Page 77 of Hear Me Roar

“He's locked her up somewhere on board with a bomb strapped to her body. Before you guys came in, he hada-”

The Coastie held up the small box. “We snatched it the second he hit the ground. It's weightless, though, which leads me to believe it was all forshow.”

“Are you positive?” Knox questioned beside me, desperation clear in his blue eyes, and the Coast Guardnodded.

“These trigger buttons usually weigh more than this. I'd say all that's in here is the wiring to light up the button itself, again for show. Chances are, there's nothing to worry about, other than finding her; but when we do, we’ll check herthoroughly.”

“They took my buddy too,” Knox added, forcing an audible gasp to slip past mylips.

“Manny?”

He nodded. “The second they brought us in here, they took him right back out. I was so dazed I didn't hearwhere.”

“We’ll find them,” the Coastie assured us. “You two just make your way up top. We’ll be finished heresoon.”

Maya screaming.

Dimitrigrunting.

His confidantssnickering.

That’s all I could hear, even in my solitarystate.

Maksim – or whatever the hell his name was – tried keeping me upstairs in the room adjacent to where Maya was being destroyed, but the more I heard her scream, the more manic I became. He’d warned me several times to take it down a notch, but his demands went unacknowledged as I tried escaping him to rescue the woman who’d swiftly become a sister. After knocking me around, he’d tossed me back in here, in this godforsaken dungeon, where I was losing my fucking mind. I’d crawled my way on the dirty floor to the mattress, seeking refuge from whatever monsters might lurk in the dark. But the monsters weren’t in the dark, they were in myhead...

Rocking back and forth with my knees to my chest, the entire assault played out over and over again, in a horrific loop I couldn't escape. I screamed for the millionth time, desperate to be rid of the gruesome images seared in my mind, but to noavail.

“U.S. Coast Guard! Is there anybody down here?” I heardsuddenly.

My head snapped up toward the sound, but when only the silence answered, I was sure it was simply my mind playing tricks onme.

Wishful thinking,Perry...

No one was coming for me, not unless it was one of Dimitri’s men to finish me off, and at this point, I probably wouldn’t stop them if they tried. I’d failed Maya, failed her epically, and after all I’d been through in my life, there was no way I could carry this loss with me too. It's not like I had anything to live for… No family. My coach, gone. My career had gone to shit, my best friend was still mad at me, and my relationship was one stone away from shattering. Everyone and everything was better off without me, and I never should've thoughtotherwise.

“U.S. Coast Guard! Is there anybody down here?” I heard again, but this time, a bright white light peeked in from underneath the door. “There's a door at theend!”

Was this real? I blinked and blinked and blinked, expecting to see the light fade away, but it only got closer, as did the loud stomps that forced me back into thewall.

Two seconds later, the door was slammed open and the light shone down onme.

“She's in here! Ma’am are you okay?” a Guard asked as he dropped to his knees in front of me, another two stopping at thethreshold.

All of them were in helmets and Kevlar, their weapons readily equipped for war, reminding me just how grim the night had been. I nodded despite the fact I felt anything but. Not one minute ago I'd thought about letting Dimitri’s men put me out of my misery, but now that salvation was kneeling before me, I couldn't get out of here fast enough. Tears spilled over my cheeks as gratitude and relief washed over me. Until I thought ofMaya...

“I'm okay,” I sobbed, “but my sisterisn-”

“Your sister is just fine. She's on deck as we speak, with your boyfriend,” the Coastie assuredme.

Knox is here?No...

“Myboyfriend?”

“Yes, ma’am. He was already on board when wearrived.”

There's noway…

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person? Tall, blue eyes, fullof-”

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