Flynn didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. He’d give anything for an idea—any idea—that would get him inside that copper mine without Eva. But Snake had agreed, almost too eagerly, to bring Flynn into the inner circle in exchange for Eva.

Now all that was left was to drive to the mine.

Eva was so pale that each individual freckle stood out like a scar on the porcelain of her face.

“Eva--"

“No. There’s no other way.” She brushed by him in the doorway and ran down the steps.

Flynn was a broken man. How could he allow her to go into danger?

How could he not?

They had a twenty-minute drive to the mine. Surely, please, gods, he could think of something—anything—in twenty minutes. He swallowed, hard, and then started down the steps after her.

“Flynn,” she said, but her voice sounded wrong; terrified.

He realized he’d been a fool. They’d been ambushed.

He leapt over the side of the railing and landed just in front of Eva, between her and the threats ranged around them. Monkey, another thug, and Zach were all there.

“Snake?” he asked.

“No, I don’t know who that is,” Eva said, her voice shaking.

“I’m Rock, pretty lady,” the thug said, showing them his blackened teeth.

Flynn flicked a contemptuous look at the moron. “As in ‘dumb as a’?”

It took Rock a minute, but then he snarled and started forward, exactly as Flynn had hoped. Fights were always easier when you divided and conquered.

“Cut it out, Rock,” Monkey ordered. “Safety in numbers. All right, loser. Hand over the woman. You’re outnumbered.”

Flynn smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. Monkey flinched at the sight of it.

"Not a chance, you bunch of losers. I said I'd give her to Snake, and only Snake. We had a deal. I get patched into the Dark Angels, and he gets the woman." Flynn didn’t have to try to fake the rage in his voice. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life, calling Eva "the woman" less than an hour after she’d been coming apart in his arms.

He had to save her. How could even be doing this to her? What kind of monster was he?

But Kyla's face, contorted in agony, flashed into his mind. They just had to rescue those girls, take down Snake and Narco, and get out alive. Then they’d have the rest of their lives to learn everything about each other. To spend night after night after night in each other's arms.

He forced his face to an expressionless mask, grabbing Eva too hard by the arm. He shoved her further behind him. "If you want her, come and get her."

"Sure about that?" Monkey taunted him. "The odds aren't good."

Flynn shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. You should've brought more men."

With that, the Dark Angels attacked. Monkey and Rock closed on Flynn, and Zach circled behind him to catch Eva, who'd been trying to make a break for it and run to her car.

He thought – he hoped – that Zach really was on his side. If so, Zach was the best one to capture Eva.

Just as he thought it, she screamed behind him. When he whipped his head to the left to see what was happening, Rock smashed his massive fist into the side of Flynn’s face. Flynn didn't go down, not all the way, but he staggered back several steps and bounced off the side of the garage wall.

Okay, that was gonna leave a mark.

"You can still back down, asshole, but this is your last chance." Monkey said dancing around just out of Flynn's reach and tossing a blade from hand to hand. Who knew if the idiot actually knew how to use one? Better to assume he did.

Eva screamed again, and the sound galvanized Flynn into action, in spite of the ringing in his skull. Just in time, too. Rock pulled a pistol from his side holster and Flynn figured that meant his “last chance" was officially over. He launched himself at Rock, calling to the power of his water magic to propel him forward with superhuman speed. He knocked the gun out of Rock’s hand so hard he heard the man’s wrist bone crack. The gun went flying.

Flynn did a somersault over Rock’s head, hit the ground, and bounced back up into a spinning kick that took the man just under his left ear. That was the end of Rock.

He turned to Monkey, who was aiming a pistol directly at him.

"Enough fun and games,” Monkey snarled. “You're dead now, and I bet Snake rewards me by letting me have some fun with your woman before he kills her."

"Yeah, I don't think so,” said a new voice from behind Flynn. "Down, now."

It was Jake, of course. Somehow, he must've gotten away from the Dark Angels for long enough to follow Monkey to Eva's place.

Flynn hit the ground, and an ice spear shot through the air exactly where he’d been standing and struck Monkey in the shoulder, causing the pistol shot to go wide. Before he could take aim again, Flynn was up off the ground and on him, smashing his fist into the man’s face with every ounce of power he had. Monkey flew backward through the air about six feet and landed, hard, and his gun flew off through the air.

Flynn turned and started for Eva. She was perfectly fine, though, standing next to Zach and rubbing her arm where Flynn had grabbed her too hard. He felt an overwhelming wave of shame that nearly knocked him to his knees.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I had to put on an act. They wouldn't believe I was keeping you if I–"

But Eva wasn't listening. She ran across the distance between them and jumped into his arms. "I thought you were dead. I thought they were going to shoot you, and I would have to watch you die right in front of my eyes. Never, ever do that to me again."

Flynn held on as tight as he could until Eva raised her head and smiled. "I do still have to breathe, big guy."

He stopped crushing her in his embrace, but kept his arm around her waist and turned to face Zach, who’d claimed to be an undercover operative. Evidently it had been the truth. Jake was securing Monkey and Rock with zip ties and gags, which meant they must have both survived. Too bad.

"Okay, Zach, if that's really your name, what's the deal?"

Zach's eyes narrowed when he heard Flynn's harsh tone. "Yes, he said shortly. "Zach is my name. Zachary Ford, Special Agent, FBI, P-Ops division. I've been undercover with the Dark Angels for months, and they finally let me into the inner circle today. I think that's only because they needed more manpower for their nasty rites.”

He scanned the group. “Bottom line: I know where the girls are."

"They’re inside the copper mine," Eva said. "We told you last night. The copper masks any magic being used, and what better place to hide people than in what's basically a hole in the ground?"

Zach shot an admiring glance at Eva, and Flynn contemplated the wisdom of smashing a federal agent into the side of the building.

Maybe later.

"Perhaps you should join my team, Ms. Calandar, because it took us a while to come to see that one. And, yes, your tip last night helped us find the right place. It's not the mine in use, either. That would be too easy."

"Of course. It's one of the old abandoned mines. One that's played out, or at least people thought it was played out," Flynn said, groaning. "Do you know where it is?"

"He had help," an arrogant voice drawled from above their heads.

Flynn looked up to see Griffin materialize from mist and float gently to the ground. When he landed, he was already walking toward them.

"That's really cool," Eva said, and Griffin smiled at her.

Flynn hadn’t know the mage knew how to smile that widely. He glared at Griffin and made a growling noise in his throat. Maybe he could do a twofer and smash the FBI agent’s head against the mage’s.

He’d let Jake live. Jake was helpful.

"When are we going?" Everybody looked at Eva, who'd asked the question in a quiet but steady voice. “We know where they are. You have me. Zach's on the inside. It's time to go get those girls."

Flynn thought he'd never been more in awe of any person—man or woman—ever in his life than he was of Eva and her incredible courage.

"We go now," Zach said, his face grim. “They're planning to start some of what they call the ‘lesser sacrifices’ an hour from now. They've kept the girls safe and sequestered until now. Innocents always makes the best sacrifices, don't you know?" Zach turned his head and spit on the ground as if trying to get a foul taste out of his mouth.

Considering the fact that the agent had been undercover with the Dark Angels for more than half a year, Flynn didn't doubt it.

“The sooner we get there, the sooner we get them out before they're harmed. Narco promised he'd let some of his minions have some fun," Jake said, looking sick.

Flynn glanced at the thugs on the ground. "First, I propose we get rid of these two. And then Zach, you can say you asked Jake to come along for backup just in case, and it was a good thing because I shot Rock and Monkey, and they're dead. You get all the credit for bringing us in. I have a feeling that, at this point, Snake will be happy to sacrifice me, too."

“My team will pick up these two,” Zach said. “They’re on the way. And yes, I agree that’s the best plan, now.”

"But it’s a different plan," Eva said staring at him. "You'll have to be in restraints. How can you fight? How can you help those girls?"

Jake smiled at her and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of one of the many pockets on the inside of his ratty-looking trench coat. "Special cuffs," he said, grinning. "Watch."

He snapped one of the cuffs on Flynn's left wrist and then gave the chain a quick yank. The cuff, which was made of solid steel and looked extremely sturdy, snapped right open.

Zach's eyes narrowed. "Where did you get those? Those would even fool me, and I've been at this for a long time."

"I have my ways," Jake said.

"Let's talk about handcuffs later. Let's go get those girls right now," Eva said impatiently. “I’m not sure how much longer I can be brave.”