“Ray, you told us this would be a simple snatch and grab,” a voice snarled, breaking through Aspen’s pain-filled fog.

A groan slipped past her parted lips while she fought to open her eyes. Confused, she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Her gaze roamed the area, and she found herself in what looked like a loading dock. She shifted her body, and a sharp pain zipped through her. Her hand shot out and immediately went to her thigh, but the pulsating pain wouldn’t allow her to touch it.

She cried out, clenching her eyes shut, letting out a deep breath. Her eyes fluttered open, and her attention landed on the figures standing next to her, deep in an argument.

Ray Acosta.

Her memories rushed forward.

She had been taken from her hospital room and was now in the hands of the one man she’d hoped she’d never see again.

“Look, your men were supposed to take care of her twice and failed both times. Don’t come bitching to me because you couldn’t kill her,” Ray snapped.

The other man pulled his gun from his holster. The men surrounding them paused, their gazes locked on them.

“Why don’t I just take care of her now?” The man stepped toward her with his gun raised to her head.

She froze in fear, her heart pounding.

“Are you an idiot?” Ray snapped.

Aspen couldn’t take her eyes off the gun. There had been so many things she’d wanted to say to her family, her friends, and Declan. Facing death again, she knew that if she ever got to speak to any of her loved ones, she would not let a day go by without telling them how much they meant to her and how much she loved them.

Her eyes widened, knowing deep in her heart that she loved Declan. The relationship between them had been quick and unconventional, but he was the one for her.

Without a doubt in her mind, she knew it to be true.

And staring into the barrel of the gun, she didn’t see herself ever being able to tell him.

“The hospital is on lockdown, and she’s going to be our ticket out of here.” Ray stepped forward, clearly unafraid of the man. The gun wavered before lowering to the ground.

Tears slipped from Aspen’s eyes before she knew it. Her heart raced, fearing the unknown.

“Well, since you’re so smart, you better get us out of here,” the man demanded, putting his weapon back in his holster.

The men surrounding them appeared to relax, but Aspen didn’t trust any of them.

Ray turned to her, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Welcome back,” Ray said. He walked over and stopped at the edge of her bed. “Thought we’d lost you for a second.”

“I need help, Ray,” she said, her voice cracking. She felt weak, and the pain was excruciating while her breaths were short and getting harder to take in. “Turn yourself in. Let me get help.”

“And go back to jail?” He snorted. “That won’t happen. Now let’s try this again. Get up.”

He raised a gun and pointed to her. Her vision blurred. She blinked the tears away. With a sigh, she bit her lip and slipped toward the edge of the bed.

“I’m no good to you if I die, Ray,” she whispered.

“I just need you to transfer that money to me, and then you can die for all I care.” He smirked.

“There’s cops outside,” the bearded man snapped from his position by the door. He moved away from it and stalked toward Ray.

“Don’t worry.” Ray waved a hand at the men. He turned toward Aspen with a sinister grin. “We all know how the police will work. They’ll call us and try to bargain with us. Once they do, we’ll play the hostage card and demand—”

The lights went out, casting them into darkness. Curses went around the room. The tension palpable before was now suffocating.

Aspen couldn’t see anything in front of her face, much less where Ray or any of the men were. The sounds of glass breaking filled the air. Even in the dark, Aspen could tell the men were scrambling around the room.

“They’re going to call and bargain with us, eh?” a man shouted.

“Let’s go, Aspen,” Ray snapped.

A firm hand gripped her arm and dragged her to the edge of the bed. She was surprised by the strength of the older man. He must have benefited from the gym while in prison.

If she wasn’t in so much pain, she’d roll her eyes. This time, he forced her up on her feet. She cried out and fell into his body.

There was no way she’d be able to walk.

“Just leave me,” she begged, gripping his shirt in her hand to try to hold on to him.

“Not a chance.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her along next to him.

Something pressed into her side, and she instantly knew what it was without needing to see it.

A gun.

“I’m going to slow you down. I can’t even walk,” she cried out.

“Shut up!” he hollered, digging the barrel of the gun deeper.

The sound of pounding thudded, and Aspen’s heart jumped. Wood splintering met her ears, and it was a noise she’d never thought she’d be glad to hear.

“CPD!” a deep voice shouted. “Freeze!”

Ray turned around and brought her body up in front of him. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The pain rippling through her body was unbearable. Her breaths were coming fast while her body trembled uncontrollably.

She jumped at the bang of a gun firing. Return fire could be heard with shouting. Men cried out in agony, followed by the sounds of bodies crumpling to the floor.

Aspen fought to stay conscious. There was no way she could afford to pass out now.

“Don’t shoot! I have the girl!” Ray shouted.

She whimpered as the gun was pressed farther into her side.

“And turn the damn lights on! I’m sure you wouldn’t want me accidentally shooting her.”

“Aspen?” a familiar voice called out.

Relief swamped her at the sound of Declan, rage suppressed in his voice. There was no doubt in her mind that he was pissed off.

“I’m here,” she replied, hating how weak she sounded.

“Are you injured?”

“That’s enough!” Ray cut them off. “Now I want to make my demands known.”

“You don’t get any demands,” a voice growled.

Aspen recognized that voice as well. It sounded just as pissed off as Declan’s had.

Mac.

“Really? I’m sure you’d think different after I put a bullet into Aspen,” Ray threatened. “She’s my ticket out of here.”

“Putting a bullet in her will ensure you’ll leave here in a body bag,” Declan snapped. “Your choice, Ray. Walk out of here in cuffs or wheel out of here with a fucking tag around your toe.”

Ray remained silent. Aspen held her breath. The lights flashed on, temporary blinding her while she squinted to allow her eyes to adjust. Ray’s grip tightened around her waist. He moved the gun and placed the barrel at her temple.

Aspen opened her eyes fully and took in the room before them. Each of the men who had sided with Ray was laid out on the floor, writhing around in pain. A few were on their stomachs with their hands tied behind them. But what caught her eye was the sight of the SWAT team in their black fatigues with their weapons trained on them. Some of the men were kneeling near the other thugs on the floor while others stood with their murderous gazes trained on Ray.

One figure stood out. One she was intimately familiar with. She’d never seen a more beautiful sight in her life.

Declan.

“Think, Ray,” another voice spoke. This one was calmer than Declan and Mac.

If she remembered right, it was Ashton, the one who had come to the house with Mac. “We don’t want anyone else getting injured. Let’s do this in a civilized manner. Hand us the girl so she can get medical attention. We can all walk out of here.”

“I’m good as dead returning to prison,” Ray yelled. The barrel of the gun pressed harder against her temple. “There is no way I’ll be returning to prison. I’ll be dead before the doors even shut. She comes with me. You’re going to let us—”

“Not an option,” Declan growled.

“Then you leave me no choice.” Ray barked a sinister laugh. “Her death will be on your hands. This is the last time I’ll say it. Let us both go, and you can get her later after she transfers her offshore account money to me so I can disappear forever.”

“If it’s money you need,” Ashton began but was cut off by Ray.

“Let me guess, you will provide it? What, do you think I’m stupid? I know how you cops work. No, Aspen hid enough money to allow me to disappear and live out the rest of my days.”

“I’m sure the feds will offer protection,” Ashton replied.

The SWAT team shifted, but their guns never wavered.

“We can’t let you leave here with the hostage. She needs medical attention now. Let’s just get out of here safely together, and we’ll work something out.”

“The feds? I bought them off and found where Aspen is. That’s easy as hell. I’ll be found in no time under the protection of the feds,” Ray snorted.

He removed the gun from her head, and Aspen closed her eyes, not knowing what to expect.

“There are always other choices.”

Aspen braced herself. Time appeared to slow. Shouts could be heard, and the sound of a gun firing barked near her.

Her body jerked from the close fire of Ray’s weapon. Ray’s hand slid off her body as his crashed to the floor behind her. Without the help of him holding her up, her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor. She groaned, turned over, and glanced back at Ray, finding a pool of blood underneath his head.

Footsteps sounded towards them. She blinked, trying to fight the darkness from reclaiming her.

“Aspen!” Declan flew to her side and rolled her over.

She lost sight of Ray as people surrounded him.

“Baby, are you all right?” he asked. He gripped her chin and brought her face towards him. His eyes, full of worry, gazed down on her. “Aspen. Can you hear me?”

She reached up a shaky hand to his face and cupped his cheek. She closed her eyes and whispered the three words she never thought she’d get to say to him.

“I love you.”

Having said them, she allowed the darkness to take her.