“Hang on, sweetheart.” He squatted in front of her. Shoving his gun into his waistband, he pulled out the knife he’d used before. “I’m going to cut you loose, and then I’ll get the tape.”
His blood boiled at the sight of her raw and bloody wrists. The jagged cuts looked to be infected, which only added to the rage threatening to overpower him. But first things first.
Cut her loose, get her out, kill Ortiz and every other asshole who helped him.
In. That. Order.
“There.” His blade sliced through the last of the ropes. “Now the tape. It’s probably going to sting, but it’s better if I rip it off quick.”
Before he could lift his hand to her, Jenna was yanking the silver strip from her lips herself.
“You can’t be here!” Her voice came out gravelly and rough. “You have to leave!”
“We will, baby. I’m going to get you out of here right now.”
He stood straight and carefully pulled her to her feet. She wobbled a bit, but he held on tight. Refusing to let her fall.
“No.” Jenna shook her head. “You don’t understand. He’s going to kill you. You have to leave me here andgo!’
She was damn near hysterical, and Adrian’s heart ripped in two hearing her beg him to leave her behind to save himself.
Not in a million fucking years.
“Can you walk?” he asked, his eyes scanning the rest of her dirty and disheveled frame.
He knew she had to be hurting, and her sunken cheeks and dark circles under her eyes told him she hadn’t eaten or slept for shit in several days.
Save her now. Kill Ortiz later.
“Not fast…enough.” She sounded weak and looked even weaker. “Please, Adrian. Just…go.”
Adrian was careful of her bruises when he cupped her face with both hands. Taking seconds they didn’t have, he locked his gaze with hers and said, “There is no way in hell I’m leaving you here, got it?”
She looked like she wanted to cry, but no tears fell. With a slow, jerky nod, Jenna finally agreed to go with him.
“Good girl. Here’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to walk out of this room and go down the hallway to our left. There’s a door at the end that leads to a staircase. That’s going to take us out of here, okay?”
“Then w-what?”
Damn, she sounded weak.
“Then you and I are going to go home and lock ourselves away. I’m going to make love to you over and over again, and then we’ll—”
“That sounds like a wonderful plan,” a voice behind him spoke up. “Too bad it will never happen.”
A mental string of curse words rang through his head. He never should’ve kept his back to the door. A fucking rookie mistake that a man with his experiencenevershould’ve made.
Jenna’s entire body jolted beneath his touch, and he could feel the utter terror vibrating through her. Her fear became his motivation to act, because he was more than ready to put an end to all of this.
Once and for all.
“Stay behind me, baby.” Adrian turned to face his enemy. “Matais, I presume?”
“The son of the man you slaughtered.” Matais Ortiz stepped forward. He held a gun in his hand, and it was pointed straight at Adrian’s heart. “Do be so kind as to drop the knife.”
Speaking of knives, Adrian couldn’t help but notice the blood on the man’s right arm. He thought about asking what happened…then remembered he didn’t care.
“I’m here, just like I promised.”