I was chained to a chair on a private plane.

The men spoke Arabic, which I couldn’t understand.

I was dead quiet, keeping my eyes averted and trying to disappear. I didn’t want them to even know I was there. Now I was en route to an unknown destination, and the fear started to kick in. I was stuck on a plane, and there was no way Bones would be able to save me now. They could do whatever they wanted to me.

All I had was myself.

I truly believed Bones would save me. But he couldn’t stop the events that happened in between.

And I didn’t want to go through the same thing my mother went through…

The thought alone made me more afraid than I’d been in my entire life.

There were two guards watching me at all times. They all carried rifles, guns that were too big for their hands. They kept looking at me, like I would do something unexpected at any moment.

The man in charge sat up front, drinking with his men and speaking in the language I couldn’t understand. Whoever these men were, they were excessively wealthy and obviously powerful. They were able to board a private plane with dozens of weapons without anyone even glancing at them.

Who the hell were they?

I kept looking out the window, doing my best to remain calm. If Bones weren’t around, I believed my father would find a way to save me, but knowing Bones was out there gave me more comfort. He was capable and trained for this. On top of that, he loved me. He would never stop until I was rescued.

I believed in him with all my heart.

Based on the landscape around me, I figured out I was in Morocco. The famous bazaar with the gathering of thousands of people told me where I was. Bones had just been in Morocco for a hit, and it seemed like the most likely destination.

Bones mentioned he killed the target and was discovered by the son.

That must be the man who took me.

So this was all for revenge, not money.

But if they really wanted revenge, the best way to do that was to kill the person Bones loved most…which was me. And if they didn’t kill me, they would torture me. Worse, they would rape me.

I closed my eyes as I sat in the back seat of the car, doing my best to remain calm in the most terrifying position in my life. This was far worse than Knuckles, a single man who only wanted me for one thing. This was an entire organization of terrorists, all carrying enormous guns and enough ammunition to destroy an entire city.

I was just one person—who was handcuffed.

I hoped Bones was one step behind me. He’d probably figured out what was going on. And if the tracker was still active in my ankle, he would be able to trace me right to the spot I was in. As long as that was working, I would be saved.

It was only a matter of time.

They drove up into the Atlas Mountains and along the windy roads that hugged the cliff. Nighttime had descended, so visibility became even worse. We approached a three-story palace on the left, the white walls up leading to circular ceilings decorated with bronze and gold.

Once we arrived, I didn’t know what would happen.

I had to prepare for the worst.

They yanked me out of the car and dragged me through the entryway. The first room was three stories tall, the staircase wrapped around the three walls. There were enormous pots and elegant furniture right in the walkway, along with huge paintings that took up all the space on the walls.

If I weren’t so afraid, I would find the place beautiful.

The men spoke to each other in their language, glancing at me from time to time.

I wanted to say something, to demand my freedom, but my sassiness wouldn’t help me this time. The best thing to do was be quiet, to seem as unthreatening as possible. Bones was coming for me, so there was no point in irritating them.

The two men eventually escorted me up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. It had a single bed with nothing else in the room. It wasn’t elaborate like the rest of the palace, so I knew this room only served one purpose.

To house prisoners like me.

They guided me to the bed then handcuffed my hands to the metal bar at the top of the frame. They spoke to each other for a few minutes before they stepped out, closing the bedroom door.

It was the first time I’d been alone since they took me, and I immediately looked out the window that showed the mountainside. There were bars over the window, making it impossible to escape that way.

But it didn’t matter because I was secured to the metal bar above the bed.

All I could do was sit there—and pray Bones came fast.

I’d fallen asleep throughout the night, the quiet lulling me into a false sense of safety. I told myself to remain calm, that Bones would be there any moment. Instead of panicking for hours on end, sleeping was the best way to pass the time. There was no immediate danger, not while the bedroom door was closed.

But then I heard the lock click.

My eyes opened in the darkness, the moon shining a light through the window. I’d just been asleep, but since danger lurked around me, I was instantly awake. My eyes focused on the door and watched it move inward as one of the two men who were guarding the door came inside. His gun wasn’t with him this time.

That wasn’t good.

He shut the door behind him then slowly approached the bed.

His intentions were as obvious as words on a billboard. He’d come into my room in the middle of the night for one thing.

One thing he wouldn’t get. “Don’t.” I pulled my legs toward my body, my hands automatically yanking on the bar overheard even though escape was impossible.

He halted when he realized I was awake. He didn’t say a word before he started to undo his pants.

No.

I couldn’t let this happen.

I refused to let this happen.

“I’m warning you,” I whispered. “Don’t do this.”

Maybe he didn’t speak English, or he just didn’t care. He pushed his pants down along with his underwear, revealing a penis that was pathetic in comparison to Bones’s. Covered in dark hair, it was the most disgusting thing in the world.

“When I tell Bones what you did, he won’t stop with you.”

He halted, his dark eyes looking into mine.

“He’ll kill your wife. Your parents. Your kids. He’ll kill everyone—and I won’t stop him. You know what he’s capable of. He’s the biggest assassin in Europe, a man who’s killed more people than you’ve even met. If you do this, there’s no going back.”

Just when he seemed to be listening to me, he moved in again. He grabbed one of my legs so he could remove my jeans.

That was when I started to fight. I kicked him as hard as I could, hitting him right in the side.

He turned more aggressive, using his size to pin down my legs.

So much adrenaline. So much fear. “I’ll make a deal with you. Don’t do this, and when Bones comes, I’ll tell him not to kill you. I will protect you. He’ll kill everyone else in this palace just the way he killed your leader—but you’ll be the one to walk away. You’ll take the power. You’ll be the only one left standing.”

He kept his weight on my legs, but he stopped trying to remove my jeans.

I held his gaze, my heart racing so much that it hurt with every beat. “You know he’ll come for me. You know how vicious he will be. I will be the only person who can protect you. Spare me, and I’ll spare you.”

He stayed on top of me, his eyes locked on mine. An entire minute passed, and nothing but silent eye contact ensued. He deliberated to himself, obviously understanding every word I said.

Even now, Bones was protecting me. His power made lesser men falter, made them cower in fear.

The man moved back, pulling his weight off my legs. Then he pulled up his pants.

I almost started to cry because I was so relieved. Bones protected me. Even when he wasn’t in the room with me, he protected me. “You made the right decision. I give you my word that he won’t touch you when he gets here.”