This was a risky move. A very risky move. But it was the only move I had.

I kept my head low and my breathing shallow. I needed them to believe I was unconscious – that I wasn’t a threat. Only then would they bring me to that coward.

Behind me, I could hear Amelia’s protests. A part of me wanted to screw the whole plan, take her into my arms, and run far, far away. But, now that I was in the lion’s den, I wouldn’t leave without his pelt.

The guards plopped me into a hard, wooden chair. Seconds later, they were tying my wrists behind my back. Luckily, they were sloppy about it. It would be a cinch to get out of them. They didn’t even bother to tie down my ankles. I nearly grinned at their incompetence. The good thing about fighting bad guys is that they were always too smug to be cautious.

“Bring her over here.” Rob’s voice broke the silence.

“Don’t touch me!”

My fingers clenched into fists. The thought of his hands all over her nearly made me sick.

“Wake him.”

I held my breath and steeled my abdomen, preparing myself for a blow. It came in the form of a slap. My cheek burned, and my neck cracked. Someone slapped me again, and again, and again. I could already taste blood in my mouth.

“Stop it! You’re hurting him!” Amelia shouted.

Thud.

My eyes flew open to see Amelia sprawled across his desk, holding her cheek.

“I knew he was faking it.” Rob walked up to me and grabbed me by the hair, pulling my head back so that I was forced to look up at him. “Did you take me for a fool?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t help myself.

His eyes darkened. “Do you really think you’re going to make it out of this alive?” He circled around me like a predator about to pounce on his prey. “I have you trapped. Not only are there guards at every exit, but I have the world’s best hitman working for me.”

“You’re a coward, you know that? If you were a real man, you’d take care of me yourself. Instead, you hide behind hired men,” I snarled. “Because you know that if it was just the two of us, I’d make quick work of you. If it weren’t for Amelia’s kindness, you’d have a broken arm right about now. And that hitman of yours, mind telling me why he missed twice?”

The man who had taken Amelia to dance, walked up to me, a revolver in his hand. It sparkled in the overhead light, the silencer making the barrel longer and more intimidating. He pressed it against my temple, his hand on the trigger. “Do you think I would miss now?” he whispered. “All I need is the word, and your brains will be splattered all over these walls.”

“You’re even more of a coward than he is. Can’t think for yourself, so you live on orders.”

He growled, slamming the butt of his gun into the side of my head.

Stars circled my vision as the room blurred into a swirl of colors. My chair rocked on its back legs before tilting forward. The chair collided with the ground, breaking into pieces. I took my chance.

With a jagged piece of wood in my hand, I got to my feet and swung as hard as I could, clipping John off his feet. He fell with a thud, his gun skittering across the room.

Rob ran for it, but I was quicker, tackling him to the ground and hitting him right in the face.

He rammed his knee into my gut, throwing me off his body.

I landed on a glass table that shattered underneath my weight. Rob was on top of me, driving the shards of glass into my back. I groaned in pain, rolling us over, my hands around his neck, squeezing hard.

Two of the guards grabbed me by the shirt, picking me off my feet.

I struggled as hard as I could until my shirt ripped right off my body. I whipped around, prepared to fight the duo, but they were twice my size. I was now surrounded on all four sides.

The guards charged forward like a couple of bulls.

In the nick of time, I ducked to the left, grabbing Rob by the waist and swinging him in the direction of the giants. They skidded to a halt, but it was too late. Their feet slid against the marble floor, unable to find traction. In perfect unison, their heads slammed into the solid oak desk.

They crumbled to the ground.

Two down, two to go.

But when I turned around, John had Amelia in his arms, his gun pressed against the side of her neck. “Give yourself up, or I’ll shoot her. She’ll choke on her own blood, and it’ll be a slow and painful death, I’ll promise you that. Almost as painful as your sister’s. Her eyes were bugging out of her head as she clawed at her throat, trying to breathe. I enjoyed the sight of her struggling, her little boy sound asleep in his bedroom.” He grinned like a madman.

“Don’t touch her,” Rob snapped. “You kill her, and I won’t pay you a dime.”

“You think that’s what I’m after?” His eyes had a deranged look to them.

I knew I was working with a ticking time bomb.

Suddenly, Amelia bit down on his wrist as hard as she could.

John flinched, his gun going off. The bullet tore through the curtains.

I flew forward, ramming into him and colliding with the wall. He dropped his gun for the second time.

“Not so strong now, are you?” I taunted before I smashed my head against his.

He blinked, disoriented.

I grabbed his hair and slammed him into the wall over and over again, my rage consuming me. How dare he threaten the woman I love?!

When my rage finally subsided, I let go, watching his body slide to the ground. I didn’t know whether or not he was dead, and frankly, I didn’t care.

I straightened out, prepared to face Mr. Robison when I felt the cold barrel of a gun on the back of my head.