“Yeah?”

“Micky. Mace Jordan. Long time.”

“Mace, how are you going? Lemme guess; this isn’t a social call.” He chuckled heartily, which turned into a full-on throat-hacking cough. Good old Micky. A family friend, he and Dad had been exchanging favours for years. This was just another notch on the post.

“No, it’s not. Dad spoke to you? Told you I might need some help? Well, I’m ready. I’m out the front of a warehouse out the back of Saint Meadows. Grouger Street. There is a grey Ford Laser parked out the front, and the property is lined with a tall blue fence. The driveway is open though.”

“All good, mate. Leave it to Uncle Micky,” he said, laughing again. I smiled. Micky was one of those guys you couldn’t help but like—unless you got on his wrong side. Then he’d slice off your toes for stealing his parking spot.

Hanging up, I turned to Leeta.

“I won’t be long, okay? Five minutes, tops. I just want to see if there is a back way into this place.”

“Please be careful,” she said. She reached for my neck and leaned over, her lips smashing against mine. I kissed her back, my fingers cradling her face. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“I’ll be back soon,” I promised, kissing her fingers. I got out of the car, zipping up my jacket. Walking up the sidewalk, I stuck as close to the fence as I could, hoping the line of shrubs would obscure me from anyone’s view.

I crept up the driveway, listening for any sign of life. The warehouse was huge. I kept along the fence as I neared the side door. Pulling out my phone, I checked the time. It was nearly one on Friday morning. The only sounds were those of the traffic far off in the distance.

I backed up along a row of shipping containers, slowly making my way around the perimeter of the lot. The place was deserted. As well as the side entrance, there was a huge roller door around the back.

Squinting, I stared at a covered window. I could’ve sworn I had just seen a flash of light in there. What if he was in there alone? It hadn’t even occurred to me that the guys might not be there.

They’ll be here. Most of their business would run at night—and why else would Luke have come here now?

I crept back down the side, ducking out into the laneway and cutting across the neighbouring lot. Now we just have to wait. My heart was pounding in my chest, every beat ringing through my ears as the cold night air numbed my face.

“Not so fast.”

I stopped and turned around slowly, my eyes focusing on the gun that was aimed at my head. Shit.

“You’re so keen to look around, why don’t you come inside and check the place out properly?” The man flicked his wrist, motioning for me to walk in front of him.

All I could think about was Leet. I prayed that she stayed put, and didn’t try to come looking for me. But I also knew her better than that.

Come on, Micky. Hurry the fuck up. Thank God Leet insisted I ring first, because that was all I was clinging to. I was fucked, and I knew it. The dude holding the gun certainly knew it, too. That put at least two of them here.

This guy, and Luke.

#

“This is a turnaround, hey, Mace?”

I looked up. A very happy Luke walked over to me, holding a baseball bat loosely in his right hand, swinging it around as though he were going out for a casual hit. I flexed my wrists against the ropes that tied me to the chair I was sitting in. I wasn’t going anywhere.

“You’re not a very smart man, are you?” he asked, leaning the bat against the wall.

He walked in front of me and crouched down. I studied his face. A black eye and some bruising was the only evidence of earlier. The blood, the sweat . . . it was all gone.

“You think I didn’t know you were following me? Did you think I was that stupid?” He laughed and then swung his fist at me.

I groaned as it connected with my chin, knocking the wind out of my chest. 

 “You know, the best part of all this is the fun I get to have with your pretty little girlfriend. I couldn’t believe my luck when you landed on my doorstep with her in tow. She’s a sexy piece of meat.”

“You touch her and I’ll kill you,” I spat, rocking violently in my chair.

“Yeah?” He laughed. “Pity you’ll already be dead. I just hope she’s as much fun as your sister was.” He picked up the bat and cracked his neck as his mouth broke into a grin. “You have no idea how much I’m going to enjoy this, Mace.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Leeta

Cutting through the silence, three single gunshots rang out.

I squeezed my eyes shut under my blindfold, not wanting to think about what was happening. Please not Mace. Then I felt a weight fall over me. A warm, thick substance covered my stomach. What was happening? I began to sob as I jerked my body, desperate to get out of this nightmare.

“You, in the corner. Both of you, now.”

Holy shit, Ben.

Relief surged through me, my heart racing as I began to hyperventilate. I yanked at the handcuffs wildly, losing the little control I had left.

“Ben, help me please. God, get this thing off me,” I said, sobbing like crazy.

“Leet, it’s okay, we’re here,” he soothed, slipping the blindfold from over my eyes.

I wailed as he pushed Luke’s body off me, grabbing a towel to cover me up. I shivered, my body shaking uncontrollably.

“Leet,” he said, stroking my hair, his eyes locked to mine. “You need to calm down. You’re going into shock. I need you to look at me and breathe, okay? Can you do that?”

I stared into his soft brown eyes and nodded. My chest rose in quick succession as I tried to slow my breathing. I closed my eyes. In, out. In, out. In, out.

“That’s good. Good girl. Nice and slow. You keep doing that so I can check on Mace, okay?”

My eyes shot open, a sob escaping me as I focused on Mace. We wasn’t moving. Oh God, please let him be okay.

“Help him! Please don’t let him die, please don’t let him die,” I sobbed, my body beginning to shake again as my lungs began to burn as I tried desperately to fill them with air.

“Leet!” Ben shouted. I stopped, my eyes falling on his. “Please, Leet, you need to calm down. He’s unconscious, but alive. I can’t help him if you can’t help yourself.”

I nodded, closing my eyes. Okay, I was okay. My arms twitched as I forced myself to breathe. My dizziness began to fade as my breathing improved.

“Good girl, Leet. Keep breathing. We need to get him to a hospital, okay? Do you think you can stand up?” he asked.

I nodded, and then remembered the handcuffs that were restraining me. “I—Ben, I can’t.” I pulled my wrists against the metal of the cuffs.

Then Ben was leaning over me, stroking my hair again. “It’s okay, Leet. Let me check…” He disappeared, and I realized he was searching Luke for the keys.

“It wasn’t him who handcuffed me,” I remembered. “The big guy, it was him.”

“We don’t have time, Leet. I need you to be brave, okay? I need you to hold your hands very still and close your eyes. Can you do that for me?”

I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut as he positioned the chain.

“I’m going to shoot it apart, okay?”

“Yes.” I braced myself for the gunshot.

Bang.

The vibration of the gunshot rippled through my body. I pulled my arms down over me, the towel still covering my chest, and sat up. Ben embraced me, his soft, soothing voice calming me down.

He reached for another towel, using the first towel to wipe as much blood from my stomach and chest as he could before wrapping the fresh one around my body.

“Here,” he said, shrugging out of his jacket.

I slipped my arms though, zipping it up, the warmth engulfing me.