Page 120 of Forging Caine

“Bella, the flashlights. The voices.” They were getting louder.

“You hightail it over to that tree and then you sit on the other side of it and don’t make a fucking noise. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah. No noises.”

“It’s going to get loud here very soon, and I need you to stay behind that tree—no matter what happens—until it’s quiet. And once you can’t hear anything, not even a squirrel rustling a branch, you count to five hundred. You got me?”

“Five hundred.”

“Then you run to those houses with the lights over there. Forget the ankle. Don’t you dare hobble. You fucking run.”

No. No. No. All the hairs on my body stood up. She was not doing this. “Bella, no!”

Her focus remained on Cam-ron. “What’s the FBI agent’s name?”

“Elliot Skinner.”

“Repeat that over and over until it’s quiet. And when you talk to him, start by telling him that Fiori has us and he’s about to kill us.”

I knelt behind her, trying in vain to push her through the opening. “Don’t do this, you fool woman.”

“And no matter what happens in the end, you tell them everything. Absolutely everything.” She sucked in a breath, her words coming too fast. “You are not the loser your father said you were. You’re a goddamn hero, and I need you to promise me you’re going to do all of this.”

I gripped her shoulders, pulling them away from the bars, trying to get her horizontal so I could shove her through.

She was too strong and had too much leverage. “Go! Now!”

“They’re almost here!” I kept my voice as quiet as I could, but what was the point now? The security team was too close.

As Cam-ron limped to the tree, Samantha stood.

“I change my earlier answer.Thisis the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Maybe.” She brushed the dirt off herself and pulled the gun out of her waistband. “They won’t stop. This isn’t about saving a piece of art. It’s about ensuring these men don’t come for you—”

“Or you.”

“I know.” She blew out a sharp breath and shook her head to regain her focus. “It’s about us and our future. We won’t have one if we’re looking over our shoulders for Fiori the rest of our lives. He won’t settle for continuing to play his little games. He wants your uncle—and me—to pay, and our lives are the cost.”

“You know I won’t let you go alone?”

“I wish I could convince you differently, but I understand. I did just screw up my escape so you wouldn’t be alone.”

I tapped her chest. “And we’re going to that resort when we’re done.”

She let out a weak laugh. “It’s a deal.”

“Good answer. Now what’s your plan? Other than running into the bad guys’ arms, being held against our will, and possibly getting killed?”

“We run.” She pointed in the direction we’d been headed. “Make it to the water at the end of the fence. So long as they’re chasing us, they aren’t going after our families.”

Chapter 42

Samantha

AntonioandItoreoff through the woods along the fence. The water had to appear sometime. We’d have a clear path. None of Fiori’s men would be there. They were all behind us.

He and I were athletes in our own ways. We’d done three- and five-mile runs together, but never at a complete sprint. The sound of voices behind us gave way to rough breaths and the sounds of our feet hitting the soil. It was late enough in spring that the trees were almost fully in leaf, which provided plenty of cover. Good for hiding, shitty for running.

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