Page 55 of Lethal Vengeance
Two men appear from the shadows. One grabs my wrists, while the other loops a rope over them and pulls it tight. A machine in the corner starts up, and I’m yanked backward and upward until I’m hanging from the ceiling.
My shoulders scream at the weight of my body, but I simply flash Hugo a bored grin.
A maniacal gleam enters Armando’s eyes. “Three minutes. No more. I’ll be watching. Light work. And not the face. I don’t want to scare Gabriel.” He turns to the door, calling out over his shoulder. “I’ll text you the invitation. Don’t disappoint me again, Quinn.”
The bastard leaves. Damn it. A fist plows into my stomach, and the air in my lungs releases in a rush. The next few minutes are going to be brutal.
Something Armando said echoes repeatedly in my mind, but I’m too distracted by the fists pounding my body to focus on it. Staring down at the floor, I recite police codes in my head to distract me from the pain. Tears and snot roll down my face, but I refuse to let one sound escape.
A loud beep interrupts my train of thought.
“Time’s up.” A tall, rough-looking man bends down to peer into my face. “I’m impressed. You took that better than most men. Cut her down and take her back to the cell for tonight. She can leave tomorrow.” His big black boots disappear from my line of sight.
My body tumbles to the ground, and I cry out.
They drag me back to the cell and drop me on the floor.
Raider scoops me up and gently places me on the cot. The cold cloth glides along the side of my face as he wipes off the evidence of my tears. He pulls up my shirt and curses.
Without a word, he leaves, returning several minutes later with a couple of cold washcloths from the nearby bathroom. He gingerly places them on my face and body.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out, trying to ease the tension between us.
“I know,” he says, finally looking at me. Fierce anger blazes from his eyes. “I hated every fucking minute you were gone.” His mouth compresses while he stares at the damage to my body. “And a part of me hates you—for letting them do this to you and for making me stand down. It goes against everything I am.” His blue eyes burn with fire, not a trace of cold in sight.
His words. Those words.Fuck, that hurt worse than I expected.
Tears slip down my cheeks, and the lump in my throat grows until I can barely swallow. “I know. I hated all of it. And myself, too. For asking you to do it. But I don’t matter and neither do you. Only she matters.” Her haunted brown eyes flash in my mind.
He shakes his head. “You’re wrong. You matter… but I know you can’t see it right now. That’s okay. You’ll get there,” he replies, a promise in his voice.
“Tell me a story,” I plead, needing to escape for a while.
Lean fingers sweep the hair back from my face. “I will only tell you this story once, so you need to stay awake and listen.” He stares down at me, but it’s obvious his eyes are only seeing the past. “When I was nine, I lost my mother to cancer. She didn’t have any relatives, so my father moved me in with his family. It was a disaster. We all hated each other.” He shrugs, but I can see the hurt that lingers in his eyes. “But his house was big, so we could easily avoid seeing anyone. That same year, Camila was born. My half-sister, Paulo’s sister. It didn’t matter. From the moment she arrived, we both loved her.”
He smiles. “Camila was truly beautiful, inside and out. Her laugh was infectious, bringing the best out of everyone, including my father. He absolutely doted on her.” His eyes focus on me. “Camila hated when we fought, so we declared a tentative truce, and for the next nine years, life became easier.”
His voice drops. “My father was a drug lord, leader of a cartel in Brazil. In a grab for more power, he accidentally killed the son of our enemy. In retaliation, they went to war with us.”
He rubs a hand over his face. “Their leader was smart, and he made some good moves. They were winning. My father became increasingly worried. He knew he needed to end the war before they wiped us out. So, he went to them and made a secret deal. They took Camila on the way to school the next day. Months later, she came back in a box. She didn’t even look the same. Her body…”
Tears roll down his strong face. I reach up and wipe them away, then do the same to my own.
“They could have given her an easy death, but they chose not to. We were devastated and furious. When we found out about the deal, Paulo and I took down every single one of them, starting with our father. The worst of deaths was what we promised and what we delivered,” he reveals, his voice grim with memory. “When it was done, we clawed our way out of the darkness together.”
His hand grips mine. “I understand vengeance more than anyone, and I’ll do everything in my power to help you.” He puts his face directly in front of mine. “But don’t ever ask me to sit quietly on the sidelines while someone beats you again. It’s a hard line.”
His blue eyes reflect the fury and helplessness he felt tonight.
“I won’t. I promise,” I vow, taking our joined hands and placing them on my heart. “Never again.”
27
RAIDER
Cruz’ low voice comes through clearly on the earpiece. “Quinn? Are you there?”
The worry in his voice makes me smile with satisfaction. “Raider here. Quinn’s with me in the cell. We’re both a little broken and need your assistance to get out.”
