Jaxon knocked on the back door of Owen’s house.

“This is a bad idea,” Zach muttered.

“You can leave if you want to,” Jaxon said over his shoulder.

“Then who will bounce your IP around? The feds are going to find you a lot faster without me.” Zach didn’t sound thrilled, but neither was he running away.

Jaxon felt a good amount of guilt about the way he’d treated Zach after finding out more about how his friend had made it out of a hellish situation. Zach was risking more than the rest of them to simply help.

“Is anyone even home?” Freya’s hands tightened around his waist.

“Fuck, where is he?” Jaxon pounded on the door. “Owen, open up.”

Inside the house Owen stepped into view, face scrunched up. He jogged through the dining area and kitchen right to the door, and unlocked it.

“What the hell?” He stepped back, letting all three of them in, then locked the door and dropped the blinds. “You’re supposed to be with the FBI. What happened? Have you heard from Liv?”

“Owen, don’t freak out.” Jaxon held up his hands.

“Don’t freak out...” Owen’s brows rose, and those eerie blue eyes of his focused on Jaxon.

“Okay, wrong words.”

“You and she,” Owen’s gaze didn’t shift to Freya, “are supposed to be with the FBI.”

“He has Liv, Owen,” Jaxon blurted.

Owen’s mouth opened and he took a step back.

“When?” He finally glanced at Freya and Zach, admitting they were there. “Has it been reported? Who knows? Were there witnesses? A demand?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“Guys, we’ve got to move away from the windows.” Zach slid past them and began drawing the blinds and curtains on all the windows in Owen’s kitchen.

“You broke out,” Owen said.

“We had to,” Jaxon replied.

“It’s my fault.” Freya pulled away from Jaxon.

“No, Freya, it’s not.” Jaxon glared at Owen and then turned to face her.

This whole thing was wearing on Freya. Breaking down her spirit.

“Jaxon’s right, this isn’t your fault, but the FBI—”

“The FBI don’t care about Liv,” Jaxon said over Owen. “They’d like to get her back, they’d like to find Michelle, but they only care about getting Yuri. Freya, her sister, Liv, they’re all a means to an end.”

“Jaxon’s right.” Zach shoved his hands into his pockets.

“How would you know?” Owen’s gaze narrowed. He and Zach had never gotten along, because Zach had secrets and Owen didn’t believe in secrets.

Zach shrugged.

“Do you want us to leave?” Jaxon sighed. He’d hoped that Owen would help—he’d turned a blind eye to help before with Kade and Shelby—but maybe this was too much.

Owen’s gaze flicked from Jaxon to the others, his jaw muscles twitching. Owen was a good guy, but he saw the world in black and white. He was the guy people would cast on TV wearing the white hat, fighting the good fight, but the real world wasn’t so easily sorted.

“No, stay.” He glanced down at the floor. “What’s the situation then? Where are you at?”

Zach set his laptop on the portable island in the middle of the kitchen.

“Sit.” Jaxon pulled out a stool for Freya first before launching into the timeline for Owen. “Yuri sent Freya a picture of Aunt Liv around eight, but from the lighting in the picture, it was taken earlier. No demands or threats, just the picture.”

“He’s showing you he’s got what you want.” Owen’s frown deepened. “Who else knows?”

“I heard from Jaxon,” Zach said. “I got a text after that, a couple of the guys were at the bar when Erik realized Aunt Liv wasn’t around. They went looking, and eventually checked the tapes I guess.”

“Erik wouldn’t tell everyone, he’d keep it in our circle,” Owen said. “How’d the FBI find out?”

“They were monitoring Freya’s email.” Jaxon crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s...that’s what bothered me. The two women who came to question Freya about it. They didn’t care who Liv was, who she was to Freya, just that Yuri was making contact.”

“Like I said, their priority is getting Yuri.” Zach shook his head.

“You guys left, so now what? What’s your plan?” Owen asked.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Jaxon watched the detective. It was one thing to turn a blind eye, another to be part of it.

“You’ve just made me part of this, so let’s hear it.” Owen braced his hands on the island.

“We created a new email address for Freya and had her email Yuri, let him know that email was burned.” Jaxon gestured at the other man. “Zach did something that let us know he’s read it, but we haven’t had a reply.”

“Read receipt. We know it’s been delivered and read, but that’s it,” Zach said.

“Can you track it?” Owen asked.

“I tried, but his signal is being bounced around the country. If I had more time, better equipment, maybe?” Zach shrugged. “I’m guessing not, since the FBI is monitoring her email and they’d try the same thing I would.”

“Okay, so...what’s the plan? You do have a plan, right?” Owen directed his stare back at Jaxon.

Freya had her head down, exhaustion and stress wearing away at her.

“Wait for Yuri to make contact again. He thinks he’s dealing with just Freya, so we let her distract Yuri, we surprise him—”

“That’s never going to work,” Owen blurted.

“What else can we do? Do you have a better plan?”

“First, you’re going to need a bigger team. You can’t do this alone.”

That was what Jaxon was worried about—putting others in danger—but to save Liv and Michelle, they were going to need a few more guys.

The still hours of the night were Yuri’s favorite.

When he’d first made himself more than the errand boy, when he’d first tasted freedom, he’d sat up until everyone had passed out just so he could hear the world breathe a sigh of relief.

Yuri closed his eyes and inhaled.

Peace escaped him. It had ever since he’d bitten off more than he had a right to. This was a sign, a lesson to do what he was good at and nothing more.

“Hey, man?”

“Yes?” Yuri frowned and turned to face one of his thugs for hire.

“We were just wondering, are you paying in cash, or...?” The man tilted his head to the side.

Or what?

“The agreed upon arrangement was a quarter of the payment in cash beforehand—which you have received—and the remainder would be in digital currency.” Yuri ground his molars together. This was why he preferred working with his own people. He could train them, they knew how the system worked.

“Oh, okay. Just checking.” The man smiled too brightly.

Yuri didn’t want to know what the man was using. What any of them were on.

He’d hired five guys for this. When Shelby was rescued, there’d been a small team. When they came for Freya, there were four. By Yuri’s estimation, Freya’s friends were dealing with limited resources and people. It was a tossup between saving money and being too prepared.

Yuri checked his watch.

It was too much to hope Freya was stupid enough to come alone. Especially since she was more than likely aware that Michelle had begun her partnership with him willingly. Freya would have friends, and they would come hoping to free Michelle and Liv.

Too bad Yuri’s intention was to kill them all.

“All right, you know what to do, boys, right?” He turned on his heel and marched back to where his cohort of five armed men and Liv sat cooling their heels in the SUV.

“Yeah, we wait until the sedan pulls up with the girl. When we see your signal, we act all tough and shit. We got this.”

Yuri smiled.

Of course they did.

Freya and her friends had no idea what was coming.

Freya’s hands shook and she was going to be sick. It didn’t matter that Jaxon and his friends were out there, they weren’t in the car with her. Jaxon would not be standing next to her in a few moments.

A gleaming black SUV sat just ahead of her.

She swallowed.

The last thing she wanted to do was go back to Yuri, but she had to. For Liv. For her rotten sister. And for Jaxon.

He wanted to make it all okay, he wanted to put their lives back to rights, but she was beginning to wonder if that was possible. Until Yuri had his money, he wouldn’t leave them alone. So, she’d give him what he wanted. But on her terms.

She eased the car to a stop and glanced in the rearview mirror.

Buried in the shadows were six men and one woman. They were here for her and Liv. Because they believed this was possible.

The SUV flipped its lights at her, momentarily blinding her.

Freya blinked the spots away and got out.

She wanted to peer behind her, see where the others were, but she couldn’t. For their safety, she had to stick to the plan until the very last second.

The night air was cooler, with a bit of a bite. She wrapped her borrowed coat around herself a bit tighter and took a few steps forward. The passenger side doors of the SUV opened and two men got out. The dome light inside the truck fell on Liv’s face.

But where was Michelle?

The driver got out, too.

Three men, not one of them Yuri, and no sign of her sister.

Freya took a step back.

This wasn’t what they’d agreed to.

“Here.” The guy who’d been sitting shotgun stepped forward, a burner phone in hand. He went to a knee and skidded the phone toward her.

It stopped a half dozen feet short.

Freya eyed the men then the phone.

It began to ring.

Was this some sort of trap?

Probably, but what choice did she have?

The sound of the ringtone echoed off the buildings on either side of them.

If she didn’t answer it, she wouldn’t know what kind of bait and switch Yuri was pulling on her.

Freya darted forward, picked up the phone and retreated just as fast. She jabbed the green answer button and pressed it to her face.

“Where are you? What about my sister?”

“Hello to you, too, Freya. Long time no see. Can’t say I like you in sweatpants.”

Freya turned in a circle.

Yuri could see her.

“You didn’t come alone,” Yuri said.

“You didn’t say I had to.” Freya swallowed. What was he going to do to Jaxon and the others?

“It’s all right, I planned a little entertainment for them.”

Freya glanced at the SUV, then behind her. Was it her imagination, or was that a face in the darkness?

“Your friend Liv is in that car, but not your sister. You’ll have to come to me—alone—for her.”

“That’s not our deal,” Freya said.

“You should know,” Yuri said, speaking over her, “there’s a bomb under the SUV. Those idiots don’t know it, though. They’ve just been told to keep the woman in the truck.”

“What? Where are you?”

“Through the door on your right. Better hurry.”

The line went dead.

Freya whirled to face the direction she’d come. Jaxon and the others were there.

“There’s a bomb under the SUV,” she yelled. She turned back toward the men holding Liv. “There’s a bomb under that truck.”

The men stared at her, their gazes vacant.

Feet pounded the pavement behind her, while Yuri’s voice whispered in her ear.

He was out there with her sister.

“What do you mean, there’s a bomb?” Jaxon grasped her by the arm.

“Yuri knew you guys were there.” She pointed at the truck. Given Jaxon’s earlier story about a car bomb, she wasn’t as skeptical as she might have been. “There’s a bomb under that car.”

“Hey, you need to get out of there.” Jaxon jogged toward the SUV, hands up, the other guys at his back.

Freya wanted to pull Liv out herself.

The first of Yuri’s bodyguards stepped forward and threw a punch at Jaxon. Jaxon dodged the blow, but that seemed to signal the others.

She couldn’t worry about Liv. She had to focus on Michelle.

Freya turned, staring at the building on her right.

A rust-red door set into the brick stood partially open.

Time was getting away. She had to do something.

Freya sprinted for the door, and prayed that Jaxon forgave her. Someday.

“Hey, you need to get out of there.” Jaxon jogged toward the SUV, hands up.

He recognized one of the guys. He liked to pedal a few drugs out of his pockets at clubs. He’d been kicked out of a few.

“I don’t want any trouble, man.” Jaxon slowed to a stop. “There’s a bomb under that SUV.”

“Yeah, right, a bomb.”

“Ask the woman inside.”

The one he recognized stepped forward and dropped his shoulder back in a messy punch. Jaxon sidestepped the guy and shoved him forward, separating him from the rest. He saw a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye and spun, barely missing a surprise jab from behind.

A hard clang brought Jaxon’s chin up.

Where was Freya?

A fist connected to the back of Jaxon’s head. He staggered forward.

Freya. He had to find Freya.

The bomb was a diversion. Yuri wanted their attention on saving Liv so he could have Freya—and Michelle—to himself.

“Where are you going?” Kade hollered.

“To find Freya. Get out of here!”

Jaxon sprinted for the door and yanked it open.

Best case, the guys overpowered the hired guys, got Liv out of there, and the others followed.

Jaxon stepped into the darkened building. The sounds from the fight outside were distant.

He took a few more steps, peering around what seemed to be some sort of workshop. Heavy machinery created a warren of paths and no clear line of sight.

Did he call out for her? Their plan had hinged on the element of surprise, but they didn’t have it. Maybe they never had.

“Freya?”

Before he’d gotten her name out, the building shook and the windows shattered, raining glass down on him. Jaxon dropped to his knees, covering his head.

Freya braced her hands against the metal door. Dust and mystery bits fell around her.

A bomb.

Under the SUV.

Yuri hadn’t been joking.

“Took you long enough.” Yuri folded one hand over the other.

Freya glanced around. A security light chased the shadows away, revealing...nothing.

“Where’s Michelle?” She straightened, curling her hands into fists.

“I killed her. Sorry. Bit of a pain in the ass, your sister.” Yuri lifted his hand, the black, shiny gun aimed at her.

“She’s not dead.” Freya swallowed. “That’s the whole point, we’re worth more to you alive than dead.”

“Hate to break it to you, I only need one twinsie and let’s be honest, you’re much less of a pain in the ass than your sister. So now, come on.”

“No.” Freya took a step back. “You broke the agreement.”

“I never made one.”

“But you came here, you sent the pictures and said—”

“All I said was, if you want to see your friend and your sister alive, come see me. You came and saw me, and hopefully your friends were able to keep Liv alive. If they didn’t, not my problem. You, on the other hand, stand to lose a lot more, if I detonate the rest of the pipe bombs out there. That one in the car? Just a big fire cracker. These?” Yuri pulled out his phone. “These are a bit more lethal.”

“You’re lying.” Freya shook her head

Michelle wasn’t dead.

She couldn’t be.

“Let’s check one. Just for fun?” Yuri glanced at his phone.

“No!”

Freya’s stomach dropped, and she stared in horror at Yuri waving his finger over the screen like some sort of mad magician picking who lived and who died.

Jaxon rushed out of the shadows, hitting Yuri. The phone clattered to the ground. Outside, sirens blared. Yuri and Jaxon rolled, one getting the best of the other, the gun held aloft by both their hands.

Freya kicked the phone out of reach.

She didn’t dare get too close, not with the gun, but she couldn’t just stand there.

Jaxon shouted, Yuri yelled.

Everyone was fighting for her but her.

It was time that stopped.

She knelt, grabbing a piece of rebar, and stepped forward.

Jaxon kicked Yuri, and he rolled away, gun in hand.

Freya swung and the bar connected with his shoulder. The end raked up the side of his neck and face. Yuri cried out and dropped the gun. Jaxon jumped on Yuri, pinned him to the ground with his weight, and kicked the gun farther away.

“Help me get my belt off,” Jaxon said.

Freya didn’t ask questions. She reached around Jaxon’s waist, loosened the catch on his belt, and slid it free. He rammed his knee into Yuri’s back and cinched his hands together using the belt.

“Go—outside,” Jaxon said. “Get the cops, whoever is out there.”

“But—”

“Go!”

Freya didn’t want to leave him, but someone had to go get the cops. She had to warn them about the other bombs. See if the others had made it out okay.

She turned and sprinted back toward the door. The ground was covered with glass, making her footing treacherous. She jerked the door open and stopped.

The SUV was a twisted pile of metal.

The lights from the first responder vehicles cast ghastly shadows.

The others...

Behind her, a gun went off, the single blast so loud it might have been right next to her.

Jaxon.