By the time I realized my mistake, we were already surrounded by twenty Gorilla men. All of them wore a hard, merciless expression on their faces.

“Trang… what is the meaning of this?” I asked, turning to the only person I knew – the only person I could trust – or at least I’d thought so, anyway. I guess saving someone’s life meant nothing over here.

She grinned, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “I guess Americans really are as stupid as they look.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to figure out her angle. Why would she want to lure me out here all by myself? If her goal was to hurt Americans, why hadn’t she done something to sabotage our ship?

None of this was making any sense.

Suddenly, a few of the men rushed forward, grabbing Sidney and yanking her away from me. I lurched forward, throwing a few punches. “Let go of her!” I screamed.

Sidney bit one guy’s finger, causing him to groan in pain before he slapped her across the face.

“I swear to God, I’m going to kill you.” I struggled against my captors with all of my might, my rage overwhelming me to the point where it felt like my skin was on fire.

“Kirk!”

Desperate to get to Sidney, I rammed my elbow into someone’s face. His tooth scraped against my skin, drawing blood. With the tiny opening I had created, I swung my leg out, winding another man beside me. I was on a roll before I felt something prick the side of my neck.

The last thing I saw was Trang’s face hovering over my own, her dark eyes the epitome of betrayal.

* * *

When I came to, my hands were tied behind my back. I tugged at my restraints, which only made the chair I sat in rock back and forth.

“There’s no point in trying to escape,” a deep voice rang out from the darkness. “Because if you do, I’ll make sure to slice your girlfriend’s pretty little neck, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“Don’t you dare touch her–”

“Now, now. You are in no position to make demands, Mr. Houston.”

I growled. It was unnerving to speak to a man I couldn’t see, especially when he was threatening Sidney. “Come out and face me like a man.”

He laughed. The sound echoed through the cavernous room, making it seem like he was everywhere at once.

I ground my teeth in frustration, my heightened state of emotions making it hard for me to focus. Ever so softly, I could hear Sidney’s muffled cries.

I had to save her.

“You’re all the same,” I spat. “You hide behind the shadows because you’re afraid of fighting a fair fight. That’s why you ambushed me because if it was just the two of us, you know I’d win.”

He laughed again.

And then, silence.

All I could hear was the thumping of my own heart. I held my breath, listening for any signs of movement.

Thump, thump, thump. His footsteps sounded like thunderclaps as he approached. Soon enough, he entered the halo of light surrounding my chair. He was holding Sidney by the hair, a deadly-looking knife pressed into her neck.

“If I was as cowardly as you say I am, then I’d be here with a gun. I’d make quick work of you two, and we’d all be on our way. Or rather, I would be, and you’d both be dead.” He grinned, pressing the tip of the knife to Sidney’s neck with enough pressure that a thin line of red ran down.

“You bastard! Leave her out of this. What do you want with us anyway? Why did you have Trang lead us here?” I growled, rubbing my wrists together. If only I could get free, I would make this man regret ever laying a finger on Sidney.

“Trang, dear, would you come here?”

Obediently, Trang walked up to the man, allowing him to wrap his arm around her.

“Why, you… how could you? I saved you, and this is how you repay me?”

“Don’t you get it?” she asked, her voice full of malice and hatred. “It was all part of our plan.”

“What plan?”

The man smiled. “Oh, you don’t know, do you? Maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Van Nguyen.”

My eyes widened in realization. Van Nguyen was the leader of the Gorillas. The same man that Jason had tried to assassinate before he had gone missing. The man my team had been sent here to find.

“Now it makes sense, doesn’t it?” he asked, handing Sidney off to Trang before he walked over to me, pressing the knife to my bare chest. “Your brother was a good sniper, I’ll give him that, but he wasn’t very smart.”

I was tempted to headbutt this man, but doing so wouldn’t get me very far. If I wanted to make it out of this alive, I would need to keep my cool.

“He was supposed to kill me, but instead, he killed my brother.” He circled around me, pressing the blade to my neck. I tensed, knowing that if he made the mistake of cutting across my windpipe, he wouldn’t hit any major arteries, and I’d be less likely to bleed out.

Of course, looking at the curved knife this man was using, I doubted he was a stranger to Columbian Neckties. “And, as I like to say, an eye for an eye.”

“You… you killed my brother!”