“Dammit, Jay, do you have to fucking question every damn thing? I came across some chatter about a double hit out on you.”
My skin prickled.
Would Papa put a hit out on his own daughter?
Of course, he would. He’d done it before. He’d rather send others to do his dirty work instead of getting his own hands dirty.
“Who ordered it?”
“We can’t be positive on any source. I’m trying to work it out. All I know is that there are two orders.”
As the congestion around me cleared and I started to move, I noticed a car that seemed familiar.
A green Hummer.
Yes, Hummers were all over the place in Miami, but a green one, no way. On South Beach, that colored car looked artsy and unique. Out here near Indian Creek Village, it stood out.
“Dani—” my voice quivered, “—I think someone’s following me.”
“Shit. Why the hell did you lose your security?”
I clenched my jaw. “It was a game. We do it all the time. They usually tag me within a minute or two.”
“This was the wrong day to fuck around, Jay.” She growled in frustration. “I’m going to see if any of our men are in the area. Otherwise, I’m going to call Van.”
I looked in my rearview and saw the Hummer getting closer as it weaved between cars. “Yes, I think Van might be the best option. She has people everywhere.”
Van was Devani Patel, a friend of ours who worked for an underground spy agency known as Solon. If there was anyone who could help me at the last second, it was her. She had people tucked away all over the world and could mobilize them within seconds.
“Is there any way you can get back on the main highway?” I could hear Danika typing on her keyboard.
I looked at all the side streets leading back to the interstate.
“I could, but it might take a minute. It’s rush hour, so the traffic is insane.” I made a right, thinking to loop around the block.
“What are you doing? Why’d you turn?”
“This street is the fastest way to get back on the high—”
At that moment, the Hummer slammed into the back of my Mercedes, propelling me into the van in front of me. My whole body jerked forward as my airbags deployed.
Stars burst behind my eyes as pain shot throughout my body.
“Jay!” I could hear Danika screaming from the speakers, but I couldn’t respond.
My mind was in a daze.
The windows of my car shattered.
A few seconds later, someone reached in, opening the door. “We have her.”
“Hurry. There are too many cameras around here.”
The next thing I knew, two sets of hands were dragging me out of the car. That was when my brain finally functioned enough to struggle. I shifted one of my arms enough to grab the throat of the man carrying the top half of my body and squeezed, digging my nails deep before I folded my legs in and then jerked them out. Both men lost their hold on me, and I fell to the ground, jarring my back against the asphalt.
“Motherfucker!” one of the guys shouted. “That fucking hurt. Get the bitch.”
I crouched, ready to kick out if anyone came toward me. I would never let anyone take me again. The day I died, it would be on my terms.
Through the haze of a headache brewing, I noticed another group of men approach with guns drawn.
What was going on?
Fuck, there was no way I could get anything from inside the car.
Where the hell was I supposed to go? I had no phone, no wallet.
Shit.
“She’s ours,” a man with a heavy New Jersey accent said.
“The fuck she is.” One of the guys who’d pulled me from the car stepped between me and the man with the gun.
Knowing I wouldn’t have long before their attention shifted to me, I crawled my way backward against my car. My hands scraped against broken glass, but I held in the scream.
God, that hurt.
I knew Papa was behind this.
If this was how he wanted to fuck with me, I’d make sure he paid. I fucking knew how to protect myself now. I wasn’t that weak girl anymore. I’d lived a lifetime in the last few years.
I shifted to move and heard a gunshot, making me flinch and crouch down further.
Breathing through the pain and letting my anger guide me, I slowly crawled under my car. I couldn’t run without drawing their attention, and I’d rather have them fight it out than get hit in the crossfire.
Just as I positioned myself as far away from the confrontation happening, I heard a voice that shouldn’t exist.
“Princesa, come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”
Nausea filled my stomach.
What the fuck?
He couldn’t keep me safe. He was dead. He left me when I needed him most.
It was my mind playing tricks on me. It had to be. I couldn’t go down that road again.
I’d worked too damn hard for this shit to happen. Maybe the hit to my head was harder than I thought. I had a killer headache. That had to be it.
Breathe, Jayna. Breathe, Jayna. You are not losing your mind.
I rolled into a fetal position and closed my eyes, hearing another gunshot in the distance and shouts of people looking for me.
“Baby, I have to get you out of here. We don’t have much time.”
I covered my ears. This was not happening. I refused to let it happen.
I was stronger than this. I had survived so much.
“Dammit, over two years and you’re as stubborn as ever. I didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.”
A cloth-covered hand clamped over my mouth and the world disappeared.
4
Kiran
I answered my phone as I walked into my bathroom, two hours after Jayna’s abduction. “I have her.”
Nik sighed in relief and then asked, “How is she?”
“Fine,” I responded as I glanced over to the bed where Jayna lay motionless.
Even with scrapes and cuts on her skin and a dark bruise covering the side of her face, she was breathtaking. Over two years of separation hadn’t changed the natural beauty of the only woman who’d ever owned my heart.
All I wanted to do was crawl in bed next to her and pull her close.
When Nik had sent word about the double hit out on Jayna, I’d just reached Miami and had nearly gone out of my mind trying to get to her location. I’d made it in time to see her kick the face of one of her assailants and fall to the ground. Just when I was about to intervene, another group arrived, giving me the perfect opportunity to grab Jayna. I hated having to knock her out, but the only other choice was to scare her out of her mind and draw attention to us.
“Is she hurt?”
“Not too bad. Bruises, mainly. And few cuts on her hands. She’ll be sore, but there isn’t anything to worry about.”
“Are you sure?”
I clenched my jaw. “Yes, asshole. I would know if my wife was hurt or not. I’ve had more medical training than you have.”
When we’d arrived at our property off the Keys, she’d floated in and out of consciousness. Barely making any sounds as I’d removed her clothes, checked her body for injuries, and cleaned up the grime covering her skin. After slipping one of my T-shirts over her head, I’d laid her on the bed and let her sleep.