I flinched as she ended the call. “I’m gonna pay for that.”

I knew she was going to be mad but I couldn’t hide things from her. It just didn’t feel right. We were stronger together than we were apart. Pulling up to my apartment, I was thankful to see Kane already waiting with the elevator door held. I grabbed Shannon and jogged to the doors as we rode up to my floor. He acted as a lookout as I snuck her into my apartment. She was light as a feather, a concern that I tucked away into the corner of my mind.

“How’s she doing?” he asked.

“About the same as two hours ago when we left. Are you sure you didn’t give her too much?”

Kane shrugged. “I dated a nurse a few weeks back. We are still on good terms. She gave Collins the slip a few years back, so she was thrilled to help. Got the dosage from her.”

In thirty more seconds, I would have slapped him across the head, but Shannon started to stir on the couch. Walking swiftly to her side, I knelt to check on her and make sure that she was still tied up well. I hated to see her like that, but I knew it was for her own good. The last thing I needed was a neighbor calling the cops on me.

“Mmm,” she groaned. “Where am I?” Her eyes grew wide. “I know you.”

I sighed. “Yeah, we met back at the house, remember?”

Shannon shook her head. “No, from before then. Who are you? Why did you take me away from Collins?”

I could see the panic growing in her eyes. The fleeting moment of joy I’d had was gone in an instant. I took the thick cloth that had been covering her mouth and put it back on. Her eyes grew wider as the fear started to spread. Every second she suffered was breaking my heart.

“Shannon, I brought your art supplies with us. I want to untie you so we can talk. I promise we won’t hurt you, but you must stay quiet. Do you understand?”

She looked from me and back to Kane, holding his gaze for a second before slowly nodding her head. I let out a small victorious sigh and slowly untied the cloth again. “You remember me from before. What about him?”

Her eyes softened as she looked at Kane. “Yeah, you’ve always been nice to me. Not like the others.” The soft curves of her eyes turned hard, then fearful. “I don’t want to think about that. You said if I was good, I could draw. I want to draw now.”

“Okay,” I quickly said as I turned to Kane. He grabbed the supplies we’d taken from Collins’s hideout along with a few things I had him pick up along the way. He set everything out on the low table in front of the couch as I quickly untied her bonds and stepped away. The second she picked up the pencil, everything else around her faded away. Kane and I watched her for a few minutes before retreating to the kitchen. It was obvious at that point that she would be sedate as long as she was drawing.

“This is going to take some time,” he whispered.

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Jesus, this is just one more thing we have to deal with.”

“Don’t worry, you can trust me with her. I know you have other things going on.”

I looked at Kane. “You would do that?”

He shrugged. “After everything that you have done for me, it’s the least I can do. Plus, she seems to trust me. I want to get her back. She was always one of the good ones.”

There was no doubt in my mind that I believed him. There was a look, even through the fog of her eyes, that I could see when Shannon looked at Kane. The brother in me didn’t like it, but the leader inside me knew I could place that trust in him. I needed to figure out a way to deal with Collins before everything got out of control.

“Did you find anything out about Collins?”

Kane nodded. “There is a girl in Morgan County who wants to talk to you. It sounds like she has dirt on Collins that might be what you need to take to the elders.”

“Shit,” I muttered. “Morgan county is a day’s drive from here. I didn’t want to be away that long.”

“Rosa?” he asked knowingly. “Don’t worry, you’ve got men watching her, and I’ll make sure you know if anything looks even a little off.”

“Thanks,” I said, clapping him on the back. “I’m heading out. I don’t want to waste any more time than I have to.”

“Go get them. I’ve got your back.”

I shook his hand and headed out the door, looking for a way to save everyone once again.

* * *

“Nova Sherwood?” I asked cautiously.

The young Irish girl shook her head. She couldn’t have been older than twenty, but the fear of men was evident in her eyes. Fury at once bubbled up to the surface. It didn’t take a psychiatrist to know that somewhere along the line, a man had taken advantage of her.

“Hey, I’m not here to hurt you, okay?” I stammered. “I’m a friend of Kane’s. He sent me down here to talk with Nova. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

I heard footsteps coming from inside the house and the young woman stepped back. A large Hispanic woman stepped forward. She was the opposite of the frail girl. I could tell with one look that no Irishman, or any man in general, for that matter, would ever cross her.

“I’m Nova. Who the hell are you?”

“Peyton. Kane said I needed to come talk to you about Collins.”

The girl sucked in a sharp breath and Nova quickly shot a stern glare in her direction. “Callie, you go and get us some tea now. We’ll be right here on the porch. And don’t go making one of the new girls do it neither! Tastes like shit.”

The woman squeezed past me and sat in one of the two worn folding chairs on the small porch. I took the other one and held out my hand. When she didn’t take it, I carefully put it back down.

“So, you’re the one looking to bring down that little prick?”

I grinned. “That would be me, yes.”

“Bet you’ve got one hell of a story behind a bullheaded move like that.”

“Love, loss, the whole nine yards. To be honest, its one hell of a story, but I’ve got a short deadline and a lot to lose if I don’t act fast.”

She tapped her foot and cocked her head. “You look awfully familiar. How long you been one of Collins’s men?”

“Long time until now.”

“So, it’s a girl you’re doing this for then?”

I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t going to get out of a long conversation with her and it was infuriating. “Yes, her name is Rosa. Collins sent me to kill her, but I can’t do it.”

“Well now, Collins only ever wanted one woman hunted down, and her name wasn’t no Rosa.”

My eyes flickered to her and a knowing smile crossed her face. “Now, that explains all of this nonsense.”

“Please, I just want this to end. Now are you going to help me or not? I am wasting time down here. Time that I could spend looking for another option.”

The door behind me opened and the quiet woman scurried out, setting down two cups full of iced tea. She started to walk away but Nova grabbed her arm. The girl jumped but didn’t resist.

“Tilly, I think it’s time you told someone what happened to you.”

Her eyes grew wide with fear as she shook her head. “No, Miss Sherwood. He will kill me. I don’t want to do it.”

“Don’t be silly, you twit!” Nova hissed. “You know damn well you are safe out here. I never let any of my girls get hurt. This was your own damn fault. I warned you, and now you’re gonna help get the son of a bitch who did this taken care of!”

“Easy now, old gal,” I said in a low voice. “I don’t want to bring up anything that ought not to be. I’ve got a sister who’s gone through hell and back. I don’t want to see another girl go through that again.”

Tilly gazed up at me. “Your sister knows Collins?”

I nodded my head. “I’m afraid she does. She just barely made it out. I don’t know if she is ever going to be the same because of it. I’m trying to make that son of a bitch pay for what he has done.”

Tilly sucked in a breath, puffing out her chest and looking less like the frail creature I’d met just moments before. “If it will bring him down, then I will tell you everything I know.”