“I’ll have some water brought to you,” Marlo says, feigning kindness. “Calvin and I are going to own the whole district. And Kyra will always have a place in our home. I want you to find comfort in that thought.”

“Is this your way of making me feel better?”

“I’m not a monster.”

“You’re just a useful idiot,” I say.

She’s about to reply, but Calvin walks into the room with wide, excited eyes. My stomach turns at the mere sight of this man. Then, the familiar rumbling of Harley engines captures my attention.

My heart jumps to my throat.

“They’re here, ladies. It’s showtime,” Calvin quips.

“You’re going to die,” I mutter, watching two of my men come up the driveway.

The rest of the street—mostly abandoned houses and derelict buildings— seems empty. No wonder they chose this place. It’s out of reach. Yet the sight of Knox and Jagger pulling over sends fresh signals to my brain. It allows for hope to blossom in my chest.

It’s a dangerous thing to feel. But it’s all I have left.

“What are you going to do?” I ask them.

Calvin takes Marlo in his arms and gives her a short but intense kiss before he looks at me. “Oh, baby, I’m gonna do what I should’ve done years ago. I’m gonna put a bullet in their heads for everything they did to me.”

“Everything they did toyou? Really, Calvin? No accountability whatsoever.”

“Time’s up,” Marlo cuts in with a wry smile. “Try all you want. There’s no stopping what’s about to happen.”

“I’ll have one of the boys bring you downstairs in a bit,” Calvin says.

I watch, helpless and furious, as Marlo and Calvin leave the room, locking the door behind them. I’m running out of time, that much is true, and I need to find my way out of here before they come back for me—because when they do come back, it’ll be to end me.

Outside, I notice there’s no third Harley. No Diesel anywhere in sight.

“Oh,” I whisper. “He’s here.”

I can’t see him. But I can almost feel him.

And all I can do is pray that the forces of this merciless universe guide him and Knox and Jagger as far away from death as possible. We need to survive tonight, one way or another.

Not long afterward, the door opens again. Paulie, of all people, comes in. My heart stops. For a moment, I feel a pang of hope bursting through me. I even smile at him.

“Paulie, thank God!” I exclaim. “You…” But my voice fades as I see the grim look on his face and the lack of patches on his leather jacket. “No…”

“I’m sorry, Robyn,” he says. “I need to take you downstairs.”

“Oh, God. It’s you,” I reply, my synapses firing rapidly. “The dope in the basement. You’ve been working with Marlo and Calvin the whole time.”

“I promise you, I never meant for any of this to happen.” He tries to touch me, but I slap his hand away. “Don’t fight it, Robyn. It’ll only get worse.”

Tears sting my eyes. “We trusted you.Itrusted you. This whole time I was never safe with you, was I?”

“Someday, it will all make sense.”

“When? After I’m dead?” I scoff, looking him up and down. “Fuck you, Paulie.”

“I deserve that. But we still have to go downstairs. They’re about to come in,” he sighs deeply. “And Calvin wants to be extra dramatic. I tried to tone him down, but he’s got his heart set on this.”

I shake my head slowly. “You disgust me.”