Page 29 of Lyon

“There was a young woman here I had to use Narcan on—she’d been shot up with drugs. She told me Niki was at Luke’s place and that they beat her badly.”

Sage scanned the area. “It’s that guy over there,” she said.

I followed her gaze and spotted a nervous man standing at the end of the alley. Just then, Raven strode over, grabbed him, and disarmed him. We converged on him quickly and led him to the far end of the alley.

“I’ll give you a chance to live,” I growled. “Tell me where they took Candy.” Looking into his eyes, I realized he wouldn’t offer anything willingly—he knew his fate was sealed.

Without waiting for his answer, I rifled through his pockets, extracting his phone and a few syringes. Flipping through his contacts, I found the number I’d been hunting. I passed the phone to Raven. The man fought like a cornered animal, unwilling to surrender; he’d rather die than be drugged up. I shot whatever drugs were in those syringes into him.

“Why did you do that?” Sage demanded.

“I knew he wouldn’t give up the address on his own—he understood that his death was inevitable. But when drugs are involved, he’ll say anything for more,” I explained.

“Where are you taking him?” Wyatt asked.

“Right here,” I said coolly. “We’ll keep him for a few minutes. He’ll want more, and eventually, after an hour of wrangling the information out of him, I’ll administer one final shot to ensure he never wakes again.”

With that, the grim interrogation continued, each of us driven by the hope of saving Niki from Luke’s clutches.

13

Niki

My eyes were swollen shut—Icouldn’t see a thing. I tried to force them open, but the pain and pressure made every movement a struggle. It felt as if a heavy weight was sitting on my chest. It hurt like hell when I raised a hand to push it away. I encountered a solid surface, and my other hand brushed against a side. My arms hurt so bad they must be broken.

I was trappedin a small box, unable to breathe. I tried kicking my legs free, but the space was so cramped that I couldn’t even move them. With every shallow breath, I felt as if I were smothering in this tiny prison. At that point, pain no longer mattered. I had to do something about breathing.

I focused inward,trying to shut everything down and reach inside my body for control. Concentration was nearly impossible as my mind screamed in protest, desperate for air. I attempted to stretch my neck, only to be reminded of the rope burns—a cruel souvenir from that monster dragging me around with therope tied tightly around my neck. The memory made swallowing even harder.

Just as mymind began to drift into a calm, meditative state, a brutal kick shattered the silence. “Are you still alive in there? I want you to die slowly for killing one of my men. Do you hear me, bitch? Die painfully and slowly.” He kicked the box again, and I screamed in agony.

“Good,you’re dying slowly. Can you even breathe in that box?” he taunted, laughing like a madman. “I’m going to bury you in a grave. Don’t worry about a funeral—I’ll say a few words for you,” he added with a cruel chuckle.

I heard his footsteps receding as he walked away, leaving me with the grim certainty that he’d return to finish what he’d started. Was my life over? Would he be the one to bury my body in this small box?

It took another hour before I could manage to slip into a meditative state. In that dark moment, I clung to the hope that Jackson had managed to tell Joseph who had taken me. I held onto the thought of the relief and happiness I would feel when they finally rescued me.

14

Lyon

I satdown for a moment and closed my eyes, finally allowing myself a brief rest—I couldn’t even remember the last time I had slept. Maybe two minutes of sleep would do me good. The next thing I knew, voices were waking me up.

“Hey, I’m glad you got some sleep, even if it was in a chair. How do you feel?” Raven asked.

“I feel like crap. Has anything good happened?” I replied.

“No, well, maybe. I just got a call from that girl who went to the hospital. She said the place she was in was Englewood—she remembered because she overheard a man asking why were they in Englewood instead of the city,” Raven explained.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“She said he got punched in the face for mentioning where they were.”

“The others are getting ready,” someone added.

“Who’s that?” I inquired.

“That will be us. I met you at the hospital; this is my partner, Chris. We’re Niki’s uncles—and both former FBI agents. Thanks for letting us tag along,” Michael said, walking into the room.”

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