Page 49 of Forbidden Pawn

The brothers exchange another look. It’s like they’re trying to figure out how much to tell me—or how they should go about it.

“We have an idea where they might have taken her,” Jack says, his voice careful. “They’re not the only ones with reliable informants. And… we have a proposition.”

I narrow my eyes. “I’m listening.”

Jack takes a step closer, lifting his chin. “We’re offering you a truce. Help us take the Cortesis out for good, and we’ll help you get the girl back. And in return, you’ll abstain from any kind of retaliation for what we did to you.”

“What we tried to do,” Tyler chimes in. “It’s not like anything really happened to you.”

“You mean except for getting shot at,” I remind him, nodding toward my shoulder, that was patched up rather sloppily by them.

There’s nothing I want more than to get June back, but can I trust the Reid brothers now? They’ve lied to me once—what’s stopping them from lying again?

“We need each other,” Jack presses, as if he could hear my thoughts. “You won’t be able to get her back without us. We know a lot more about them than you.”

I hate that he’s right. My gut twists with anger, but I know that I have to work with them to get June back.

“Fine,” I say, my voice tight. “We do this. But if you screw me over again, I swear I’ll—”

“We’ll get her back,” Jack interrupts. “Trust me, Ryker, the Cortesi screwed us over pretty badly, and there’s nothing we want more than to take them out. We’re in this together now.”

Chapter 38

June

I’m huddled in the corner of a dark, damp room, tied up with a filthy cloth stuffed in my mouth, suffering from a wave of panic that refuses to quit. My wrists ache where the rope cuts into them, but the ache in my heart about losing my bracelet is even worse. I must have lost it during the attack or when these men tied me up, and there’s no way for me to know where it ended up. No matter how this ends, I’m sure I will never see it again, and right now, it feels like I have lost my father all over again.

I keep replaying the moment I saw Ryker go down, the sickening thud when he hit the ground, his face blurring as the chaos erupted around us. My stomach twists every time I think of it. Is he still alive? The thought makes my chest feel hollow.

And what about the Reids? I have no clue if they made it out of that mess, either. I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who knows where to find me. All I know is that something went horribly wrong today, and the Cortesi are the only ones who got what they wanted.

How did I even end up in this shitty situation? Just days ago, I was trying my best to play Ryker, but now I really became a pawn, tied up, gagged, and at the mercy of these scary thugs. I’m a kidnapping victim with no plan, no control, nothing. My mind races, searching for options, but right now, all I can do is sit here and listen.

The room is filled with muffled footsteps and angry voices, the Cortesi men pacing back and forth. Two of them are injured pretty badly, judging by the groans and curses I hear. From what I can gather, they’re annoyed that things got so messy, because they never expected for Ryker and the Reids to show up armed.But they seem to be pleased enough that I—or rather, the girl they believe to be Grace Reid—ended up in their hands.

I glance up at the man who seems to be their boss. He’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a deep scowl set in his features as he listens to his men. This was not a plan gone right, but improvised chaos.

“We were blindsided,” one attacker says, jabbing a finger in my direction. “We didn’t know he would be armed and bring her with him. Matteo made the call on the spot.”

I recognize the man with the golden teeth, the one who grinned at us just before everything went dark. He laughs, shrugging off the criticism.

“It was the right call,” he insists, glancing at me with satisfaction. “We got her, didn’t we? A lot faster than waiting for Morris to lead us back to his house.”

So, that was the plan. They wanted to corner Ryker to see if he’d lead them to Grace. If I weren’t gagged, I’d laugh at the irony of it, but it quickly sinks into dread. If they knew I wasn’t Ryker’s prisoner, just some outsider tangled up in all this, then they wouldn’t have any use for me. They could just kill me on the spot to get rid of me. And they might not even believe me anyway.

“Where are my brothers?” I ask. “Did you kill them?”

The man named Matteo looks at me and shakes his head. “We’re not murderers. No one died today.”

Relief soars through me. That means Ryker is alive as well. I want to ask for him, but I don’t want them to know I worry about him. It would reveal too much—unless I decide to tell them the truth.

I shift uncomfortably, wincing at the ache in my wrists and the sting of hopelessness seeping into every thought. They have no reason to care who I am or what I want. And I don’t even want to think about what they plan to do with me.

“Bringing the girl here wasn’t the smartest idea,” one man grumbles, as he casts a dark look at me.

“What if she sees something?” he adds, clearly annoyed. “She could get into our shit.”

Matteo just laughs, casting a dismissive glance my way. “Look at her. How’s she gonna cause any trouble like that? Tied up like an animal.”

---