbing at his throat. His eyes are bulging and his face is turning red. “Hayden,” he chokes out, and reaches for me with his other hand. His lips take on a blue tint as he collapses, his fingertips brushing mine.

Declan slides down the door and lets out a rattling cough as he slumps over. I try to take another step toward the traitor, but my legs give out. It feels as though someone has pulled every ounce of oxygen from my lunges. Black spots dance across my vision as I fall to my hands and knees, gasping and choking.

The door creaks open and I see a pair of boots stop in front of me, but I’m too weak to raise my head. Hector crouches down. “Oxygen displacement. It takes some calculation to pump the CO2 directly into a room, but it’s very effective for incapacitation.”

My entire body feels like it’s burning from the inside out. I lurch forward and my cheek presses against the cool concrete floor. The last thing I see before my consciousness slips away is Silas and Declan being dragged from the room.

My tongue feelslike sandpaper as I move it across the roof of my mouth, and my head is pounding. I can hear the blood rushing past my eardrums. My eyelids feel like they’ve been glued together. A cough to my right pulls at my mind. I feel awareness creeping back into my cells as they take in fresh oxygen. Fuck this, I want to add drowning and suffocation while conscious to my list of ‘Ways I Fear Dying’ because that was fucking terrible.

I pry my eyes open and the first thing I see is ropes twisting around my chest and abdomen. I pull at my legs and arms, only to find they are also tied to the chair I’m sitting in. I look over and find both Kennedys also tied to chairs beside me. Silas coughs again and rolls his head as he regains consciousness.

Declan cuts his eyes to me, checking to make sure I’m awake, and then looks back at the man leaning against the desk in front of us. “I’m disappointed in you, Em,” Declan says, his voice hoarse from lack of oxygen.

My eyes slide from Tobias to Hector, who is leaning against the wall behind the desk with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes flash with dark humor as he watches us closely. If my mouth wasn’t drier than the Sahara, I would spit at him.

Tobias dips his head in acknowledgement and slides his hands into the pockets of his navy suit. “I find you might be rather disappointed with this entire situation.”

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