“Please don’t go, Marcello.” I reached out for him, my fingers seeking his warmth. “I need you.”
“It’s okay, Alex.” He cupped my shoulder, his fingers hot against my bare shoulder. “I already alerted my team. They are on their way.”
I heard him turn the door handle, and my throat just about closed up at the thought of staying in this room alone. I should have grown accustomed to sitting in pitch black rooms, bound and gagged and chained to floors. But this moment of freedom made me crave more. I wanted to leave this fucking island and the asshole who bought me for his sick purposes.
“Marcello, wait,” I whispered.
He blew out a deep breath. “I have to go.”
I threw myself into his arms and hugged him. His arms crushed me as I rested my head on his shoulder, soaking in the moment. Marcello squeezed me so hard his powerful touch sucked the air from my lungs.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again,” I muttered. “Please be careful.”
“Always,” he said in a hushed tone.
I loved Marcello. It wasn’t the same love I had for Luca, but it was just as special, equally important to me. He was the light to Luca’s dark. I needed both of them to survive this nightmare. I couldn’t handle losing one or both of them.
“Is my brother okay?”
He released his grip on me. “Yes.”
“Is he here? I didn’t see him with Luca.”
“Aiden’s around here somewhere.”
“Fuck,” I groaned. “He shouldn’t have come.”
“He’s a Knight,” Marcello pointed out. “Your brother has every right to be here. He has to protect our Queen.”
“Take care of him for me.”
“He’s not a boy. Aiden can handle himself.”
I gripped his shoulders, standing on my tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “Take care of yourself, Marcello. You better come back to me in one piece.”
He leaned down, his face inches from mine, and nodded against my forehead. “My men are on their way. Don’t fight them. Listen to their orders.”
“How will I know if they’re your men?”
His watch beeped, and he raised it closer to his face so that I could see his eyes from the soft glow. “Count to thirty,” he told me.
Then he opened the door and raced out of the room without another word.
I stood in the dark room, my heart slamming into my chest, counting down the seconds in my head. By the time I reached thirty, the door opened. Two men dressed in dark clothing entered with a purpose. One of them grabbed my arm and led me toward the windows.
The other man shoved the curtains aside and pushed out the casement windows. He leaned over the sill with a silencer attached to his gun and fired two bullets at the men below.
He lifted me by the hips and set me on the ledge. “Jump.”
“What?” I croaked. “Are you trying to get me killed?”
“No, I’m saving your life. Now, jump before I push you.”
“Fifteen seconds,” the other man said as he studied his watch that was like Marcello’s.
“Now,” the man said with his hand on my back.
Because I trusted Marcello, and he trusted Alpha Command, I jumped out the window.
Luca
Alex and Rhiannon were on the DeLucas boat, headed back to Key West with a handful of members of Alpha Command. I had arranged for my cousins to help with the extraction. In case someone ambushed the boat, I wanted trained soldiers guarding the girls. Marcello and the rest of his team stayed behind to help the Knights and me deal with the men who took Alex.
“I found Kurti,” Drake said before he shoved his cell phone in front of me. “And his known associates. I sent a team to collect them.”
“Tell the team leader to keep them at the safe house in Beacon Bay. We can deal with them when we return to Devil’s Creek.”
“How are we getting out of here?” Drake whispered, his shoulder tapping mine. “We have eyes on us. Once they realize Alex and Rhiannon are missing, who do you think they are going to blame?”
“We leave right before the auction begins. Sonny is working the crowd with Finn and Callum. Aiden and Cole left with two prostitutes.”
“This isn’t the time for a quick fuck,” Drake growled.
“They’re not fucking them. Just using the women as an excuse to navigate the house. You stay with me. The rest of the Knights will meet us at the seaplane.”
Drake nodded, then his eyes swept across the room.
“Stop worrying, Battle. We have this under control.”
“I know.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. “But we’re unarmed, with dozens of men watching us. One wrong move and we’re fucked.”
“We’re at war. It’s not an exact science. You can’t program your way out of here.”
He snickered. “Give me a laptop, a car battery, a screwdriver, and five minutes.”
I laughed. “We’re not shooting our way off this island. There are too many people for us to handle them head-on. Follow my lead. Whoever brought us here will bring the fight back to Devil’s Creek. We will deal with them when we get home.”