Page 70 of The Saint

Bastien was the only one who would ask, and he’d already seen me leave.

My heart started to race faster, my gut telling me this wasn’t right. None of this was right.

I opened my bag and found the gun inside. I checked that it was loaded just like Bastien had taught me and confirmed the safety was on so I wouldn’t shoot myself by mistake. I looked ahead at the driver, wondering if I should just shoot him and hope I didn’t die in the crash.

But what if I was wrong? What if this was all paranoia?

We slowed down and turned off the road, approaching a steel gate covered in barbed wire. It reminded me of the warehouse Bastien had taken me to, but we had traveled in a different direction to get here, so I knew it wasn’t the same place.

We pulled onto the property and parked near the front doors.

I tucked the gun into the back of my jeans the way Bastien did, making sure my sweater covered it, and I tried to act normal. But when I looked out the window and saw the number of men there, all with guns, I knew this wasn’t a safe house. A safe housewas meant to blend in, to be inconspicuous. This looked like a military base.

My palms were so sweaty I almost dropped my phone when I grabbed it out of my back pocket. The guys approached to open the door, and I called Bastien as quick as I could, hoping he would pick up on the first ring.

The door opened, and the guy looked at me, seeing the bright phone in my hand and the name on the screen.

Bastien, pick up.

His realization quickly turned to panic, and he lunged at me to take it away. “Give me the phone.”

Bastien picked up, his voice audible. “Sweetheart?—”

“It’s a trap!” That was all I could get out before he punched me so hard in the face that the phone went flying.

The guy dove for it, and another man opened the other door to grab me.

I could barely move because the blow had nearly incapacitated me, but I saw him turn the phone off so Bastien couldn’t trace my location.

At least he knew I needed help. He would come.

He would come like he did last time.

He would save me.

He will save me…

17

BASTIEN

“Fleur!” Sheer panic gripped me by the throat and nearly suffocated me. The line went dead, and instead of wasting a precious second trying to call her again, I pulled up her location—but it was already gone. “This can’t be fucking happening.” I panicked, gripping my hair with both of my hands as I tried to think of my next step.

Luca watched me in silence, speechless for once in his life.

We were at the warehouse, hunkered down with guns and ammo as we made our next plan.

But it looked like all of our plans had been put on hold.

“The SUV behind me…” I looked at Luca, the pieces slowly coming together. I’d been in such a hurry to get her out of there, and I’d assumed the SUV that took Fleur was full of my guys, but now I realized they’d been watching the property, knowing exactly what I would do next, and then pulled in at the perfect opportunity. “I fucking gave her to them!”

Luca didn’t waste time with questions. “I’ll call around. Someone will roll if we offer enough.”

For the first time in my life, I was in shock.

And I felt that feeling that other people had described, my mother, other women I’d slept with—anxiety.

I wanted to rush to Fleur, but I had nowhere to rush off to.

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