“That’s the place,” Max said, pointing at an abandoned warehouse in the distance. He seemed cool. When Jackson and I showed up at the office, demanding he work his magic and try and locate Cara using her cell phone GPS, he did it, no questions asked. “Do we know what to expect?”

“Braiden.” Jackson flicked his head for me to get him up to speed.

I shuffled forward. “Levi Shaughnessy is one crazy son of a bitch. He’ll be packing and have backup.” The guy was unhinged, but he didn’t run alone. People like him rarely did. They needed to feel powerful. Besides, I’d been that guy once.

“We carrying?” Max shot Jackson a look, and for the first time, I saw a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. But when Jackson shook his head and said, “You’re done here. Wait out here. If things go south, call the police,” Max’s eyes narrowed, and he grimaced, clearly unhappy at being sidelined.

“Pierce,” I protested, fury boiling my blood. The fucking cops? If they turned up and stormed the warehouse, things would go to shit quick, and Cara could be caught in the crossfire.

“You know that’s the wrong call,” Max said, catching my eye through the rearview even though his words were for Jackson. “We can neutralize any threat quicker than the cops can.”

Any threat? Were they for real? That crazy son of a bitch had Cara in there somewhere; that was threat enough in my book.

“Max,” Jackson warned as the Jeep rolled to a stop alongside the building. There was no sign of anyone. No cars, people, nothing.

“Fine, fine.” He held up his hands. “I’ll wait here.”

Jackson nodded and climbed out. I followed with Max not far behind. He faced us both and said, “We get in, get Cara, and get out. Any sign of trouble and you,”—he pointed at Max—“call the cops. Got it?”

Max nodded, but I could see he wasn’t happy about the plan. I couldn’t care less; all I wanted was to get to Cara. I set off after Jackson as he moved toward the warehouse. Max’s intel on the place didn’t extend much further than it was an old packing warehouse. Time was against us, so recon wasn’t an option. The plan—if you could call it that—was to get in and get out without alerting anyone.

“You good?” Jackson asked me as we slipped into an unlocked side door.

I nodded, but it was a lie. I wouldn’t be okay until Shaughnessy was far, far away from Cara. She was my main concern—my only concern. The rest didn’t matter.

“Hey, hey.” Jackson’s arm came out in front of me. “No heroics, okay? We get in, get Cara, and get out. Let the authorities deal with the rest.”

That was bullshit. We both knew the authorities would be too late. Shaughnessy hadn’t invited me out here to reminisce about our time at Oregon State; he was out for blood. But I was ready to pay my dues. As long as Cara and Jackson walked away from this, I could deal.

“I’m good,” I said, inching farther into the warehouse. A dimly lit hallway gave way to a larger room. Empty crates littered the floor, and we worked to find a clear route through them.

The place seemed deserted. Jackson shined his flashlight at the two doors on the opposite wall. “What’s behind door A?” He brushed past me and yanked it open. “Storage room.”

I tested the second handle, and it opened to another hallway. “This place is like a maze,” I grumbled. So much for getting in and getting out. Max had tried his hardest to find the blueprints for the place, but he’d come up empty, so we were working blind.

We moved in silence, using hand signals and eye contact to maneuver through the hallways, and I instantly knew when Jackson heard something. His body went rigid beside me. “Did you hear that?” He stopped, and my heart catapulted into my throat.

“What?”

“Listen.”

A gust of wind howled through the warehouse, causing my hairs to stand on end, and then I heard it. The faint sounds of rustling. “What is that?” I said, moving quietly down the hallway toward the sound.

“Rats?”

That was one big fucking rat.

“No, it’s ...” I took off, my pulse ratcheting. My feet ground to a halt at the door at the end of the long passageway, and I pressed an ear up against the steel.

“Are you trying to get caught?” Jackson came up beside me, his breath ragged. “Is that...”

I hauled myself against the door. It gave way under my weight, and I stumbled into the room.

“Braiden? Thank god,” Cara cried, and I rushed to her, dropping to my knees. My fingers worked her bindings while my lips sought hers. “I’m here, I’m here.”

I didn’t know who I was reassuring more—Cara or myself. There wasn’t time to think about how easy it had been to find her or how lucky we were that no one was around. Because if there had been, I would’ve heard the footsteps in the hallway. I would’ve noticed the shadow move into the room ... would have barked a warning to Jackson before I heard the click of the safety catch.

“Don’t. Move.”

Slowly lifting my head, I met Jackson’s grim expression. He inched his hands up and walked toward me, and I saw the gun pointed at the base of his skull. Cara gasped and a low growl formed in my throat. This was all my fault. I was foolish enough to think that coming here would wipe my slate clean, but guys like me didn’t get a second shot at doing things right. Guys like me poisoned everything around them and got the people they cared about hurt.

“It’s me you want, Shaughnessy,” I said with conviction. Rising to my feet, I couldn’t bring myself to look at Cara. I didn’t want to see the fear in her eyes when the realization who I was hit her. “Didn’t think I’d ever see your face again.”

Shaughnessy swiped the back of his free hand across his face, revealing a sinister smirk. “Well, well, if it isn’t the infamous Braiden Donohue. When I heard you were living it up in the Sunshine State, the opportunity to come pay you a visit was just too tempting. I’ve been waiting to get a second shot at you.”

Holding out my arms with a shrug, I said, “Here I am. Come and take your best shot.”

The last I heard, Shaughnessy was serving extra time for coming at me inside, but I knew better than anyone that things could change. And it didn’t matter how he’d gotten out. He was here now, out for blood.

My blood.

“Ah, ah, ah, all in good time. Time for a little fun first.” He reached out for Jackson’s shoulder and shoved him forward between us. I glanced around the room, looking for something—anything—that I could use to distract him or kick his ass but found nothing.

Jackson caught my eye and shook his head discreetly. Don’t do anything rash. I understood his message, but I couldn’t do nothing. Doing nothing would end badly for all of us.

“Let them go. I’m here. You want me.”

His eyes blazed with fury, and for a second, I thought I had him where I needed him. But in a flash, he’d slammed the butt of the gun into Jackson’s head, and I watched as he dropped to the ground in a lifeless heap. Cara shrieked behind me, and I ground my teeth together, itching to get to Shaughnessy, but the gun pointed right at me paralyzed me to the spot.

“Time to get this show on the road then. Let’s go.” He waved the gun toward the door but quickly snapped it back on me.

I looked back at Cara, the storm building in me. Whatever awaited me through that door didn’t matter. I just wanted her safe. I wanted her as far away from here as possible, but right now, what choice did I have? Tearing my gaze from her, I trained my eyes back on Shaughnessy.

“Lead the way,” I said. The quicker we got this over with, the better.

JACKSON

“Ow.” I probed the back of my head. It felt as if my brain was crashing against my skull.

“Jackson, are you okay?”

Rolling onto my back, I managed to pull myself into a sitting position, testing my eyesight. Things were a little blurry, but I could see. Just about.

“Cara?” I blinked her into focus. “Where’s Braiden?”

Her eyes glistened with tears. “That guy took him.”

I searched the room for an exit. My hands were bound sloppily together in front of me. With enough time and force, I could probably work them free when the stars in my eyes faded.

“How long have I been out?”

“About twenty minutes.”

I did the math. We’d been in the warehouse about thirty minutes. Max wouldn’t give us much longer before he came looking ... or stuck to the plan and called the cops. But I didn’t expect him to play by the rules. It was one reason I’d hired him. He’d risk coming in himself before calling for backup.

“We have to find a way out of here.”

Eyes clenched together, I tried to think, but the door flew open. Braiden stumbled into the room, blood dripping from his nose and a nasty cut above his eye. Cara sucked in a sharp breath and whimpered. I locked eyes with him, sending him a silent message, and he nodded, righting himself.

“Playtime’s almost over,” Shaughnessy drawled, his eyes landing on Cara. Braiden growled, but it rolled off him.

“Don’t worry, beautiful,” he addressed Cara. “When we’re done with him, you won’t even recognize him.”

She gasped, but Braiden stood poised, every muscle in his neck tense, pulsating with anger.

“What’s it going to be?” He addressed the room, but it was a question for Braiden. I could tell by the way that his whole body went rigid. Whatever was going down was between the two of them, but Braiden remained tight-lipped, stealing glances at Cara.

“Fine. Have it your way.” Shaughnessy cocked the gun at Braiden and grabbed him roughly. “Everyone breaks eventually. We’ll just have to get more creative.”

I watched as they disappeared from the room, a million thoughts running through my mind and none of them good.

“Do something. You have to do something.” Cara shuffled frantically, fighting against her bindings. My eyes connected with hers, and her voice cracked. “You have to do something.”

“Help’s coming.”

“Is it? Because you saw Braiden’s face. They’re hurting him.”

“They’re?”

“Yes, that guy and the other one.”

“Other one? There’s more?” It made sense, but where were they? Why hadn’t they shown themselves?

“I heard him. That idiot isn’t running the show; it’s the other one.”

My head whipped around to the door. Levi was just the puppet?

“Wha- what is it?”

I dragged a hand through my hair and struggled to my feet, my bound hands making it difficult to find my balance. Eventually, I reached the door. It was locked, of course, but I yanked anyway. “Did you get a look at him?”

“No. Jackson, what is it?”

“I don’t like it.” I tried the door again, my eyes searching the room for something to force it open. We’d planned for Levi and a few of his guys, but if someone else was calling the shots, the situation was more volatile than I thought.

We needed to get the hell out of here.