Chapter One
Somewhere in México
Cole
“You did what, Raul?” The American hisses at the man who wears the ridiculous longhorn belt buckle.
“No-no,señor, he’s alive, see?” He steps out of The American’s view to show that, yes, Cole is indeed alive. “No harm done.”
“No harm?” The American pulls out a knife, grabs Raul’s hand, slams it against the wall, and within a blink, the man’s pointer finger is rolling on the floor.
“Ahhh!” Raul yells.
“He’s our only leverage! And now they think he’s dead. Fuck!” The American punches the blood-splattered wall. He turns to face Raul, whose white face is staring at his missing digit. “If you weren’t married to my cousin, I swear I’d behead you myself.”
“Sí,” the man responds weakly.
Luka wipes his mouth with a rag. The smell of blood must be getting to him. He glances at Cole, who’s watching them. The corners of his mouth tug upward. He likes seeing Luka’s weaknesses.
Savannah
I stare forward, hands shaking, tears streaming down my face. I’m so close to them. If only...
The ring of Keith’s phone rips through the silence, making my finger freeze, trembling on the trigger. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus.
“What?” Keith’s raspy voice answers. “Wait, back up. What?” My eyes slowly open, and I see Keith’s head turn toward me. His face falls as he notices what’s in my hand. “Wait!” He drops his phone, and it bounces off the floor as he jumps to his feet. “Savannah?”
“Stop,” I cry, shaking my head and keeping the gun tight to my temple. He stops at the end of the bed, his hands raised to show he won’t move.
“Please, Savi, give me the gun. Mark just called with—”
“Stop,” I cry out again through a sob. I’m so close. “Just leave me.”
“No.” He doesn’t elaborate.
“I don’t want to hurt anymore. I have so much pain. I don’t want to live without him. I don’t want to live without our baby.” I drop my head and pull up my knees. Keith can see I’m moments from ending it all.Just squeeze the trigger, Savannah!I keep a firm grip on the gun that’s imprinting my temple. “At what point did fate decide I don’t deserve to be happy?” I scream as memories pour out of me. “I’ve served my time. I watched my mother die. I watched my father pull away and stop loving me. I was kidnapped, and I had a birthday trapped in a twenty-four by twenty-four room! Now I lose my lover and our baby! I don’t want to know what’s next, Keith—I just can’t!” The gun bounces around on my head as my sobs become louder. “Everyone I love leaves me. I just want it to end!”
“I know, Savannah.” He kneels on the bed and shifts toward me. “But this is isn’t the way.” He moves up next to me and runs a steady, slow hand up my arm and over my hand. Wrapping his fingers around mine, he whispers, “Give it to me, sweetheart, please.”
Suddenly, the weight of my pain is too much. It makes my hand relax enough that he slips the gun from my grip. He grabs my shoulders and pulls me into him. I feel him start to shake.
“I miss him too,” he barely whispers.
This is my undoing; I completely break down.
I am a coward.
Mark
Mark races up the stairs and down the long hallway toward Cole’s room. He flies into the bedroom and sees Savannah, curled up in a ball sobbing, and Keith looking terrified.
“What? What’s going on?”
Keith shakes his head as he holds up the gun. Mark feels the blood rush from his face when he realizes what could have happened. He grips his hair as he tries to think clearly. He needs to speak with Keith and Danielnow.
“Keith,” he says quietly, feeling ill, “Cole’s office, five minutes.” Keith nods.
He turns and runs out of the room and into Abigail’s, which she has been sharing with her sister June.