BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunshots sound through the fucked-up underground tomb and my eyes widen in fear as all hell breaks loose. Women drop to the ground as their masters pull guns from every fucking crevice on their bodies, grabbing hold of them and using their bodies as human shields.
Men start running while others have more balls than what they’re worth, turning this place into a fucking war zone.
Jasmine screams at my back, gripping tighter onto my hand and thrashing against her bonds as bullets sail past her face, lodging into the thick column between us.
Men in black tactical gear come storming into the underground hell with massive bulletproof shields protecting their bodies. “FBI. GET DOWN,” I hear hollered through the tomb as the bastards filling this room fire back at them like their goddamn lives depend on it, which I guess they do. Every last dickhead in this place would have an arrest warrant out for them.
Loud, piercing screams rock through the tomb, and my heart races as I thrash against my binds, knowing damn well just how easy it’d be to get struck by a stray bullet. “It’s a raid,” Jasmine yells back at me, gripping my hand like her only lifeline.
“We have to get out of here,” I yell back, my body thrashing and pulling against the cuffs.
“I don’t know if you’ve realized this,” she yells back. “BUT WE’RE CHAINED TO A GODDAMN POLE. THERE IS NO GETTING OUT OF HERE.”
“They’ll come,” I spit through my teeth, knowing deep in my gut that the boys won’t abandon me like this, even if it is the FBI and they’re on every damn most wanted list imaginable. They will come.
I see flashes of men racing through the tomb, men who could be the brothers … or maybe they’re not. More FBI agents swarm the tomb, unforgiving as they trample over fallen bodies in their desperation to get to those who have been highest on their lists for years, constantly escaping them—men just like the DeAngelis brothers.
Women shriek and scream, barging past the shields in their need to be free of their captors while those very captors shoot at their backs, ensuring their eternal silence. And then just as a bullet lodges into the pillar beside my shoulder, the tomb falls into darkness and sends my world into an overwhelming panic.
24
The cuffs tear at my skin as I thrash wildly, my heart racing while the sound of deafening bullets spray around the room. Terrified screams fill my ears and I don’t know if they’re mine, Jasmine’s, or the women scattered through the tomb being abused by the vile men in the room, taking advantage of the fucked-up situation.
Glass shatters making me flinch, and just when I think I can’t take it a second longer, a shadow leaps up onto the podium and hands press against my body. I thrash against it until I hear his calming voice. “Shayne,” Roman rushes out, his hands flailing over my arms and legs, making sure everything is intact. “Are you hurt? Shayne?”
I shake my head violently. “No, I … I don’t think so,” I rush out as his hands grip me tighter, trying to calm me and get me to focus. “Get me the fuck out of here.”
He immediately drops to his knees and grips my ankles, madly searching for the release on the cuff in the darkness. He holds onto me, his big body acting as a protective shield as he quickly works to free me from the podium.
“Marcus and Levi?” I question, glancing over his head and trying to find the two possible loves of my life in this horrendous darkness.
“They’re fine,” he says, freeing my ankle and quickly moving on to the next. “They know how to handle themselves, but if they’re worried about you, they’re going to do something stupid.”
Fuck.
My other ankle comes free and he flies back up, his massive body hovering over mine as he works quickly on my wrists. “I won’t have time to remove the collar,” he yells over the sound of bullets raining down around us. “Just get the fuck out of here. I can cover you but you need to fucking run. Fast.”
I swallow hard and nod as my first wrist is freed. “I’m not going anywhere without Jasmine.”
His gaze snaps up to mine, his brows furrowed as his fingers continue working the release for the second wrist cuff. “Who the fuck is Jasmine?”
“The girl behind me,” I rush out. “He hurts her. I’m not leaving her.”
Roman shakes his head, his eyes burning with a fiery rage. “We don’t have fucking time for your bullshit games, Shayne. We need to go. Now,” he says just as I’m freed from the column. He takes my hand and starts to pull me away. “The cops will find her and get her to safety. You need to get out of here.”