Page 40 of Hot for Hostage

“They brought friends. Older friends with guns.” He stalked over and caught my arm, yanking me forward. “Move your ass, or I’ll move it for you.”

He was so large he could probably lift me with one hand and not break a sweat.

“Okay, okay,” I muttered as my heart thundered. The thugs were here—at myapartment?

I snatched a leash off the coffee table for Bear, then hurried alongside Vince to the open window. He shoved me toward it with little care, and I scrambled out first, with Bear jumping out after me. Vince followed before shutting the window behind him.

I’d never used the fire escape before. There’d never been a reason to. When I moved to go down the squeaking stairs, my knees wobbled and Bear took the lead. I followed as quickly as I could, with Vince hot on my heels.

The cool night air seeped through my thin pajamas, goose bumps prickling across my skin. I wished we’d had time for me to change into clothes that actually covered my whole butt—plus a bra—but at least the paw print pattern was cute.

The stairs creaked under our weight as I raced down behind Bear, and my heart stayed lodged in my throat until I dropped to the sidewalk in a graceless heap.

Well, we’d made it down all four flights without anyone chasing after us.

That was a good sign.

“Car is across the street. Go.” Vince pulled me up and pushed me forward, not slowing down. Just as we stepped onto the pavement, a yell pulled my attention behind us, but Vince kept me facing forward. He yanked open the back door to another dark SUV, and both Bear and I hopped inside. The door slammed shut behind us.

Vince jumped behind the wheel and peeled away from the curb before I could even get my seat belt on. I struggled with both the buckle and my grasp on reality, but finally the seat belt clicked into place. Bear whined on the seat next to me, crawling closer.

“Well,” I whispered to him as the adrenaline drained out of me and I slumped against the seat. He rested his furry head onmy lap, and I scratched behind his ears. “So much for a quiet evening.”

He licked my hand in response.

“Vince?” I called to the front. A dark screen separated us just like in the other SUV, but maybe he could still hear me. “Where are we going?”

Silence was the only answer.

Bear nudged my side until I combed my fingers through the thick fur on his neck.

“We’ll be okay,” I assured him, trying to believe it myself.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about the scary men Vince had said were in my apartment building.

Had they come for Bear… or me?

rat, interrupted

. . .

Davian

Lorenzo wasn’t feeling chatty. The middle-aged dry cleaner claimed he would never betray me or my pop, but more than one of my men had caught him sneaking off for secret meetings. I just needed to know which of the groups trying to make a play on our territory he’d buddied up with.

Then there was the money he’d been skimming off the top of our operation at the cleaners.

That was how Lorenzo ended up tied to a chair in a shed I kept hidden in the compound’s forest. He’d been invited—well,dragged—over for a little chat.

Unfortunately, words didn’t sway him.

My fists also made little progress, aside from painting the floor red.

Shane got in a few good hits, too, but our guest remained tight-lipped.

I’d just pulled out my knife to aid the interrogation when Vince called, making me frown. My right-hand man never called just to chat. He was supposed to be having an uneventful night watching Sadie’s apartment. There was no reason to call.

Unless something had gone wrong.

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